In-N-Out

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s the small things in life that make a difference. If you stop and think about all the different interactions you have with different people in a single day, and all the different words spoken, you might discover that small things really can make an impact.

For example, I’ve owned three companies over the past 40+ years and had interactions with hundreds of employees. Over time I learned that it pays off to pay attention to each and every one of them. So I would always try to catch an employee doing something right and when I did, I would immediately reward them with a gift card from In-N-Out Burger. The gift cards are only $5.00 but I swear you would think I was giving them $500 by the way they reacted. That’s because praise and recognition are rare gems that are not handed out very often these days.

At this point in my life I am currently working on my fourth company. Even though it’s very small, (I am the only employee), I still carry In-N-Out gift cards with me everywhere I go because it’s become a habit for me to look for people doing something good. Last Thursday I got the chance to put them to use.

I was making sales calls all over Orange County and I always carry my thin black notebook with me everywhere I go. In that notebook are my business cards, a pen, and a yellow pad to take notes. But hidden behind the yellow pad are three very valuable items; a copy of the “Salesman’s Prayer”, a picture of my family, and a photo of the most influential man in my life, my Dad. These items are my motivation to work hard every day, do what’s right, and make my family proud. Unfortunately, as I got to my last sales call, I realized my notebook was missing. I thought hard about the last time I saw it and realized that I might have set it on the back of my truck and driven away. So I drove back to my last three stops and scoured the parking lots and streets for that notebook. I never found it and my heart sunk. Those photos are irreplaceable and to make matters worse, there was a check in my notebook that was made out to my company by mistake, and I needed to return it.

As I was heading home, angry and upset at my own carelessness, I received a phone call from someone who said he found a black notebook in the street. The caller said he thought I might want it back, especially since there was a check inside. I was ecstatic and immediately drove to Lake Forest to meet up with this wonderful good Samaritan. When he handed me the notebook, I thanked him and handed him every In-N-Out gift card I had with me, which was four of them. He tried to turn them down, but I explained how I enjoyed rewarding people that I catch doing something right, and he loved that idea. Said he would try that with his own employees.

There are so many times that we pass “in and out” of people lives. Even though it may only be for a brief moment, that doesn’t mean… it doesn’t matter!

Oh Creator of all things, help me. 

For this day I go out into the world, naked and alone, 

and without your hand to guide me, 

I will wander far from the path which leads to success and happiness.

~ From the Salesman’s Prayer, by Og Mandino