Well, I am always interested in how people define normal in terms of the lives they lead. When I meet people on ski lifts they’re loving the mountain experience and dreading going back home to “normal.” When I’ve vacationed at the beach I hear similar sentiments. After congratulating someone on an award they’ll sometimes talk about how they’ll feel when things are back to normal.

Is it possible we aim too low? Maybe the thrill of the ski run, the relaxation of the beach or the exhilaration of the award should be our benchmark for normal rather than the monotony of everyday life.

Nobody can live on the mountain tops all the time. It is often said that valleys help us appreciate the mountain top experiences and while that may be true, the problem is that many seems to accept living in the valleys as their permanent residence.

I often use the term “aspire higher.”  You may not appreciate succinct rhymes, but you’d have a hard time disagreeing with the point: if you want more out of life, go for me. Raise your expectations. Settle up rather than down.

This summer you’ll most likely take some vacation time. Even if you stay home rather than hit the road, you’ll enjoy the relaxation and recharge that comes with time off. Benchmark how you feel on vacation. Strive to make that your normal experience rather than the stress and rush you typically experience each day.

In other words, recalibrate to great.

Tom Barbieri shared the following at my Facebook Fred Factor group and I’m using it in this edition of the ezine with his permission. I really appreciate his insights and the actions he’s taken to implement the Fred Factor principles:

Good Morning –

I must share…too excited not too…

I read “The Fred Factor” again this weekend (thanks Mark!!). I felt I needed a little re-invention in my position as a Bank Manager. Given the climate of banking these days and the impression held in the eyes of many consumers, I wanted to see what I could do to add more value to the relationships with our customers.

After seeing months of headlines that made bankers look like evil con-artists, stealing money from the retired, and charitable organizations, I decided that I was going to use a “FRED-centered offense” to keep my customers close to me, so they would feel confident that our bank was not going to do them wrong.

Quite simply, I and my team of 8 (which include tellers, financial advisors, and sales associates) are reaching out to our customers. Not just the customers with the most money, but the customers we see most frequently, and to a few we haven’t seen in a while. These were the RELATIONSHIPS we had built in our branch office. I have given each member of my Team the goal of reaching out to 10 customers per day. Our contact with these customers is to just check-in, to see how everything is, and to let them know we are here to help…not a SALES call, but a SERVICE call.

We have been doing this for only two days, and I have seen some positive reactions:

1. OUR customers are thrilled we are reaching out. The responses have been nothing but positive, even on the calls that resulting in resolving a service or product issue. The result was positive because we had a “FRED-centered Offense”: value was given, not added!

2. My team is refreshed, and effectively re-engaged. By executing and continuing this focus, the team here is now looking for each opportunity to put more value on top of the customer’s relationship. This, only after two days. I LOVE IT! You know what I did…? I gave value to my team by showing them how to give value to our customers. Let’s call it FRED-SQUARED!

I have never been more motivated to get-up, put on my suit, and get into the office…just to see what else we could do today!

I know we all hear it and maybe even say it…”Good service is hard to find”.  But maybe people just need to know that value is the key to good service.

Let’s start by showing them what value looks like.