OCTOBER 24

“Employees have a knowledge base you can’t get anywhere else. Equipment, procedures—those things can be duplicated. When you look at competitive advantage, human capital is the only area where companies can really differentiate themselves.”

—Meldron Young, American Management Association

A STANDOUT

The other day, we pulled up to a drive-thru to grab a quick lunch on the go. We still shake our heads when remembering what happened next. It went something like this:

“Hi. We’ll start with a No. 6 combo meal, supersized, with a Diet Coke.”

“Okay, so would you like to supersize that?”

“Yes. We’d like a No. 6 combo meal, supersized, with a Diet Coke.”

“So what kind of drink would you like with that?”

After several more similarly frustrating interactions, and with time running short, we finally gave up, pulled to the restaurant next door and whizzed through their drive-thru in nothing flat. Same technology. Same product. Same customer. So what made the difference? The employee.

Employees are your competitive advantage (or disadvantage, as the case may be). Let them know through recognition that they are important and are doing the right things.