Anyone who knows me, knows I like Starbucks coffee. When I say that I am reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's comment in a speech at a TED conference that most Americans, when asked, say they prefer their coffee strong and dark but actually buy weak, milky coffee (which is why Starbucks is so popular!). The lesson is: Don't take too much notice of what people say to market researchers!
Anyway, back to the point. It isn't just the coffee I like. It is the staff. Given the choice (even when it is clearly more expensive than the competition) I always choose Starbucks.
The first Starbucks I went to was close to the BBC where I used to work. I was regularly given a free muffin, a free coffee and a free smile by staff who recognised me and knew what I liked to drink. The same is true of my local Starbucks today in the small, market town where I now live.
They know my drink, they know my family ("How is your little girl doing at her new school?" I was asked today), they say hello if they pass me in the street.
And it turns out that "recognition" is authoritative. At a workshop I attended last week run by Sandy Ruddock of The Roaring Mouse (the website is being built now) Sandy explained that, on top of being well-groomed, being a good listener, being quietly confident and having good eye contact, showing recognition by using someone's name or remembering facts about them, gives you more authority in a room.
Not only is it good manners but it makes you seem more worthy of respect. It gives you gravitas.
What is encouraging about this is that it reinforces what we always hoped was true - being a thoughtful, considerate, polite person actually helps you achieve more in life than being underhanded, rude and thoughtless. The workplace culture may seem to demand that we leave our morals at the door and join in with the argy-bargy. But good sense - and overwhelming evidence - suggests that behaving with integrity makes the workplace a better place, and a more successful one.
