Several years ago, I was at a conference. The speaker asked the audience what was the biggest thing holding my business back. I responded “Toilet paper rolls.” This may sound like a strange thing to be complaining about, but let me explain.

At the time, my office had one small bathroom. The total square footage of this bathroom was about 20. From the toilet, you could almost reach the door, the sink, the garbage can, the roll of toilet paper on the wall, and the storage of all the toilet paper. We had 10 employees at the time, yet I was the only one who would change the roll when it was out. Everyone else would just use the roll from the stack of new rolls. And when the roll was done, the tube would just be left on the floor. I even left a $20 bill under an empty roll for almost a month before I finally picked it back up.

I’ve found that most people will do the big things in life- do the big projects that are really easy to see they got done. But when it comes to the little details of life- changing the toilet paper roll, for example, most people will just ignore them or hope someone else will do it. In a shared bathroom, it’s easy to think “oh, the next person will do it,” or “it’s not my job.” The same could be said of returning the shopping cart at the grocery store, picking up your dirty laundry off the floor, or, guys, drying your feet before getting out of the shower or rinsing the sink after brushing your teeth or shaving. It’s the little things that can make a big difference.

When I’m looking for a new team member to join my team, part of my interview process is to see who will take responsibility for something that isn’t necessarily theirs to do. It’s a lesson my wife and I try to teach our kids- I don’t care whose drink it is, or whose chore it is- if you see it needing to be done, just take care of it. It’s finally starting to sink in to my oldest…

A couple of years ago I visited my dad. I hadn’t seen him for several years, as he moved to Hawaii and it’s kind of a long, expensive flight to get out there. Covid was still a big deal, so we went and hung out at a beach and just talked. As we got up to leave, we both instinctively started picking up the trash we saw on the beach. We both laughed at it, thinking it’s not our “job” to do so- we didn’t put it there, but we saw the need, and filled it. And even though I probably won’t ever see that beach again, it felt good to know that at least for a little while, that beach looked better because of me and my dad, taking care of those toilet paper rolls.