Last week my city of St. Petersburg, Florida experienced the shocking loss of Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz and Sgt. Thomas Baitinger in the line of duty. As I passed through the miles-long funeral procession route on Friday, I witnessed hundreds of citizens of all ages, some proudly waving American flags, lining the roads to pay their respects. I could not help but feel a combination of deep sadness for the circumstances and inspired joy at the support shown through the actions of the men, women, and children of my community.

Sudden tragedies often bring out the best in us and seem to resonate as a call to action. It’s left me wondering what would happen if people took these kinds of actions more often without the tragedy having to be attached. How would companies be transformed if coworkers consistently paid this type of respect, typically reserved for the departed, to one another every day? How much better would customers be served, as a result? What impact would this better service, in turn, have on their customers? And their customers’ customers? And their customers’ customers’ customers…