Do Your Best!
I recently had 2 mail-order experiences. I ordered something for my office online, and when it arrived, the item was thrown into a large box, it had been broken during shipping, and when I picked up the box, it was falling apart because it had been damaged. The item had to be returned, and I had to purchase a new box to return it in. I wasn't happy with the experience.
I then ordered something else online, and had an incredible experience. The item I purchased was an Apple Watch, so I knew the experience would be better because of their reputation. When I got the box to my office to open, I was impressed with the quality of the packing, the packaging, the branding. Everything was made of good quality materials. The watch inside had been protected completely. There were instructions in multiple languages, stickers, padding paper, boxes in boxes. Maybe even a little overdone, but by the time I got to the watch inside I had had such a great experience, I knew the watch was a great purchase!
Completely different experience.
Apple could have cut corners and saved costs by providing less quality packaging, but they're selling a brand and the brand is "quality" and that crossed over to every aspect of the purchase experience.
In Colossians, there's a passage that talks about this. In chapter 3 verse 23 it says, "... and don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best!" (MSG)
As I think about my shopping experience and I read the full passage in Colossians, I'm forced to ask myself if I'm really doing my best, or if I'm doing just enough to get by.
When I have encounters with people, projects and organizations, I want others to say something like, "I love working with Russ because he pays attention to the details and he does his best work.". Don't you want that?
Instead, we're usually running so fast and so hard, we take for granted that those around us don't expect much of us because we're so busy, so we repeatedly cut corners over and over again.
When we talk about leadership, here are some things I want to challenge you to consider:
#1) When you plan a meeting, are you putting your best planning, your best thoughts, your best efforts into making that meeting purposeful, valuable, helpful, engaging, entertaining, challenging and important? Or do you assume that the others HAVE to attend, so you don't have to work so hard preparing it. DO YOUR BEST!
#2) When you respond to someone via email or message, do you read the entire message and then think about what you want to so, or do you just fire off the first thing that pops in your mind? Take a minute and re-read your note. Stop and think through the question or the decision. Then respond AFTER you have taken just a little bit of time to give your BEST answer or reply.
#3) When someone asks for your help, are you generous with your time, your energy and your experience, or do you rush people in and out of your presence quickly? Take some time to really engage with someone, to give them VALUE.
#4) When you're doing a project, completing a body of work or preparing for a presentation, do you take the time to put your best ideas and work into it or are you looking for the easiest solution that impacts your life the least? Do you realize that people might have an opportunity to hear from you that never will again. Are you giving them some old material or ideas that you've talked about and presented for years or are you providing fresh insights and new thought that you have studied and worked on deeply? Don't WASTE peoples time.
Are you doing your best?
Do others appreciate the work you're putting into the things you're doing?
Don't settle for mediocrity. Strive for excellence!
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