Still Learning From My Security Guard

I have had the opportunity to hire a security guard cum admin for my office and on a replacement, got a little senior fellow. About 55 years of age and athletic. Its more than an year now, and here are a few things, I learnt from him, which may seem small, but for sure carry insights.1. Listen to the ‘unsaid’. For a start-up looking for early adopters and customers, it would mean, reading between the lines, and understanding more than what the customer has asked for. There have been situations, where we have told him to run an errand, and he pro-actively asks, that if he could help with the other things around that area (say pickup a payment or warm a customer up).

2. Network , Network and Network.  For a start-up , it would mean, how to network all the time and create selling opportunities. Our man has built relations around the area, and has come up with options for say the ‘genset rental – how to make it cost effective’ OR I know the guy near the corner and can get a good laserjet at factory costs.

3. Be Dependable. For startups, it means to be dependable for your customers, so they could rely on you for a bigger project or take a bigger risk with you. Our champ is always available for sundry tasks OR the regular tasks, as you may need him, and is able to get the job done to your satisfaction, with a smile on his face. Do note, some of the times, other tasks are not a part of his job profile. Key take aways here are – ‘Smile on his face’, ’Ability to accept sundry tasks not a part of your job profile OR your project scope’. Can you give away freebies and be happy.

I think this is awesome learning, if you think it is, as only the roles change, whereas the concepts remain the same.