Our Finest Hour - Pursuit of Excellence

An action packed recruiting commercial in the 1980’s concluded with the statement, “we do more before 9am, than most people do all day”. Groans can be heard from the non-morning crowd at this moment, but regardless of our AM/PM preferences, all of us have a prime-time when we do our best work.

In the marketplace, it’s our “best work” that keeps us relevant and avoids us becoming a “for granted” commodity.

Henry Ford said “Thinking is the hardest work there is.”  If that was true on a factory assembly line, that’s certainly true in today’s information intensive, knowledge based jobs.

But how, but when?

With phones buzzing, ringing, alerting, and all the demands of life, we can feel like we’re on a task treadmill with little focus beyond the next step which keeps us from being propelled off the end of the belt. All of our great tech is helping us manage information, tasks, and schedules better than ever however quality, creativity, accuracy, and thoughtful problem solving necessitates an “I do more before” timeslot every day.

Idea Tracking Tip: I keep a quick access document on my phone (variety of Apps available) for my go-to short-term memory catch basin. Ideas, inspiration, memory nudges plus things I hear or read during the day. This document syncs with my computer so I can quickly bring it up and follow-through the next day.

Jason Caldwell
Twitter: @ci2group
Website: www.ci2group.com

Secret Ingredient To Excellent Solutions

At a recent NHL game, a controversial 'no goal' call sent the home town crowd into turmoil but the undeterred referee stood his ground and was validated by the video replay. When dealing with our own customers, I think we all wish that controversial calls or tough decisions could be "sent upstairs" for analysis by countless camera angles and the righteous might of an unseen authority.

Unfortunately, that’s the world of professional sports, not real life.

Excellence in the solutions and decisions that professionals make every day in every industry is a blend of four critical factors.

Facts + Analysis + Professional Experience + Conviction = Excellent Solution

If any of these 4 factors are undermined in any way, the quality of the solution could be at risk too. Whether we're in health care, engineering, design, accounting, or any type of professional service we need to make sure we have our facts straight, do our homework well, and bring all of the industry experience we can muster to the situation.

But what about conviction? What is our gut telling us? What are the ‘best’ options and why? and with what persuasion will this be communicated?

Sometimes we have perceptions about what we are expected to say or specifically what the customer wants to hear and this could very well be spot-on. We've all heard that the customer 'is always right' - and we tread on perilous ground if we're not listening. However we have our separate roles for a reason... customers have needs, professionals recommend solutions.

The standard of excellence is so often missed in our world not because of missing facts, weak analysis, and lack of experience, but because of missing conviction. Conviction can put us out on a limb, and persuasion can be very hard work, but there is no doubt that conviction is the secret ingredient to excellent solutions which is ultimately what everyone is hoping for.

Thoughts on Excellence by Jason Caldwell / Ci2 Founder
Twitter: @ci2group
Website: www.ci2group.com