How I went from getting Stuck in the Elevator to showing you How to Become a Celebrity Authority!

I accompanied my wife to the doctor the other day for a routine check up.

The problem was that the hospital parking lot was completely full. Since it was a scheduled appointment, I had to drop her off while I waited for a basement parking slot.

When I was finally able to park at basement 5, I locked the car then went to take the elevator. I was greeted by a uniformed attendant in charge of manning the elevator, who asked me which floor I’m going to.

“Ground floor please” I asked, and the attendant acknowledged.

As we went up, we were later joined by 3 more people as the elevator stopped at basement 4.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened – IT STOPPED to a COMPLETE HALT between basement 2 and 3.

The uniformed Elevator Attendant, surprised, went for the intercom to call for help.

As she explained the situation to someone on the other line, we, the people in the Elevator, could obviously overhear the conversation.

The attendant said over the intercom: “The elevator stopped between B2 and 3. What should I do?”

Upon hearing this, a lady beside me blurted out in a panicky voice: “What do you mean you don’t know what to do!?” We all started feeling the tension rise.

The attendant responded: “Ma’am, sirs, let’s chillax for a bit. We’ll get this sorted.”

Good thing the elevator started to move once again.

It staggered a bit, and shuddered as it went up. It stopped every 2-3 feet, repeated its staggering and shuddering as it went up, stopping again every 2-3 feet until finally we reached the ground floor, and the doors opened.

We all left the elevator trying to remain as composed as possible, except for the lady, who started talking to random strangers, expressing her feelings about what happened, and how the elevator attendant “did not know what to do.”

So what can we learn from this story?

1. If you’re a person of authority, such as a people manager, subject matter expert, or specialist in your field or industry, it is easy to lose credibility by saying “I don’t know what to do” because that sounds like a dead end response. At the very least, you must be able to show that you have the resourcefulness to be able to find the answer by knowing where or who to get the answer from.
2. People won’t talk about something you did right, if that’s what is expected. But they will talk about how you did them wrong. And sometimes, you’ll either be the last to know, or you’ll never know.
3. Keeping calm and retaining your composure even in high-pressure conditions will allow you to think and act accordingly with a straight and rational head.

Now what about at work? In your business setting, have you ever been faced with a situation where you had a problem that you didn’t know how to resolve? How did you feel? And how did you respond?

And as such, do you think people started talking amongst themselves about how you responded? I’m sure you’ve overheard some of those discussions, even when it’s not about you, but rather, about “that stupid boss or colleague.”

You wouldn’t want to be in that situation now, do you?

It’s time to take responsibility by either finding someone who knows the answer, or better yet, by knowing how to solve the problem yourself.

Learn a new skill that will help you become a Celebrity Authority in your space.

Be the person your peers look up to and your stakeholders believe in as the go-to person who can make things happen.

Take your career and your business to the next level. You can equip yourself by learning Data Analytics and Lean Six Sigma to solve problems nobody else can.

Want to find out how? Visit https://robbieagustin.com/courses to find out more.

And if you haven’t yet, download your FREE (for a limited time only) eBook – The Business Optimization Blueprint, where I show you a straightforward 5-Step Process how to transform your business and take it to the next level.