What a Week…

Good afternoon dear reader & welcome to my world for another week. And what an extremely busy few days I have had. Christchurch for two days, Wednesday in office which included four unplanned & unproductive but necessary hours out of my day & Thursday, Friday in Auckland. I am inspired this week however, by two contrasting events.

Thursday evening I went to Eden Park for an historic Tasman Mako win against Auckland. What can I say, but a tears of joy experience, one of total pride & privilege to be there! Searching for superlatives subsequently, the best I have been able to come up with was the skill of diligence.

Most people think they understand what diligence means, but nothing could be further from the truth. When one talks about diligence, we talk about a trait which is as rare as a ten-carat diamond. The reason it is so rare is; true diligence runs contrary to human nature.

It occurs to me the trait common too many humans is the desire or drive for instant gratification. We want as much as we can get, with as little effort as possible. This is our nature. We all have a natural inclination to follow the path of least resistance.

In my research to encapsulate the Mako performance, the best I could find was defined by Steven K Scott from his book, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived:           “DILIGENCE is a learnable skill that combines: creative persistence, a smart working effort rightly planned & rightly performed in a timely, efficient & effective manner to attain a result that is pure & of the highest quality of excellence”.       

Well done chaps, I could not have said it better...

And the second highlight of my week was the absolute exemplary service I received from Air NZ yesterday on my flight home. I was due to fly home from Auckland just after 1400. On way to airport I received texts & emails of update:                                                  
Text:    Dear Kenn, Unfortunately your flight is no longer able to operate at the originally scheduled time and we have transferred you to the next available flight.                                                
Email:     Dear Kenn, Air New Zealand flight NZ5251 on 07 October 2016 from Auckland to Nelson has been cancelled. Our staff are looking at alternative options & where possible will rebook you on the next available flight. If you do not hear from us within 15 minutes, view or change flights, speak to a member of our airport team or call our Contact Centre on the number below. Please be aware that during periods of disruption there may be an extended wait time when calling our Contact Centre and options for alternative flights may be limited. We apologise for any inconvenience.
 
Well, I received the short straw & not only was flight schedule the last one of the day arriving home @ 2130, it too was late! Eight hours waiting & it is at such times I remember first line of the serenity prayer & request to: ‘Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change!’

I flew through Wellington for the second four hour wait & was clearly tired when I entered plane. There is on such occasions not much staff can do, however, the support & empathy from Emily & Wilma, as I say was simply exemplary. As I recorded in my article a couple of weeks back, Rob Fyfe observed he was always surprised at the amazing levels of commitment Air NZ staff showed during his time there. I have now seen it personally.    ThankQ ladies.
 
What a week,                                                                                                highlighted by the diligence from both my Mako men & two exemplary staff @ Air NZ.

Thank you for taking the time to be with me once again & I hope my journey may encourage you also. Until next weekend, this is Kenn Butler in Paradise, Nelson, with my best wishes & to you all, a splendid week.
 


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