I Am Responsible Only for Baggage and Transportation
My wife and I have two very good friends who have recently moved out of state. They were back in our home area last week, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy dinner with them. We have always enjoyed their company. The wife comes from an “Italian American” family such as I do. She and her sisters have some great stories of their younger days that are very humorous.
One of the stories that was particularly amusing was about their Aunt and her husband. The Aunt who is still very much alive at 95 years old, is a very compulsive person, wanting to be in charge of every little detail. Her husband, who has since passed, was a very “laid back” individual. They actually had a great marriage according to my friends, because they knew each other so well.
My friends remember being on a vacation trip with them one time, when the party was checking in at the front desk of the hotel. As they approached the desk, the attendant greeted the party and addressed the husband asking for the party’s last name. The husband put his hand up and said, “No you need to talk to my wife. She is in charge of reservations. I am responsible only for baggage and transportation.” Knowing how compulsive their Aunt is, even in her older age, we all had a good laugh over the story.
For me as a career coach and a business owner, there is actually a hidden message in the story. We all have our talents and strengths. In fact, we all could actually have few of them or many of them. But, even people with many of them eventually will find the following to be true.
As much as you may want, you may not be the right person to serve every customer. You may have some skills that are better than others, or even unique in how you apply them, that make you the right choice for some people, and not the right choice for others. In addition, in explaining to individuals who you are, and what you can do, it is best to at first look to question them as to what are the issues they are trying to solve or the items they may need at the moment. There is nothing to gain going through a whole dissertation on what you can do for the individual, particularly if they have no interest in that item or skill.
And, while it can be frustrating when asking for assistance, to hear someone say to you “That’s not my job!” it likely will be that much more frustrating if they attempt to assist you, and because of their unfamiliarity or lack of skills with a task or function, you don’t get the type of service you are expecting. For example, I am a coach. In fact I have the certifications to prove it. There are about 75,000 people like myself who have such a certification of one type or another. However, while we have been trained in similar skills and techniques, we have gone our separate ways since in terms of specializing in the type of services which we provide.
I help people with the development of their search for their next career opportunity. Other coaches may help you with your wellness or nutrition. Still others help you with your personal relationships. You name the topic or issue on which you may want to move forward, and I likely can find a coach for you that focuses on that area. Even within my world of “Career Coaching,” we sometimes have our specialties. Some are experts at resume’ preparation, while others focus on interviewing, and still others will only work with certain work populations.
Does that mean there is no room in the world for those who consider themselves “generalists” anymore? Not necessarily. In fact, often the smaller the operation and the less people to get things done, the more likely the generalist will be of value to a firm or individual. However, in this ever specializing world, when individuals want their problem of the moment solved, the need for “that exact fit” is even more in demand. Even my friend’s uncle knew that lesson 50 to 60 years ago.
