As part of a team, that can be easier said than done. The pressure to perform as a unit is so intense that team members frequently feel that they are being swallowed whole by the machine, and like they have to lose themselves in the process. That's why athletes like Lance Armstrong and his fellow teammates over the years were compelled to cheat. The prevailing wisdom was that since most cycling is dirty, and only dirty teams win, all winning teams have to be dirty. It's not right, but sadly, it's true.
More often than not, as part of a team, if you try to "ride your own ride," you are viewed as someone who is on the fringe, or someone who doesn't want to contribute to the overall success of the machine.
There are many places in life where this mode of thinking applies, and it's difficult at times to hold onto one's sense of self and integrity when you are part of the machinery.
I started thinking about this after a visit to one of my favorite lunch spots last week. I had finished my meal, and literally found myself spacing out with my smartphone. I hadn't cleared my soup bowl and plate yet. In the midst of my space out, an employee of the restaurant came by and offered to take my items for me. I'm used to busing my own table--with the exception of nicer restaurants, you usually have to, and I'm okay with it. I thanked Lorraine, graciously. I was taken aback by her response.
She told me that she had been in food service for thirty years, and it bothered her that her restaurant's staff had been cut back so much that patrons were expected to bus their own tables. She didn't think it was right, and she wished she could tell the owner of her company that she didn't think it was right. She then joked that she hoped I wasn't the owner's wife. I assured her that I was not.
In recent economic times, companies and service oriented businesses have made this kind of choice. In hopes of maintaining their bottom lines, or in aspiration of growth, they have consciously decided to do the same work or more with less hands. Often, they expect better results than they are getting, not just in terms of revenue, but in customer loyalty.
Everyone wants to project an image of being customer oriented and operating with integrity. As I think about this particular restaurant that I visited, it occurs to me that I frequently have a hard time finding a clean table after a lunch rush. The food's okay, and the company promotes itself as a good citizen of the world by donating left over foods to the community. I perceive that the food I eat there is a little healthier than what I would get at a burger joint. There's a little sign near the exit stating that they hope I've had a great experience, and that I should let them know if I haven't. When I think about what this company tries to project, and what I really see there, it seems like there's a little bit of a disconnect. But I never complain about having to wipe off a table for myself at least fifty percent of the time, because it's what I've come to accept.
Last month, I went on a shopping quest for a piece clothing I'd seen on the internet, which happened to sell out. I hoped that I might be able to find it in a local branch of the store. At one of the locations, a sales attendant approached me and asked what I was looking for. I told her about the item and she immediately went into action, trying to search their back room to see what they had. She brought me everything she thought might work. Sadly, none of the items were available in my size. But, buoyed by her enthusiasm, I decided not to give up, and I found myself driving to each of the locations in my area, assuming that similar service would be immediately available. The first location was the only one in which I wasn't ignored completely. Needless to say, I never did find the item I wanted. But I did find the location I will prefer to shop from now on.
On an average day, if I went to either one of these establishments and got what I needed, I probably wouldn't think too much about the service. It would have been good enough. It would have been what I expected. But not every service related industry should have the bar set so low.
I serve a lot of different kinds of people in my job. They all have different expectations of the kind of experience they should have. Most of the time, they don't know much about what they're getting from me or the people I work with, so they don't know if the "product" is quality or not. They only know how we treat them. They only know that they waited longer for things than they wanted to, or that someone took extra time and care answering their questions.
It's tough, especially because in a world where doing more with less is the norm, service consistency is hard to maintain. The standard for good enough slides away, and no matter the quality of the "product," perception is reality. Individuals like Lorraine try to "ride their own ride" everyday. They try to look at what they do from the perspective of the people they serve, and they have decided that the people they serve are the ones at the tables, or the ones shopping for a date night outfit. They may be taking extra time to pick up those plates for us, or searching back rooms, instead of clocking out on time for their lunches, or going home on time.
How do we measure the performance or success of people like Lorraine, or the sales assistant? Is it by how many sandwiches get sold, or how many additional store credit card accounts they start? I don't know. Restaurants and retailers are easy examples of service that we can all relate to, because we all eat out, and we all buy things. But if we look at the other kinds of people who "ride their own rides" everyday, we have to include anyone who helps others.
I think of the school teacher who seeks out ways to make the information she's conveying accessible to her students, and the supplies that she purchases out of her own pocket. I think of the nurse that took time to make small talk with us as he worked on the admit paperwork for my husband when he was hospitalized last year. I think of the doctor I work with who buys things that aren't available to us to send home with clients in hopes of providing better care to her patients.
People like this are riding their own rides in environments that not only make doing such a thing difficult, but when it comes to the metrics of success and failure, trying to "ride their own rides" can sometimes be downright discouraged.
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| The complicated machinery behind the ride. |
If we forget that Lance Armstrong doped, and was a part of the most intense organized effort to cheat in the the history of cycling, we have to recognize that he won the Maillot Jaune seven times. That's unprecedented. Though his titles have been stripped, no one has matched him, and likely, no one ever will. While being viewed as the most corrupt cyclist ever, he is also the winningest. What everyone overlooks is that he was always part of a team.
Lance Armstrong suffers from his own self-destructive behavior. But, he's had his success, and he's got a good store of cash that will probably keep him afloat, even if he is unsuccessful in his efforts to be able to compete in sports again. As for the teams that supported him in his relentless and uncompromising pursuit of glory, theirs is a lot that is less certain. These riders rode Lance Armstrong's ride, and the price that they pay is just as high. Sadly, they don't have a wall of jerseys to arrogantly brag about. They don't have the same opportunity to be paid for their compelling stories. All of this is because they didn't choose to ride their own rides.
Houdini--Foster the People
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