Curious

There are people on my roof. Well, not exactly now -- it's a wee bit below zero outside, but trust me. There have been people on the roof. Lots of them in the past several weeks.

First, there was the roofing tornado -- a team of 8 or so who yanked off the old roof and replaced it with these great dimensional shingles. Yeah, I had to figure out what the pickles a "dimensional shingle" was, too. Here's a sample of a dimensional roof in our new color.

Then, there was the ceiling and dormer team. They painted the cathedral ceiling above my SOHO (small office/home office) and fixed the dormer. Again, lightening speed.

This last pass is the gutter crew. Gutters, now, we've got. Downspouts? Well, that's another matter....

I was on the BzzAgent team for Seth Godin's book, The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable. In it, Seth and the Group of 33 regale us with stories of remarkable businesses -- people who do the sometimes small things that make them memorable. In one story, a bicycle repair service is discussed. Every time a bike job was completed, the owner would add or do one small, special thing -- handlebar ribbons, an oiled chain -- something that would be a unique contribution to the customer.

Having had plenty of time, recently, to watch men scramble up and down on my roof, I wondered: will some kind soul pass a rag across one of the two small windows on the roof (particularly since their processes funkied-up one of them)? Nope. The first crew (the tornadoes) were masters of communication, though. Every step of the way, they told us what they were doing, how long it would take and what to expect regarding clean-up. This last crew, which was much smaller, told us they needed to go back to pick up the right "elbows" for the downspouts...and they haven't been seen or heard from since (about 8 days ago).

This has gotten me thinking about all the ways, large and small, that I can add that extra bit of value to my clients. Free e-books, special podcasts, a magazine article, some extra communication. Something I do just because they're special.

I just don't think it takes much to be remarkable. But, I'll keep you posted on what I learn.