Recently, I’ve learnt two very simple but valuable lessons on exceeding expectations through an email correspondence with an overseas friend of mine. So, since they’re simple lessons, this is going to be a very short post.
A month ago, my friend, Karen, emailed me to ask me for recommendations of good food in Singapore and where to find them as her parents were coming to visit for a couple of days.
As a food lover myself, I’m always excited to introduce overseas guests all the gorgeous food we serve in Singapore.
So I did my best to reply with quite a long and pretty detailed list in the hope that it will help her parents enjoy their trip as much as possible.
When I received a reply from her thanking me for the list, I could tell she was really impressed with the list.
This was what she said in the reply:
Hey, thanks so much for all that info! God, I was just thinking you’d send me a couple of names and I got like whole visitors info on food in SG. Thanks!
I didn’t quite expect that because I wasn’t really thinking of over-delivering or anything like that when I was writing the list of food recommendations. I was just enthusiastic about it and also I sincerely hope that it would help her parents have a wonderful gastronomic experience in Singapore.
Through this simple email exchange with my friend, it made me realise two things that are crucial if you want to exceed expectations.
Enthusiasm
The first lesson is that, if you want to excel in your work, or over-deliver your promise to your boss or customers, you’ve got to be enthusiastic about what you’re doing.
“Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ok, I’m not saying what I’ve done is great work, but I’ve certainly done a great job.
But how do you develop enthusiasm? Love what you’re doing. Enthusiasm comes as a result of loving what you’re doing.
As I’ve said earlier, I’m a food lover. I love sharing good food with friends and I also love sharing information on good food with friends. It makes me happy to share with people what I love.
This is also the reason why I’ve started this blog – I love sharing with people the lessons I’ve learnt.
Sincerity
When your focus is simply to help someone – your boss, your customers, your colleagues, etc – and not think of getting anything in return, people will feel your sincerity and genuinely appreciate what you’ve done for them.
When I first got the email from Karen, I just wanted to help as best as I could. Not only did I provide her with a long and detailed list, I even told her that her parents could give me a buzz should they need help.
My intention was just to make sure that they could have a fruitful trip and that they would have a good impression on Singapore. I wanted to do my part as a good host.
Closing Thoughts
There’s always something we can learn in our everyday life. We do not need to encounter major events like the current economic crisis or a near death incident to learn a lesson or two.
The lessons we learn in our daily life may be simple like the two lessons I’ve learnt through the email correspondence with Karen. However, they could be important or invaluable lessons to help us become a better, wiser and richer person.
Cheers~
Mark
P.S. What lesson/s have you learnt today that could possibly help you become a better, wiser and richer person? Let’s hear it from you!
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on Apr 17th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Yes.. good tips..
From personal experience I can say that we also need to understand “What the expectation is”, in order to exceed expectations :-0)
on Apr 17th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I like the idea that we can learn small lessons in our daily lives. Being enthusiastic isn’t isn’t just good business but it makes one’s life a lot more enjoyable and fulfilling as well.
on Apr 17th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
@Shamelle – Thank you very much for pointing out what I have missed out. It is indeed important to understand what the expectation is, whenever possible. But in the event that you’re not absolutely sure of the expectation, being enthusiastic and sincere will not set you too far off.
@Tom – Yes, I always seek to pick up small lessons in my daily life. I believe in small collective efforts.
Cheers~
Mark
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
great posts!
The aspect I find important is the realization of self-expectations and others expectations of us.
If it is others expectations, then unfortunatley, when we under-promise and over-deliver, then it seems we have exceeded expectations.
P.S. I am adding this link to my blogroll, thanks!
Rob
best,
drrobbell.com
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your comment. It is indeed important to set a level of self-expectations, and a high level it must be. If we don’t expect the best of ourselves, we’ll never achieve great things.
Michael Jordan says it best, “I expect more from myself. More than anyone would ever dare to expect from me.”
Cheers~
Mark
on Apr 26th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Very impressive post! I’m a believer in helping others without expectations. When I do that I always seem to reap the rewards in some other way. Its a real rewarding feeling knowing that you never have to keep score.
on Apr 28th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Hi Ralph,
Thanks for your comment. I absolutely agree with you that when we help, we should not expect anything in return. It’s great knowing you’ve been doing that and have enjoyed the rewards in some other way.
Cheers~
Mark