Going the extra mile for success

The story of George C Boldt, a clerk in a hotel in Philadelphia, is famously told of how going the extra mile is all that it takes to succeed in a job.

While he was at work one stormy night many years ago, an elderly couple entered the lobby of the hotel looking for a room to stay. But the hotel was filled. Yet, Boldt who was always in the habit of going the extra mile said to them, “I can’t send a nice couple like you out so late in the night. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room?” The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted.

The next morning as he paid his bill, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Someday I’ll build you one.” And a couple of years later he did build a big hotel in New York and invited Boldt to be its first manager. 

The elderly man was William Waldorf Astor and the big hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria in which Boldt later became its half owner.

Stories such as the above are not uncommon in the hall of fame of successful individuals. 

Doing one’s job well, performing more work than what is paid for and giving the best that there is to an occupation are the fundamentals of sound working habits. From these spring a sense of commitment that leads to a single-minded focus on the job. Work then is enjoyed rather than endured bringing a sense of satisfaction and eventually plentiful rewards.

Going the extra mile at a job however is easier said than done. The drudgery of a profession very often takes away the joy and enthusiasm that it once offered. Over time, weariness sets in and leads to mediocrity at work. Yet, following a few simple steps will lead to efficiency at work.

Getting up 15 minutes earlier each morning to avoid the morning rush, planning the day’s work in the order of importance, setting deadlines and reviewing work are some modest ways of being effective at a job. Most of all being grateful for the work at hand is a sure way to feel good about a profession. 

As Charles Kingsley, an English clergyman would say, “Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and obliged to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and contentment and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know.”