Flip the Switch - 2007

I am in the Sydney airport waiting for a flight to Cairns. I was supposed to be there last night but the flight from Honolulu on Quantas was delayed. To be honest, I could have made the connection but the flight to Cairns was over-booked anyway so the Sydney ground staff took the decision that everyone with that connection would stay the night in Sydney. They gave me a taxi voucher and a hotel for the night and booked me on the first flight in the morning. Unfortunately, because of the way I planned the trip, I'll now have three hours in Cairns instead of a full day. I must take responsibility for such tight scheduling even though if it'd worked it would've been very efficient. Quantas took responsibility for their late arrival and did all they could to make the situation less painful.
Prior to arriving in Australia, I was in Hawaii for a few days visiting orchid nurseries. About three blocks from the hotel was a strip of different fast food places. The one that caught my eye was the take-out sushi place, and I walked in to place an order. It was about 7:15 p.m. As I walked in, the man behind the counter said, "We’re closing early."
I looked at the sign stating hours of operation from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. I pointed to it and said, "Then you need to change your sign.”
He replied, “No, I can do anything I want.” I told him he was absolutely right and thanked him for correcting me. It was of those moments in business when you find bottom.
Leaving the store and perusing the other offerings, I saw the same man turn away two other would-be customers. It was surreal. In my younger days, I would have had sharp words for the operator; with age, I have learned that adding a negative to a negative situation does nothing good. The sushi shop operator chose to act the way he did and there was really nothing I could do about it. This is not an uncommon attitude in what I like to call “the Hawaiian islands of entitlement.”
The week before this trip, I was coming home from Super Floral and sat next to a remarkable woman named Suzanne. She was reading a book called Flipping the Switch. We had a good conversation and I learned that this high-powered executive is married to a pastor, Chris, and on some of their vacations they went to extremely poor places to work with and help the very poorest of the poor. They chose to spend their personal time in this way. Over the past weekend I wrote a column for Floriculture International just about Suzanne and Chris and “cause marketing.” I did not remember the name of Suzanne’s husband or the name of the book so I e-mailed Suzanne Sunday morning to ask for these details and permission to use them. Suzanne e-mailed me a few minutes later with the details and, in the e-mail, copied the author of the book. A couple hours later, I got an e-mail from the book’s author, John Miller.
I was more than impressed that these strangers were so responsive on a Sunday. I bought a copy of Flipping the Switch on my way to the airport and read it on the way here, to Australia. The sub-title is "Unleash the Power of Personal Accountability." The concept is quite simple: You cannot change others but you can change yourself. By acting in a manner that takes personal responsibility for making the world, your organization, and your family better, the world gets better for you and those around you. People who already take personal responsibility want to get better at it. They in turn contribute more and are more successful in their own lives. Miller chooses to help other people succeed in their lives. He's also aware that most people read the book and say, “my boss or my coworkers should read this book.” They miss the point.
I saw people making so many very different choices on this trip—the airline deciding how to handle the over-booking, the sushi restaurant operator deciding to turn away business—and I see the power of Miller’s message. He’s right that I cannot change those other people, but I will make the choice to take personal responsibility. What’s your choice?