We have a guest who uses one of our meeting rooms occasionally to work on his Ph.D thesis. Seems it helps him think a bit more creatively. The past few days he was here working and thinking very hard on all of his super-smart Ph.D stuff. On a break from his work, he asked one of our staff members if they would act as a sounding board for a few minutes.

Not knowing how long it might take, the first time we eagerly said "sure!" Well, the first time it took an hour. That's a long time to give up, but we were happy to do it because he really seemed to need the help.

The next day he approached me for some similar assistance. As the founder and chief imagination officer of our business, I enjoy brainstorming as much as anybody. I'm also very protective of my time. I said I would help him, but I did have some hesitation. You see, I was labeling my files for 2009 and I really wanted to finish the project. As he walked away, Sutton, one of our team members called me on my hesitation and simply said the word, "SHIFT."

So I did. I shifted my focus from my rather non-important task (even though I was pretending it was important) to wholeheartedly helping our guest, even though I knew it might take up a decent chunck of time.

Why this is our favorite spark today:
This spark required a very proactive mental shift in order to successfully serve the customer. He needed help, we provided it, even if it wasn't convenient for us. Also, the fact that our team members are holding each other (and me) accountable for delivering on our 100 SPARKS promise shows that this project is having a powerful impact on our company.