CeCe’s SUV is having tire issues, so at the last minute, we decided to take mine to Oxford for the first Ole Miss football game. I can see that it is pretty dirty and sitting on about a quarter tank so I head down the highway to the closest car wash.
Distractions
Pulling in, a young man walks up to my car on the right, so I roll down my window to answer his question. He proceeds around behind my SUV and meets me at the vending machine. I rolled down my window to continue talking to him about the new program for unlimited washes. After politely listening and communicating that I only wanted the single wash today, he pushed the correct wash, and I inserted my credit card.
After paying, I pulled around where another young man directed me onto the track, asked me to put my SUV in neutral and take my foot off the brake. I rolled up my window, hit neutral, and sat back for the quick wash. As he finished brushing my front windshield with a long, soapy brush, I felt the cold, wet blast of soap being sprayed into my SUV from the passenger window, which I had failed to roll up.
Thankfully, I hit the up button on the first try, as soap was everywhere inside and still coming in.
Recovery
Now, we are already running behind, and I am looking at the front seat and wondering what in the world I am going to do. Thankfully, they also handed me a soft cloth to wipe the vehicle down after the wash. I began wiping up the soap; before I knew it, I had the inside of my truck sparkling.
Reflection
Now, I don’t recommend this method of cleaning the inside of your vehicle, but I do believe there’s a leadership lesson here for us. Sometimes, when we’re covered in what seems to be a mess, we can find something sparkling underneath if we push forward.
Luckily the answer to my mess was the towel sitting in my hand. So often, we overlook the best solutions right in front of us. It can be technology, an idea, or, indeed, a team member.
When have you had a mess that turned into something better?
The Rest Of The Story
CeCe: Why is my seat wet?
Me: I don’t know.
CeCe (smirking): “ Yes, you do; what did you spill?”
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