Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Jumpstart World Class Performance



“Perfection is unattainable, but if we chase it, we can catch excellence.”

Vince Lombardi

I’ve Been Thinking . . . about World Class performance.

World Class. . . to be one of the best in world. 

World Class performance is a mindset. . .  an attitude. . .  a lifestyle. . . an allergic opposition to mediocrity.  Good enough never is.

World  Class strives for perfection – excellence will be tolerated.  World Class is a day-to-day commitment to continually create repeated memorable exceptional experiences.  Exceptional, World Class customer experiences are the result of flawlessly executing a meticulous service mentality.

A fundamental question for your team is this:  "What would happen if we didn't provide the excellent service we provide?  Would we be missed?  Would others easily take our place?  Are we irreplaceable?  Would people wonder what to do without us?” 

If you’re not memorable, you’re replaceable!

World Class Performance Strategies to make you memorable:

It's not the work we do but HOW we do the work that creates a World Class "WOW" experience.

Keep in mind that extraordinary becomes ordinary when the extraordinary becomes the ordinary way of doing things.  What’s marvelous today becomes ordinary tomorrow.  So, how do we create a “WOW” factor in everything we do?

Steve Martin was once asked, “How can I become as well-known as you are as a comedian?”

Martin responded:  “Become so good at what you do that people cannot ignore you.”  That is how you create a continual ‘WOW’ experience.  Others may do what you do but how can you do it in a way no one else is doing it?

The musical group Bananarama sings a song entitled, It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It.

Here are the lyrics:  “It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it.  It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it.  It ain’t what you do but the way that you do it.  And that’s what gets results.” 

You get the message.  Be the only one who can do what you do the way you do it.

How and who will you create a ‘WOW’ today doing what you do the way you do it?

It’s not what you think.  It’s not what you think they think.  It’s what they think that matters.

Being a World Class organization is more about perception than procedure.

It’s not about what you think is important to do or give, it’s about what the people we serve want to receive or experience that really matters.  If customers don’t want it, even though you want to give it, exceptional service doesn’t occur. . .  in the customer’s eyes. 

When people remember little, about the service they receive, they are generally satisfied.  Loyalty, fabulous satisfaction, delight is generated by doing memorable things people don’t expect. . . but is exceptional in their eyes.  World Class is all about being consistently exceptional in everything you do.

How?  Treat others the way they don’t even know they want to be treated by anticipating and exceeding their expectations.  Tough task.  Fabulous outcomes!

Fix problems, embrace challenges and originate ways to delight, surprise, and bring pleasure to the customer.  Personalize the experience and make every moment of interaction memorable.

Nothing changes in life without changing two things:  the way we think and the way we act.

The first step to becoming World Class is to immediately stop allowing good enough, mediocre or fair to be acceptable.

If you want to be extraordinary, stop being ordinary. . .
If you want to be uncommon, quit being common. . .
If you want to be remarkable, quit being predicable. . .
If you want to be World Class, quit being normal.

It is common knowledge that the longer you’ve been doing what you’re doing, the harder it is to change the way you think about what you do.  Why is this so important?  Because, what got us where we are won’t get us where we want to go. . . unless we are satisfied with just being who we’ve always been.

It is this simple:   If you want to live at a higher level, you need to think at a higher level.  Think about this --- what is an unthinkable thing to do right now in your job but if you were to do it, the quality of what you do would certainly be positively impacted?

Thinking about excellence will stimulate excellence.  Focusing on exceptional will arouse exceptional.  Acting World Class will generate World Class.

The more you think it, the more you say it, the more you do it --- the greater chance World Class has to happen.

Do not tolerate anything less than consistent excellence.

IBM founder, Thomas Watson observed:  “If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today.  As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.”

Remember, what got us where we are won’t get us where we want to go.  It takes a little bit more. . . every day.  Nothing less than excellence will do.

Be ready to serve today in a way that exceeds yesterday’s performance.  Make every first impression impressive and every last contact unforgettable.  Ask:  “Is there anything I can do for you?” – with a sincere serving spirit.

To be an exceptional organization, do things so well that every contact is memorable.  When the minimum expectation is to exceed expectations, you’ll begin to touch World Class.

Challenge people (and yourself) to generate innovative ways to exceed expectations and shatter the acceptance of doing what we always do because that’s what we’ve always done.

Continually focus on surpassing what normal organizations do.  Be original.  Create a ‘WOW’ factor in everything you do.  Declare excellence. . . and deliver.

“You don’t want to be considered the ‘best of the best.’  You want to be considered the only one who can do what you do.”

Jerry Garcia
Musician/Philosopher

Friday, March 8, 2013

Like A Fish Out Of Water


“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

John Maxwell

I’ve been thinking. . . about something rather silly lately.  How does a fish know it is wet?  The fish spends all its life in water and knows no other condition--it knows no other alternative.

Like fish, we tend to be drawn toward what we’ve always experienced.  It’s called the “comfort zone.”  Once caught in its snares, the zone inhibits our ability to break free from the restrictive parables of the past that limit us from achieving increased fulfillment and satisfaction in our lives.

The comfort zone involves those feelings, experiences, and thoughts you feel comfortable with.  Whenever you consider thinking or acting contrary to this internal monitor, a distress signal sounds warning you to pull back into your comfort zone.  This natural impulse grows stronger as life becomes more complicated.

Comfort zone paralysis can eventually weaken and destroy the human spirit.  Apathy sets in.  Energy wilts.  Nothing changes.  Nothing is gained.

There is a story of two caterpillars crawling across the grass.  When a beautiful butterfly flies over, one caterpillar nudges the other and comments, “You couldn’t get me up in one of those things for a million dollars.”

The caterpillar didn’t understand the excitement of being transformed.  Life enrichment, idea development, personal growth, and professional advancement all require movement beyond the habitual way of doing things.

“If you want to succeed,” said John D. Rockefeller Jr., “you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”  To experience a brighter future void of comfort zone mentality, saturate your mind and life today with these fundamentals.

1.  Commit yourself to newness.

J.C. Penney passionately declared:  “No man need live a minute longer as he is because the creator endowed him with the ability to change himself.”

What a liberating thought!

Make a commitment to new skills, new feelings, new discoveries, new insights, a new way of looking at life.  What you wholeheartedly commit yourself to will change what you are and what you experience.  Committed people accept no excuses and produce the results they want.

Here’s the payoff.  The more committed you are to something, the less difficult it will ultimately appear.  Obstacles, hurdles, and setbacks become temporary inconveniences or even potential opportunities to be pursued.

2.  Stop doing what you are doing.

Stop doing anything you are presently doing that is not enriching your life.  Why?  Max DePree advised, “We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”  Remember, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you’re getting. . . maybe.

Sometimes, the most difficult step toward growth is simply stopping what isn’t working or getting in your way.  It’s difficult to exit the ruts that have provided comfort and security.  Routines that inhibit fullness of life will need corrective measures. 

Stop being negative.  Stop criticizing others.  Stop complaining about your work, spouse, other people or life in general.  Stop blaming others or circumstances.  Stop giving others control of your life.  Stop settling for mediocrity. 

These “stops” will give you the green light to “go” after something new.

3.  Take a risk.

Tremendous opportunities await you.  But first, you must overcome the fear of stepping into the unknown.  Fear is the greatest single obstacle to success and imprisons people from possibilities.

The fear of letting go of what we have in pursuit of something more can be paralyzing.  But without risk, the achievement of even the greatest endeavor will seem dull and routine.  “There is nothing in this world that’s worth doing,” wrote Barbara Sher, “that isn’t going to scare you.”

The next time you are confronted with the choices of challenge or comfort, risk the former and explore new territories.  Plan to live without unnecessary limitations.  Live with and enjoy uncertainties.  Invest the time and effort needed to excel beyond mediocrity.  Play the game of life...the whole game.  And play it with an agenda of uncompromised excellence.

4. Master the magic of momentum.

“It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place,” advised Lewis Carroll.  “If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast.”

Realizing how quickly the future becomes the past, the present takes on a whole new urgency.  There are multitudes of people who crave the best now but few are willing to do what they know needs to be done.  What you do in the “here and now” will make a considerable difference in your future.

Make your move now by creating momentum through action.  Please understand--you don’t prepare to exit the comfort zone.  You take a giant leap and work out the details later.  Waiting to get everything “just right” will stymie action.

It’s possible to spend an eternity getting ready for something without ever taking the necessary action to achieve it.  Preparation can become a stall tactic.  Trust your instincts and go for it.  You may initially feel like a fish out of water but it’s healthy to do something everyday outside your comfort zone.

I love the story of the music instructor who asked a young student, “Can you play the Saxophone?”

“I don’t know,” she replied.  “I haven’t tried yet.”

A life filled with meaningful activity and the pursuit of compelling dreams insures the maintenance of momentum.  You have to move out into the wide expanse of life and investigate what’s out there. 

Seize the opportunity to take the seemingly insignificant steps to innovate, cultivate and create fresh prospects on the canvas of each new day.

“I worry that our lives are like soap operas.  We can go for months and not tune in to them, then six months later we look in and the same stuff is still going on.”

Jane Wagner