Last Saturday night, I was invited to a restaurant opening, one of those “soft openings” where the kitchen and staff get to work out the kinks on a group of invited guests who might cut them some slack for the hiccups. Dining out is amongst my favorite things to do in my free time, so I went expecting to enjoy the food, the drinks and the ambiance. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was to be taught a great lesson about life, passion and work.
From the moment we walked in, it was clear that everyone working was excited to be there and anxious for the night to be a success. Over the course of the evening, there were a couple of little issues that you'd expect from a soft opening. However, the atmosphere was full of people enjoying the evening, whether they were working or dining. Towards dessert I was trying to figure out what it was that contributed to the positive vibe of the restaurant. Was it the décor or the music? No. It was the fact that every single employee seemed happy to be there, happy to be doing their job.
This restaurant wasn’t the greatest I’ve ever been to - not even in my top ten dining experiences. What's more is that the restaurant wasn't pricey, so I wasn't expecting the attentive service that I'd expect from a fine dining establishment. Yet everyone seemed positive and passionate. It was the simple presence of total newness that had everyone keyed up, and the result was amazing. As I looked around the room, I couldn’t find a single employee who seemed displeased, not one who looked like they’d prefer not the be at work. The effect as a diner was contagious: not only was it an enjoyable atmosphere, but you naturally forgave any minor imperfections because the entire experience was so enjoyable.
Since that evening, I’ve been thinking a lot about how different our attitude is when we’re doing something for the first time, and how much more productive we could be if we maintained that sense of newness and enjoyment when we were doing tasks for the hundredth time. It wasn’t as if the jobs at this restaurant were magic. In fact, I bet that many of the servers and cooks, hostesses and bartenders had held the exact same job at another location only weeks before. Something about newness, when we are hopeful about the possibilities and tolerant of the negatives, allows us all to work in a state of heightened optimism. Here are a few tricks to help keep your job feeling new, and help keep you feeling positive:
- Meet many people – One of the perks of starting a new job is being able to meet a huge amount of new people. Keep this vibe going by constantly networking in your role, both outside of your department and even with vendors and clients. Even a difficult job, if it helps you constantly meet great people, is something to be happy about.
- Learn new skills – I've said it before and I'll say it again: always be learning. Not only will it help position you for more responsibility or even a promotion, but learning new skills helps keep your work experience fresh every day.
- Help new employees acclimate – Helping new hires will not only make your company a better place, it will also remind you how far you’ve come and help to re-energize you about your own job.