Some Uber drivers understand leadership better than most CEOs. At least, that’s what Kris just found out on a recent speaking trip. — BTB #25 One on One

(0:00:00) KL: What makes you different?

(0:00:02) Intro: Welcome to the Behind The Billboard podcast. Here’s your host, Kris Lindahl.

(0:00:06) KL: Hey, it’s Kris. And I’m currently at an event with over 2,000 people that I get the opportunity to share with. But something happened last night that I want to share with all of you that I’m connected to because I think the you will get so much from this story.

So, last night I was in an Uber, headed to where I’m staying. You know, were getting to the destination and he parks and he says, “Hold on, sir. Allow me to give you a 5-Star Treatment.”

He gets out of the car. He walks around the car, opens the door and looks at me and says, “Thank you for spending time with me in my vehicle Have a great night.”

The reason why I share that story is I’ve had the opportunity to travel all overt he country speaking and I always take Ubers. I get dropped off at the hotel… I get dropped off at the event. And they all sort of blend together. I’m not saying that they’re not great experiences because they are. Uber mandates 4.8+ for a driver score, so they do regulate the experience but this one was different. It stood out to me.

Why did it stand out to me? Because it was different. And there are so many things in our lives that can be different where maybe we’re in a sales organization or maybe we’re in an industry or maybe we provide a service that’s more of a commodity where a lot of people offer or do the same thing. So how are you going to be different? How are you going to be that Uber driver?

Really, what we normally do is open the door and get out of the Uber and we run off and we get busy and we go.See, before he parked he spoke and told me to relax and stop and he would handle and I would get this 5-Star treatment. It was so interesting and I loved it. And I wanted to share it with all of you.

Now, here’s the second part of the story. Today, I had another Uber driver. I got in the vehicle and he had this little sign hanging from the rearview mirror, which some of them have, that said, “Tips Are Appreciated, But They Are Not Required.”

I share the story from my experience in the Uber yesterday with the driver in hopes that I could make a bigger impact for him to be different, to be doing different things than the rest of the Uber drivers so he doesn’t blend in with the thousands of others. So, after about five minutes in the Uber, he grabs the sign from the rearview mirror and he puts it on the side and he says, “I’ll take the off for you.”

But then as we further had a conversation about what makes people different, what makes us different than everyone in the same industry, in this case Uber— there are thousands of them, it’s a commodity— there are drivers, there are taxis, there are Lyfts, there are Ubers, there are rideshare apps.

So he sets it aside— and this is what I love best about the entire story. We pull up to the event, like I get the opportunity to share with over 2,000 people. I was super jacked up, ready for the day, fired up, can’t wait to share my story. What he says is… he parks the car and he says, “Sir, relax. Allow me to give you a 7-Star Treatment.”

And I thought, “He took what I shared with him and he made it better.” And now I thought, how many of us in life limit ourselves or put that ceiling, or that 5-star service is all we can offer because there are only 5-stars. How do we go above and beyond that and give 1000% or 2000% when in reality we only have 100% to give or receive?

I share this with you because it made such an impact in my life and I wanted to make an impact to you as well. It made such a big difference because he took what was really an amazing gesture and really a great way to elevate a consumer experience and he made it event better. He was quick. He opened the door and he said, “I will not be putting up that ‘Tips Are Appreciated’ sign on the rearview mirror every again.”

I love that because I think about our industry and I think about the people that I’ve been fortunate enough to be connected with. Too often we’re asking for something. We’re putting that sign up on the rearview mirror. When really, we need to earn that. And the way to earn that is through different messaging and different behavior and parking and asking our clients to relax. “Let me give you a 5-star or a 7-star treatment.”

So in your industry, and in your life, do you have the opportunity to make a difference, be different and provide that next level of service and an experience that people will remember forever? Even though I come in contact with so many Ubers and so many drivers as I travel around the country, these two experiences will stand out for the rest of my life.

So, it’s your turn to make an impact and be different at the highest level! You’ve got this! It’s go time! BOOM!

(0:05:30) Outro: If you loved this episode, give us a great review, subscribe and share us socially so we can spread the word and build a community of “difference-makers” and if there’s a leader who inspires you, send your suggestions for future guests to Kris’ team at BehindTheBillboard.com so we can get better.