Duck by design

The evening had that heavy, humid feel we get after weeks of rain here in Middle Tennessee. But the sky finally cleared, so after dinner and dishes, Susan and I laced up for a walk — the kind where you're not really going anywhere, just moving and talking through the day.

Across the street, a park held a flock of ducks. Twenty or so, all the same muddy brown. And then one white one, standing right in the middle of them. It stood out so clearly that we changed our route just to get a closer look.

That closer look revealed such curiosity, that I did some research to see what kind of duck it was and why it was hanging with a breed of a different kind. Turns out that the brown ducks were almost certainly American Black Ducks — common, flock-loving, forgettable at a glance. The white one, however, was a Pekin, a domestic breed. Somewhere along the way it liberated itself and found this flock, and just decided to hang out. Same habits, same water, same route around the park. But you'd never miss it in a crowd.

Twenty adorable dark brown ducks and one white one....... and it was the only thing either of us paid attention to.

"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people." (1 Peter 2:9) 

Peter is writing to believers scattered across the ancient world to remind them not to blend in. To be "chosen", marked, set apart.... different.

That's the whole game, isn't it. You get noticed by being remarkable, not by blending in with the flock.

In sales, that's the loan officer who calls the referral partner back in minutes, consistently shows up to share expertise not just doughnuts and gets deals done, every time, until it's just known that's who they are. In operations, it's the processor who catches the issue three weeks before closing instead of three days, and makes people feel like they care because they built a habit most people don’t. In life, it's showing up to the funeral, the hospital room, the kid's mediocre recital — the moments where "present" is rare enough to be remarkable.

None of that requires being the loudest duck in the pond. It just requires being consistently, visibly different in the direction of excellence. Opportunity starts with being noticed. Repeat business starts with a remarkable moment somebody can't stop talking about.

And here's the other thing about ducks — the reason they can swim through anything and come out dry. Their feathers are built so water can't soak in; it just beads up and rolls off. When you're out there being the different one, some of what comes back at you won't be kind. Somebody will resent that you stand out. A deal will fall through. A storm will roll in and drive people away. Let it roll off. Keep swimming. Keep being the duck that gets noticed for the right reasons.

Where in your work or your life right now are you blending in with the flock when you could be standing out?

Pick one place today — a call, a file, a conversation — where you can be remarkable instead of routine. Where can you share the truth and love of God, instead of the apathy of the world? To bring about his marvelous light in a noticeable way? Where can you show up that nobody else is? Do that one thing differently, on purpose. Be a remarkable duck by design.