Excellence – Now!
August 12th, 2010by Bob Gibson
This year while on vacation I spent time with “The little BIG things—163 ways to pursue Excellence,” by Tom Peters. It’s a business “idea” book, with topics that are indexed for easy reference (NOTE: the one on customers should be read frequently by anyone trying to build a business).
I have to admit, I’ve been a long time fan, and 20+ years ago, somewhere between “In Search of Excellence” and “Thriving On Chaos” I had the chance to meet him in person.
This book reminded me why I love Tom Peters. He is wildly passionate about companies and individuals striving for excellence, and his style is overwhelming. You can hear his rants and his passion as you read. Trying to take everything in is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant—the ideas gush out fast and furious. It’s the same when you hear him speak.
So, in this book, his proposition in a nutshell, is…to pursue excellence, first go back to the basics to remember why you are doing what you are doing. Then, re-examine what it is about your work that is most important. Then, seek out the little BIG things that matter most and give those things your full and undivided attention.
For example, in an average day, there are things we do where “excellent” is not required. When I mow the grass, it isn’t important how I do it…just that I do it. But there are other things that demand a higher degree of care, attention, thought, and concern—excellence. How we treat the people we love. How we perform our jobs. How we serve our customers.
So anyway, here I am on vacation…and Tom (with all his fired up zeal) has got me thinking about business again—our business—the business of Innovation Realized.
Why are we doing what we do? As designers and communicators, we are committed to creating innovative solutions for our customers and end users, which will enhance their lives in meaningful ways and bring added value and enjoyment, above and beyond what is available to them today.
What is most important? That we create and deliver innovation that works—that meets or exceeds the goals set up by our clients—that creates value for the end user—that builds preference for our clients products and brands.
And what are the little BIG things that matter most?
I’m going to be looking at that very closely over the next few weeks. I will be seeking the counsel of my partners and our staff. But one thing I can tell you is that we have always considered Design Excellence and Extraordinary Customer Service as non-negotiable responsibilities of anyone in our firm. I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job, but have we Pursued Excellence?
To quote Tom: “If not EXCELLENCE, what? If not EXCELLENCE now, when?”
First let’s look at what makes brainstorming effective—“piggy backing” on someone else’s idea. Time and time again I have seen a participant propose a hopelessly uninspired idea (I’ll break with brainstorming etiquette and call that a “bad idea”); then a second participant sees something in the bad idea, proposes a brilliant follow up idea, and boom!, a “good idea” is born. Often the good idea has none of the family characteristics of the bad one, it’s just a distant cousin. But without the bad idea, the good one would not have emerged.
So, is this “innovation run amuck?” Has competitive one-upmanship got in the way of truly serving the consumer? Or more sinisterly…are these companies actually playing the game the consumers are starting to accuse them of?
