I’m a competitive guy … I want to win. On a day-to-day basis, I want my clients to experience “wins” … large or small. A successful marketing campaign with a significant impact on the bottom line? Sure, that’s an obvious and gratifying “win.” But so is an uptick in daily web traffic. Or a well-executed print campaign. Or a shift in the perception of a key audience group. And all of these “wins” for our clients give me a little thrill. And make me want more.
Excellence means, to me, thinking through all the stages of a project and ensuring that all efforts are focused on achieving the best results on time and on budget. It also means being quiet enough to listen to others, both our clients and on our team, to ensure that the best ideas and not just the first, or easiest, ideas are being implemented.
For me, integrity means being real with my clients and colleagues – candidly sharing my analysis of a situation, listening to their views and ideas with attention and respect, and not being afraid to say “I don’t know.”
To me, excellence is doing the best that I can, whenever I can, so that we are able to deliver great value for our clients. What’s even better? Providing more than they ever expected.
I think integrity is about trust. It is about establishing a sense of confidence that I will always be honorable in my dealings with others.
Success for us is making our client’s job easier. We, too, want to be successful, but we put our client’s success ahead of our own. We use data and analytics to help determine the success of our efforts for our client. If the data doesn’t match our goals, we can make adjustments to help our clients be successful. Success happens over time, so while others might think a project is done when it goes out the door, we establish relationships with our clients that allow us to see the success over time.
Whether you prefer the phrase “God is in the details” or “the devil is in the details,” the point remains: small things matter. Rules that aren’t aligned properly or poor line breaks make a page look sloppy. Typos and inconsistencies can distract your audience from your message. Attention to detail is what makes our work a cut above the rest.
Honesty above all – it’s the only way we do business. And, to tell you the truth, it’s not really all that difficult when it’s the only option available. At the end of the day I leave the office feeling good and knowing that I’ve achieved transparency in all instances.
Whatever Worth Doing … The Essence of Excellence
Whatever worth doing is worth doing well. I don’t know who first uttered this phrase – probably someone’s wise grandmother or grandfather – but what could possibly capture the value of excellence better? Everything we do, we should do to the best of our ability.
Our work is often done behind the scenes, and success can be difficult to measure. Yet, our clients know when we’ve helped them reach their goals. They tell us so. And when they’re successful, we share in it – behind the scenes.
