Every Christmas morning, General Krulak and his wife delivered homemade cookies to marines on their post. One year, as he arrived at Quantico, and was looking for the officer on duty. Turns out it was General Mattis. Krulak asked Mattis why he was there and Mattis replied, “The officer who was scheduled has a young family, and I thought he should be home with his kids on Christmas morning so I took his position. Just remember, I work for them.”
When you serve your people, you have to have the same mentality as Mattis. You work for them. This is critical, especially in today’s environment when our attention is being pulled in so many directions with the pandemic, yet the walls may feel like they’re closing in. Being mindful of your words and actions will help you get through this time stronger than how you entered it.
There’s a simple tactic you can put into place — at work, home, anywhere –to help you remember this. It’s called the PTS Method and stands for:
Prepare
To
Serve
Every time you switch gears, or change your environment, say to yourself, “Prepare to serve,” and live it out through your actions.
Say it to yourself…
- When you put on your teacher hat and help your kid(s) with their schoolwork
- When you hop on a call with your team
- When you’re entering a Zoom with a client
- When you close your laptop for the day and come together with your spouse
- When you talk with your friends and family
Try it today.
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