The Chevron

I am taking a break from writing about my latest shop project and hope that I will be able to show you finished pictures VERY soon.

This week I was struck by an idea that I felt the need to share: “We don’t go past the Chevron.”

When we were in Kauai last August, one of the activities was SCUBA diving.  As many of you know, it went phenomenally.  The adventure was booked for us through Seasport Divers, a group I absolutely endorse, but that is not my point here.  When we went for the dive, we journeyed our way around the island and turned at a Chevron gas station down to a cove where our dive masters were located.  We liked these guys immediately.  They were comfortable in their surroundings and very good at what they did.  Each of the four times we dove with them was great and they handled everything expertly.

During the time we weren't in the water, we talked and got to know each other.  We talked about the island and where things were.  However, in the middle of one discussion, we discovered that our guides worked to make sure that they did not have to drive past the Chevron station any more than necessary.  They explained that this small finger of land we were on really had about everything they needed.  They even told us that in their circle of acquaintances it was common to announce if someone was going to Wal-Mart. They got lists together for the unfortunate soul who ended up shopping for the entire group.  It now occurs to me they should investigate online shopping.

Anyway, I remember laughing at the time and thinking how unusual it was to be so incredibly sheltered.  Then last week, Carolyn, the person with whom I work most closely and without whom I would get nothing done, commented about how far away a customer was located. We needed to test a new process and she thought maybe an easier customer to work with would be the one just down the street.  The customer located too far away is a twenty-five minute drive from our door.  The conversation really had an impact on me.

Although few of us use a Chevron station to mark the edge of the territory we are comfortable within, I think we all have a tendency to behave this exact same way.  We work, shop, and live in a small geographical area, which has become “home” to us.  We shop at the same grocery store virtually every time, and probably even go through the aisles in the same order.  We go to work via the same route, eat lunch in the same places, and come to know the same parts of our world intimately.  But in doing this, we miss a lot.  Since I am responsible for my organization’s sales, I am expected to travel and visit customers.  I love this part of the job.  I enjoy getting into shops and onto manufacturing floors to see the multitude of ways that people find to overcome problems.  Each person thinks their solution is the best, but truthfully, most times it is just slightly different than the method the next person has discovered to solve the same type of issue.  Neither is totally right, or totally wrong, they are just different.

So, why am I writing about this?  It is always good to push ourselves out of the boxes which limit us.  When I lived in Omaha, I used to drive my sales manager crazy because I used a different route to drive to work every day and then ask him about things happening along the route.  If I would settle into a routine, that would allow him to finally do the same.  I find that I settled into that routine, years later.

My grandfather prided himself on never going home the same way that he used to drive somewhere.  He always said you could see different territory that way.  That makes sense to me.  I have started changing things up again.  When I took my family to Culvers for ice cream the other night, I returned home using a route I’d never tried before.  Interestingly enough, no one said a word or asked questions about why I was going out of our way.

Go past the Chevron.  Shop in new places.  Drive the road less traveled.  We just might collectively make this big world a little smaller and find ourselves a little more interconnected.  That will make the world a bit better and a little friendlier.

OK, next week, back to work.