Leaders love the parking lot.
Leaders who learn to know the details and love the little things will go further than those who rest solely on big dreams.
Big dreams are built on little things.
Stephen Bruner loved the little things and loved people. These two things drove his results greater than anything else I observed.
He loved the parking lot.
I think he still does. Every day if I couldn't locate him (and he didn’t bother answering his phone), he was outside picking up the smallest pieces of trash - not only in the parking lot, but in the flower beds, the public sidewalk, and even our neighbor's property.
He cared about the details and he cared about the people of our organization. These two elements allowed him to force multiple his ability to build sustainable systems that got consistent, outstanding results.
Stephen loved a clean parking lot and entreated the lowest task to himself. He stayed grounded and now owns and operates his own very successful business (one of the most successful for a first-year operator in the chain).
Stephen — Congrats on your first year of your own business.
As a teenager, I observed Dan T. Cathy many times get out of his car and walk the parking lot before coming into the restaurant. It’s a powerful picture of servant leadership.
Leader, have you learned to love and walk the parking lot?