Is the Glass Half Empty, Half Full, Or…

A departure from the typical customer service tip, here is a motivational story…

Recently I ran into an old friend, Michael Packman, who I grew up with. We were talking about our kids, and he told me a great story about his daughter, Amanda.

When Amanda was younger, Michael had the idea to ask her a question to see if she was an optimist or a pessimist. So, he set a half-filled glass of water in front of her and asked:

“Is the glass half-full or half-empty?”

Her response took him by surprise. Amanda said:

“That depends if you are drinking or pouring.”

Metaphorically speaking, the next time you have a “half-filled glass of water,” what will be the answer to the question?  Is it half-empty, half-full – or is there another answer?   Sometimes the less obvious answer is a better one, or at least another alternative.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken