Today I had the privilege of facilitating a Q&A session with George Moen, President of Blenz Coffee.  This was the second time I have heard George speak and his candidness and insights have impressed me both times.

The questions I asked were not scripted and as each question led to the next, I asked; “When you’re looking for leaders or employees in your business, what do you look for?” and his answer actually surprised me.  George went on to say that when he is interviewing for a leader at Blenz Coffee, he takes them out for lunch and simply watches the way they treat whoever is serving them because  that provides great insights in to how they will treat their colleagues and the customers they serve at Blenz. He also said that it is surprising how many people screw up the interview in the first five minutes by what they say before the ‘interview’ (or lunch) even begins.  I started to think of all the people that had not got the job at Blenz Coffee and had no idea why, especially when they thought the interview went well.  How many opportunities do you think you’ve missed in your life because you didn’t get the ‘smallest moment’ right?

A few years ago I was sharing with a colleague that I felt as though a meeting I was going in to was an interview because of the sheer importance of that meeting. He replied to me “Every meeting is an interview”. How true!

Whether it’s a casual lunch or a gala event, you never know what opportunity you can set yourself up for or screw up all together. Keep in mind that the biggest opportunities in life can often be disguised as the smallest moments!