Duncan and the Velocicoaster

Last week we took our 8-year-old twins to Universal Studios Orlando for an early holiday celebration. After an 8.5-hour drive, we immediately hit the park on a Monday evening to get a headstart on the adventure. 

We found ourselves at the Velocicoaster, an awesome but intimidating roller coaster that us parents were eager to try. The third graders were much more wary. 

As we tried to convince them to give it a try, a park employee interjected. Duncan quickly offered to give the family more information about the ride in an effort to persuade the kids to try it out. 

“Come with me, I want to show you how this all works!” He ushered us into a private entrance and explained the magnetic forces at work. He then took us past the ride lines in a VIP tour experience, explaining the video screens and technology that made it look like velociraptors were looking right at us. Suddenly, we were on the platform, having bypassed a 45-minute wait. 

“So you want to try it?” he asked my husband and me. “I’ve got seats for you on the next one. I’ll wait here with the kids.” 

We rode while the kids happily chatted with Duncan. He then brought us a photo and gave us express passes to another ride that didn’t even have an express lane. For those who have never been to Universal, these passes were absolute gold to avoid hour-long lines with kids in tow.

At some point, I was so overwhelmed by this unexpected generosity that I actually said, “Duncan, DUDE…this is too much!” 

He just smiled and said, “I hope you have a great week. This is a special place.”

The Power of Moments

We’re big fans of Chip and Dan Heath at Decker, and I’ve read all their books since their famed Made to Stick. 

The Power of Moments, one of my favorites, is perfectly illustrated in the story above. In it, the Heath brothers explain why certain experiences have extraordinary impact and teach us how to create more meaningful defining moments in our lives and work. What’s really powerful is that they show us that defining moments that are meaningful and memorable can happen organically, but they can also be created.

That’s what Duncan did at Universal. He found a family and decided to go above and beyond to elevate the experience. He raised the stakes, and broke the script, acting in a way that was so overly generous and surprising that we couldn’t help but be delighted. 

And most importantly, he had been empowered by his bosses and the larger system to have total autonomy and choice to do it when he felt it was necessary or warranted. 

A lesson in leadership and creating moments

As leaders, a lot of our focus can center on the things that are going wrong…the process that needs to be fixed, the issue in a project, the detail that was missed. 

But what if we focused on powerful moments and elevation as much as we tried to get better? When we give our teams the opportunity to create those moments, we can make a different experience for employees and our clients. 

So think about it. 

• How can you help your team elevate the positive in your client experiences? 
• What tools can you give them to intentionally build peaks and break the script like Duncan did? 
• How can you give them more freedom to defy expectations in the best possible way? 

If you put effort into it, you can create defining moments deliberately and intentionally for your teams and your clients. 

Watch and learn more about them.