Act like a Peabody Duck. People will still have a good time.
I’ve been to Memphis four times and have never witnessed the March of the Peabody Ducks. So this time I put it on my list of things to do during my overnight stay. It was top of the list; even before BBQ and listening to some fantastic blues music on Beale Street.
The duck march was at 5:00 but I suspected I should get there earlier. I arrived at 4:15 and my gut instinct was right. (As my friend Lynn Robinson taught me, always trust your gut.) People had already been congregating around and above the fountain where the ducks were swimming.
At 4:55 we heard a short presentation from a Peabody staff member adorned in his Royal Duck-master outfit. He explained that the ducks would walk out of the fountain, down the stairs, around the fountain, then down the red carpet in single file and hop on the elevator to the sky level and the Duck Royal Palace. Then he chose one person from the lobby to be an Honorary Duck-master and take the journey with him to the sky.
5:00 comes. Out of the fountain. Down the stairs. They don’t walk around the fountain. They don’t walk single file. But into the elevator they go for their ride home.
So what’s my point?
Sometimes the best laid plans are orchestrated and don’t work out; yet people still have a good time. Some experiences can be recreated while others cannot. Sometimes we approach things differently and get the same results.
Royal Duck Palace for the famous Peabody Ducks
Maybe it’s time to stop trying to orchestrate perfection? Maybe it’s time to enjoy things for what they are and not what they should have been. Maybe it’s time to act like a Peabody Duck, do it your way and let everyone see you strut YOUR stuff.
Maybe it’s time to let employees act like Peabody Ducks and create not only a great employee experience, but a great customer experience.
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RICH DIGIROLAMO, founder Recess At Work, works with organizations to create happier work environments, strengthen work teams, design new programs, and create better relationships with customers and peers. In his new book Diary of the Happiest Employee on Earth: 52 Provoking Thoughts for Creating a Great Workplace he talks about why it is important for every person within an organization to act and stop thinking.
Are you ready to take a Recess with Rich, inject some new energy into your organization, create an even better employee and customer experience, and start implementing what you’ve been thinking about?
