Do you pick up the cup?

A few months ago I was sunning my tired bones near a hotel pool in Palm Springs. A young hotel team member caught my attention. She was picking up food garbage around the pool that was left behind by grown people (a story for another day). The pool area was emptying out as the sun slowly sank behind the San Jacinto mountains.

With a flip of the wrist she intended to empty the ice from a cup into the landscaping. A little water for those thirsty dessert cacti. Instead, she flung both the cup and the ice into the cacti.

The accidental toss made her pause. I could see the calculation she was making: “How am I going to get that cup out of there?” After a brief pause, she turned and left. The cup remained in the cacti.

Question: Would you pick up the cup?

Would you spend the time to carefully reach into the bushes to retrieve it, or would you leave it? What if there was no one around when it happened?

This little question fascinates me. Nothing in a resume, on a cover letter, or told to me by a reference has as much weight as someone who picks up the cup when no one is looking.

To be fair, I didn’t stay long enough to verify that she never came back to get the cup. But that’s not the point of this little story. The point is this: Forget the experience and the awards. Find and hire people who pick up the cup.