It's All In A Name

Each year scores of earnest, upwardly-mobile Americans enter the corporate workforce. Eager to begin the slow climb, they are often taken by surprise when they learn an axiom often overlooked in academia - and it is usually learned after the majority can't answer a basic question:

Questions New White Collar Workers Pass

• Who is the Company's competition?
• What is our value proposition?
• What is our elevator pitch?
• What numbers do we need to hit to reach Q1, Q2, Q3 & Q4's goals?
• What are our Reps main up-sells, cross-sells and rebuttals?

Question New White Collar Workers Often Fail

• What is the name of the woman who empties your trash?

I came across this little nugget of wisdom once and chuckled to myself, thinking, how true, how true. Since first noting it, I've seen it multiple times. The word must be getting out, so this is a good thing.

Right, Diana? :) Ola and buenos nachos. Hey, at least I try.

Spanish, that is. Yes, it brings laughter. But that's okay by me ...

This all came to mind when coming across a story on CNN that read like fiction:

A Tacoma woman, Annamarie Ausnes, stopped in at her neighborhood Starbucks regularly. She was greeted warmly by the barista, Sandra Andersen, who regularly prepared her coffee. When Annamarie seemed down and sick, unlike her former picking-up-coffee-self, she asked her what was wrong.

She told Sandra her kidneys were failing due to a rare disease, that she needed a transplant, and was on a dismal waiting list. No one in her family was a match, and prospects were grim. Sandra immediately reacted, telling Annamarie she would test.

Sandra's prayers were answered. Annamarie was a match. They had the procedure performed at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle on March 11, 2008. It was a success.

The most remarkable thing is this: at the time Sandra volunteered to test to see if she was a match, the two women hadn't even exchanged names.

You can read the story here.

Something to smile about ...