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*The Humor and Logic of My Son
Nick (age 10) on Customer Service.
I was speaking with a business leader about customer service. His staff person dropped the ball when he had a chance to make a great first impression. He brushed it off as “just a simple mistake,” and decided not to do anything about it, saying “The only ones not making mistakes are the ones not doing anything.” I shared that gem at the dinner table. Nick said, “If you’re not doing anything you’re making a mistake. Tell that to your customer. But don’t tell him I said it…if he knows a kid said it he won’t take it seriously.”
Nick (age 9) on marketing campaigns for new customers
Debbie brought home a hummingbird feed and showed it to Nick, who asked, “Why did you get that? We don’t have any hummingbirds!” Made me ponder: If you don’t have new customers, then don’t try new advertising methods, such as Social Media like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If we want new results, we try new beliefs and new behaviors!
Nick (age 9) on Building Relationships
On the way to school I asked Nick, “You’re good with women. Can I ask you a question?” He said, “Where is this going?” I said, “Well I know you’re good with girls and I thought I’d ask you for some tips. How can I build better relationships with people?” “Well,” he offered, “#1 is be yourself. #2 is you’ve got to hang out with them. #3 is be interested. You have to really be interested.” I asked, “You mean you can’t fake it? You have to be genuine?” He replied, "Yes. Because you have to be yourself."
Nick (age 8) on Types of People: On the way to school I said, “Nick, there are four types of people. Some people watch what happens, some people don’t know what happens, some people wonder what happens and some people make it happen.” After a long pause of silence, he said, “I’m all four of those types of people.”
Nick (age 7) on Team Work: We just concluded an exciting season of second grade baseball. The kids went from coach pitch to machine pitch with hard balls. During the season we talked about sacrificing your body to block down a grounder and "taking one for the team." After the final tournament I asked Nick “How many times were you hit by the ball? “I got hit 14 times,” he answered. “But I was the only one. No one else took one for the team,” he said. I pointed out that during the season just about every kid blocked down a hard ground ball. Nick said, “Well, it's not ‘taking one for the team’ if you cry about it.” I had a hard time arguing about that one.
Nick (age 6) on the Mind-Body Distinction: Nick and I were talking as I was chauffeuring him to school one day. Sometimes, when he’s sitting in his car seat he reminds me of Danny Devito playing some Don in the back seat of a limo. We were talking about everything. We often get philosophical. I asked him where he thought his mind was located. He said, “Everywhere” and pointed all around his body. I asked, “Where is your brain?” He pointed to his head. I said, "Nick, you’re a genius. I must have paid over $20,000 to the University of St. Thomas to learn that from my esteemed professors.” With a tone of non-judgemental finality he said, “Oh.” That pretty much ended the conversation.
Nick (age 5) on the Incredibles: Ever since Nick saw the Pixar animated movie “The Incredibles” about a super hero family (so far 3 times and counting) he keeps asking mom and I to tell him a story about the Incredibles. In fact, every day for 3 months straight I have enjoyed discussing every nuance of that great movie. Nick really identifies with Dash, who’s fast. He likes to pretend he’s running along side Dash. Somehow I got the idea to put him into the stories. One day he started saying, “Tell me an incredible story with me in it. One with a good beginning, a great middle and an awesome ending.”
Nick (age 5) on consultants: Nick and I had another conversation recently. He said, “Dad, if you’re Mr. Incredible you should be able to break through brick walls.” I said, “I can break through walls.” He replied, “No you can’t.” “Are you kidding?” I said. “That’s the name of my business.” I pulled out my business card. “See,” I said, pointing to the top of the card. “It says Breakthrough right there.” With a mixture of doubt and interest, he said, “Really. Well, the walls must be made of silk or something.” I said, “No, sometimes those (mental) walls are just as hard as concrete and as strong as brick.” “I’d like to see that,” he said with a grin and a tone that said “it’s possible but unlikely.”
Nick (age 4.5) on who's helping who: At family dinner time we are in the practice of praying before the meal, “God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” But Nick has been saying “Let Him thank us for our food.” I’ve pointed out the difference, even with horizontal and vertical gestures, but he insisted that it was “thank us.” He wouldn’t budge from his position for two nights. Last night, he stumbled over the phrase in question, paused but held his ground. I asked him, “Why do you say ‘thank us’?” With perfect logic and even a rhetorical question to boot, he said, “We help God, don’t we?” I couldn’t argue. “Yes we do,” I answered. “Well then, He should thank us.” Debbie and I looked at each other. “Interesting,” she said.
Nick (at age 4) on belief systems: This year my wife and I really enjoyed Christmas through the eyes of our four year Nick. "Dad, if you believe in Santa you can hear his sleigh bells. If you don't believe in Santa, you can't hear his sleigh bells. I believe in Santa." Then after a pause he asked, “Mommy, what does 'believe' mean?"
Nick (at age 4) on interpersonal communications: At a family dinner someone mentioned how they had really put their foot in their mouth. Nick replied, "I can put my toes in mine."
Nick (at age 4) on dealing with bad guys "What are you talking to bad guys for (in the first place)? Well, if you can't tell they're a bad guy, take off their mask...or look for the line on their neck. Sometimes you can't see a line because they're wearing a whole costume."
Nick (at age 2.5) on self-talk: It's 4:41 AM Nick calls for us. I walked in to his bedroom, leaned over the crib, and I heard him saying something about monsters in his room. I said, "There are no monsters in your room." He looks up at me and says, "Dad, I was talking to myself!"
Nick (at age 2) on customer service: When the bank teller didn't send him a sucker through the tube Nick said from his car seat, "Mom, that bank's bogus!"
Nick (at age 2) on human relations: Nick really did remind me of Winnie the Pooh. Always getting stuck in tight places. From the back seat of the car, he told me "You say "honey" you don't steal honey."
©2004-2008 Paul Esch. All Rights Reserved. Paul Esch is President of Breakthrough Business Success, Inc. He works with business owners and executives to improve vital sales, marketing and management systems. To publish this please call 651-501-7979.
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