A Good Story Provides a Good Opportunity

I’ve always been a storyteller. Some people enjoy my stories, while others wish I’d get to the point faster. I get it—my approach isn’t for everyone. But storytelling is how I communicate my ideas. Sometimes, it even helps me get my way or stumble into an interesting adventure. Here’s one of those adventures.

I was working with a team on a project at Armstrong’s St. Helens, Oregon, plant. Our goal was to reduce changeover time across the facility using Lean techniques and some capital investments. Things were going well, but the project required the team to spend many weeks away from home.

When you travel a lot, routines develop—familiar hotels, restaurants, bars, and, of course, the facility you’re helping. But sometimes, you just want to break out of that routine. One trip, we flew into the Seattle airport, arriving midday, and didn’t need to be at the plant until the next morning.

Someone suggested dining at the Space Needle, about 30 minutes away. It seemed like a great idea, even though we didn’t have reservations. Fueled by a spirit of adventure, we decided to drive over and see if we could talk our way into a table.

On the way, we tracked down the phone number and called to see if there were any openings. Unsurprisingly, dinner was fully booked. But we weren’t deterred.

I decided to try my hand at persuasion. I told the host a bit of a half-truth: “We’ve just arrived in Seattle, traveling all the way from Pennsylvania specifically to dine at the Space Needle. Isn’t there any way you could find seating for four people who have always dreamed of dining with you?”

To my surprise, the response was warm and accommodating: “Of course we can. You’ve come all this way; we’d hate for you to be disappointed.” Thrilled, I asked for a contact name so we could personally thank them when we arrived.

Thirty minutes later, we walked into the Space Needle, where it seemed everyone knew about “the four travelers from Pennsylvania.” They were impressed that we had flown 3,000 miles just for dinner.

We stuck to our story the entire evening and soaked in the experience. The dinner was fantastic, the views from 500 feet above Seattle were stunning, and it became a memory we’d treasure for years.

As a bonus, the experience brought our team closer. We worked together more cohesively, and we started seeking out new adventures to share throughout the project.

These days, I encourage my Kaizen teams to create shared experiences during event weeks. Whether it’s through solving problems together, team dinners, or happy hours, I’ve noticed these moments rapidly build engagement and camaraderie.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend stretching the truth often, but this felt like a victimless crime—unless someone lost their reservation because of “four travelers from Pennsylvania.” If that’s you, this story never happened!