Set out to be the best

Six years ago I was hired by my company to create a new division. Work that was then being done by a number of external vendors would all be brought in-house. It meant recruiting employees, creating forms, designing software, outlining processes, mastering regulatory compliance, setting strategy, building a training program, defining our workplace culture, and so forth. The whole ball of wax.

I only had about ten employees to start with. Early on, I started telling everyone, "We're building the best operation in the industry, and not by a little but by a lot." It just sort of popped out of my mouth and I’ve been saying it ever since. Once I started saying it, of course, we had no choice but to make it true. I had painted us into a corner.

This turned out to have several good effects. First, of course, it was inspiring and energizing. It’s always exciting to strive for the top. It provides a sense of mission and commitment. Second, it turned out to be clarifying and, in a way, relaxing. We've never had to wonder what our quality standard is: at a minimum we have to do everything better than anyone else.

I recommend making this commitment with your staff. When you say, "We're building the best team in the department," or, "We're building the best company in the industry," you immediately put your organization in an elite class. Now you’re just competing with the few other managers who have decided they will be the best. The vast majority of managers simply don’t have the guts to make that commitment, so they're out of the running from day one.

If you're willing to go out on a limb and set this goal with your staff, you may make an interesting discovery: the other managers who are "competing" with you to be the best are as likely to become your friends as your enemies. After all, you have something rare and important in common: a true commitment to excellence. I’m aware of one other organization in my industry that appears to be operating at our level of quality. (In fact, they probably still have the edge on us, but we're the new kids on the block and we’re coming on strong!) I know the guy who runs it and we’re friends. We met each other a couple years ago at a conference. When I got home from the conference my wife asked how it was and I told her, "Mostly just the same old stuff, but I met this guy there who is really a standout." Recently his wife told my wife that she asked him the same question when he got home from that conference and he gave her the same answer about me. Everyone at that conference had essentially the same job title, but we spotted each other and recognized kindred spirits. It's a nice club to belong to. Wanna join? There's always room at the top!

Comments

[Napolean21]

This is so true! It's almost a relief to have that goal in mind. Otherwise you're left floundering for some (usually) undefined goal. My marching band teacher in high school followed the same philosophy. His slogan was, "We don't put no doo-doo on the street." It worked! We were the best band in the state.

[Reagan]

It sounds like your marching band teacher must have been a pretty special guy. He certainly knew two important principles of being a good manager: (1) Lead your people to be the best, and (2) Use short colorful mottoes to make your expectations part of the organization's culture.