Setting a Standard of Excellence for Ourselves

All through this book I have drilled that Producers produce new and unique products and services from the raw materials available to them. Paraducers do not. Consumers buy what they need from Producers.

That’s not the only difference between the groups, though, and we need to cover the big one that will allow Producers to surge ahead of Paraducers in the coming years. That difference is excellence.

Consumers, Paraducers, and Producers all have the opportunity to be good at what they do, and many people are. Consumers have day jobs and most are quite conscientious about their work, putting out a decent effort for their pay. Paraducers do a decent job as well, in the main, but where there is institutionalized mediocrity, they are at its core.

We have already discussed labor unions, and the Paraducerism they foster. What results are average products for above average prices in the marketplace. Teacher unions have the same problem, only sloppy work there damages America for about seventy five years per failing student.

Look at the mediocrity you encounter daily. Increasing taxes and decreasing services. Roads in disrepair. Products that don’t work as advertised. Poor health care. Over billing for medical services. Bad management from our employers. Customer support people who don’t speak our language. Automobile repairs costing a hundreds of dollars for the simplest problem.

Add your peeves to this list. At the root of each of these failings is a Paraducer system that is not interested in the quality of its product, only how much money they can soak out of each customer. Government excels at nothing. Huge companies populated by Paraducers write advertising copy to gain the largest sales, regardless the features or safety of the product. Profit is made at the expense of customer service, and “billing errors” are acceptable, as long as the customer does not notice.

Sad it is, but half the world is below average, and it seems that many of those people are running our government and industry.

When I went into business for myself years ago, I pushed myself to provide no-excuse solutions to the problems I created in my work. My customers should not have to suffer because they are my customers! As a result, I stuck to jobs I could have walked away from because it was the right thing to do.

What happened? My customers kept calling back. In fact, I have received some unexpected bonuses. I’m not too bad looking (well, the face and body could use some work), and I have a sense of humor (if you like one-liners from the movie Airplane), but I don’t think that’s the reason they like me. They call back because I bust my rear for them and others don’t.

They tell me of other engineers they have hired and what they have done, the poor work and difficult personalities. I’m no world savior, but I do accept responsibility for my problems. They stick with me because of the mediocrity of other Producers.

I say all this to help you see that you can distinguish yourself in this world by simply doing a good job. Yes, it’s that simple. You do not have to earn an MBA, or have a PhD, or CPA, or whatever, just do a good job and be honest with your customer (who might be your employer).

Set a standard of excellence in all you do, whether on the job or off. If you mow your lawn with an attention to detail, that might just spill over into your work! If you persevere until you finish that job your boss has been nagging you about, and do it well, that might just benefit your marriage and its difficulties. If you strive to make your friendships strong, that will help you befriend your children, a notoriously difficult problem.

And don’t start any project that you would do halfway.

I have conducted some college freshman seminars to help new students know what to expect and help them learn how to get good grades. (Executive summary: Work hard.) During one of these seminars, I asked three students what minimum grade they would settle for in a course entitled “Egypt: A Short History of North African Appliance Servicing.” After the expected groans, the first young lady said she would take a B. The next fellow would accept a C. The last fellow said D.

I jumped at each one of them and said with a bit too much zeal, “You will get a B, you will get a C, and YOU will get a D, or worse!”

They sat up straight and looked at me a little shocked. Why did I tell them this? When you set a minimum standard, you generally meet it. If you say to yourself, “I’m not getting that promotion anyway, why should I work the weekend on that report; I’ll just throw some figures together for a Power Point presentation on Monday,” well, you are definitely not going to get that promotion. Not this time, and not next year.

The world of Paraducers encourages us to be average, not to excel, not to rock the boat. For us Producers to upset the balance of power, we have to excel, not at just one thing, but at everything we do.

If you are asked by your boss to perform some skill you do not know, learn it! Does the boss want you to give a presentation before upper management? Scared to death? Get it done. Find a training video, or take a class at the community college, or join a Toastmasters club. Practice on your family or cell group.

Need to learn how to use a certain computer program? Buy a tutorial book with CD. Or just spend next weekend with a flagon of juice, bag of carrots, and your computer, hacking through the manual. (The juice will get you out of the chair on a regular basis.) Excellence takes tenacity.

Beyond a certain level, that being eighth grade, the world does not care one little bit about your progress. As long as you can operate a shovel or move boxes in a warehouse (or prison), you have qualified as a working Consumer and the Paraducers are happy. Every inch of progress you make beyond that level is up to you.

Strive for excellence in all you do. Don’t just perform excellently, be an excellent person. When you fail, let that drive you to future excellence. Make your parents proud, not just of what title you have earned, but what you can do with your brain and hands, and the person you have become.

The Producer Personality

Not that I’m trying to change you, but what kind of personality should you aim for as a Producer? How you interact with the world determines your success in life. I have known difficult, sour Producers who were not successful because of it. Let me give you some suggestions:

A Get-The-Job-Done-Right Attitude. Sloppy work is a career killer. If your attitude is non-compromising regarding doing things right, that will infect the rest of the Producers around you and earn you respect. Paraducers even like that attitude! You have to be careful not to bowl over other people with this attitude, but if they see you focused and fixed on the goal, they will follow along.

100% Completion Rate, No Quitters Allowed. Don't stop until the job is done and your product or service is solid. The only part of the race your customer or employer will remember is the part where you either cross the finish line, or cramp and fall in the final stretch. Even if you finish, you may lose due to forces beyond your control. If you don't finish, you certainly lose. Cross the line at full steam.

Doing Quality Work. The Golden Rule functions in work as it does in kindergarten. If you would not buy what you are Producing, why should your customer?

Honesty, Fairness. An honest person does not like to work with a dishonest Producer, no matter how smart. The curious thing is that neither does a dishonest person!

Willingness to Take the Blame for Your Mistakes. Nothing disarms your detractors like standing up and taking the blame for your mistakes, and then fixing the problem.