Judy and I returned recently from our teambuilding trip to Hawaii.  We returned renewed and ready to address the opportunities and challenges of daily life.  (By the way, we would be happy to set up a Hawaiian teambuilding trip for your organization!)

On our trip, I observed six principles in evidence around us.

We bought snorkeling equipment for this trip so that we wouldn't be dependent upon a tour operator or rental store each time we wanted to enter the water.  My only problem was with my mask.  I experienced fairly consistent, slow leakage.  I talked with experts and read advice on how this could be avoided.  Finally I went to Maui Diving Shop in Lahaina (click on the link to read my review on TripAdvisor).  The manager, Rich, observed, "You have a fairly large noggin."  He tried several masks on me and then pointed me in the direction of his generic rental mask.  "One reason we use this mask with a wide range of renters is that it fits most faces."  He sold me the mask for a few dollars more than his cost (far less than I had anticipated spending), shared with us his passion for diving, and sent us on our way.  He was even willing for me to return the mask should it not fit properly, charging me only his daily rental fee.

Here was a man whose passion, honesty, and knowledge of his product combined with his delegated authority to make a decision to result in a superior customer service experience.  If you want to lead a team of customer service heroes, give your people freedom to make decisions that benefit your organization and your customer.

Judy and I got up one morning at 2:30 AM to drive to the summit of Haleakala.  There you may witness some of the most amazing sunrises known to man.  What we experienced was a windy, rainy, cold morning - nothing like the brochures that entice you to make the trip.  Later that week we took a helicopter tour of Maui and saw Haleakalā from above.  This time the volcanic crater and surrounding areas were clearly visible.

Sometimes in life we can't see the path before us.  We may need to elevate our view, involve the expertise of others (a helicopter pilot in our case), or recognize that what is cloudy and obscured one day, may be clear and visible on another.

We spent several days on the island of Molokai.  One of the least visited islands, Molokai reminded both of us of visits to third world regions.  The people were friendly to us as visitors, but many have made their opposition to development of the island quite clear.  A guidebook noted that it is difficult to write about the businesses on Molokai because they come and go so frequently.  An oceanfront golf resort near our condo was boarded up and the golf course completely overgrown.  It is just one of the many development efforts that has come and gone.  "Keep Molokai, Molokai" was a slogan seen on signs and cars, and is the title of a song by a popular local musician.  On an island with pristine beaches that are virtually uninhabited, shops that look like they haven't been updated in decades, food that is crazy expensive, and regionally high unemployment, you'd think there would be a greater interest in development.

Progress vs. preservation is a powerful struggle and one that cannot be resolved apart from appeal to underlying values.  Sometimes in life it seems obvious that additional employment opportunities would be good for a group of people - how could they think otherwise?  They may not value the material benefits that drive so many of us and may resent watching the majority of the resources generated by local enterprises leaving their local communities in the benefit of outsiders.

When we checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village for our final night before returning to the mainland, there were three lines.  Registration for the masses, registration for Hilton honors members, and registration for those who had checked in online.  The first line stretched through the open-air lobby and was filled with people who looked tired and discouraged.  The Hilton honors line was long, but moving - people appeared hopeful that they might still get to the pool before dinner.  The online check-in line was, well, there was no line.  I asked what I needed to do for online check-in, fired up my Hilton app, and immediately became next in line.  We were seated in our beachfront restaurant having a late lunch while some of the people were still registering.

You want people to join your honors program?  You want people to download your app?  You want people to check in online?  Then drive those behaviors through corresponding benefits and opportunities.

We chose SpeediShuttle on Oahu to pick us up at the airport, take us to our hotel, and then return us to the airport the next day.  At both ends of the process, the shuttle was anything but "Speedi."  The delays did not significantly impact our stay or our ability to make our outgoing flight, but given the prominence of "Speedi" in the name, they felt like delays and led us to remark more than once that the shuttle wasn't "Speedi."

It has been noted that in great marriages each partner believes that he/she has gotten the better part of the bargain.  Judy and I spent our time away focusing on ways that we could bless the other.  In the past I have said that the only problem with a beach vacation is the sand, sun, and saltwater.  This time I was ready for each foray into the deep.  In part, it's because Judy is my best friend and I want to bless her.  In part, it was because she was blessing me.

There are people who believe that focusing on the blessing of others is a sign of weakness that only leads to being taken advantage of.  I'm here to tell you that the strongest relationships are ones where people allow themselves to be taken advantage of in the pursuit of their larger objectives and as an expression of their values.  That's one of the reasons we love Sam's Club - they allow themselves to be taken advantage of repeatedly through their ridicously generous retun policy; a policy that furthers their customer service reputation, the number of visits to their stores, and the sales of their products.  They achieve their objectives by choosing to bless others.