It doesn't matter how large an organization is. Any individual can still make a difference. But it's up to each individual to choose to do his or her job in an extraordinary way, either because of, or in spite of, circumstances.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

Fred understood this. He is proof that there are no insignificant or ordinary jobs when they're performed by significant and extraordinary people.

As an employer, you have several choices. You can choose to:

• Hinder or encourage exceptional performance
• Train employees to be exceptional
• Adequately recognize and reward individual achievement
• Encourage an environment that promotes Fred-like behavior

As an employer, you know that there are no unimportant jobs because you know there are no unimportant people. The challenge for all of us is to recognize the importance of what each person in our organization does...to see the impact their actions make on others...and to help those people see the true value (and importance) of what they do.

Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional. The only question at the end of the day that matters is, "What kind of difference did you make?"