A Passion for Details is Key to Company’s Success
by Dick Dyer, APR

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This is probably my most favorite quote. The simplicity that defines excellence can’t be better stated.

That being said, there are many elements that affect this simple statement. Try as I might, the habit of singing in the shower every day hasn’t improved my vocal skills one iota. Excellent vocalist will never be part of my accolades.

So Aristotle’s statement doesn’t really tell people how to get to excellence other than through habit. How does one know what to make into a habit? Several other authors have weighed in on the subject.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, the great basketball coach John Wooden, who led many UCLA teams to national championships, wrote: “When it came to perfecting details, I worked ‘feet first,’ from the ground up.

“Socks? During our first team meeting I personally showed players how to put them on correctly. Shoes? We didn’t ask players what size they wore. I insisted our trainer measure each student-athlete foot—right and left—to ensure that newly issued sneakers fit properly. I wanted no slippage. Shoestrings? I sat down and showed players how to lace and then tie their sneakers correctly to avoid having them come undone during practice or a game.”

So, even paying attention to minutiae seems to be important to success.

Mother Teresa believed, “There are no big things. Only little things done with love.” She added an element of passion to help dissect seemingly large problems. By adding that element, the large became manageable.

In his business advice book Good to Great, Jim Collins attempts to answer the question about why some companies make the leap to greatness and others don’t.

Collins describes an approach called the “Hedgehog Concept,” which comprises three circles based on specific questions.

The first circle requires the company (individual) to define what they are “deeply passionate about.” The second circle asks for an honest analysis of what the company (individual) can be “best in the world at.” The final circle requires an assessment of what “drives the economic engine.”

The answers when compared should lead to an intersection of the three circles (questions) and lead the company in a concrete direction of greatness. This analysis must include: good, practical economic analyses (can the company acutally make money with this concept?); a detailed look at whether the firm’s personnel have the skills to accomplish “greatness;” and whether the organization can be deeply passionate about what it is about to attempt.

Starting with every client relationship, the owners or leaders of a company should do something similar—write a situation analysis. What is a situation analysis? It is a detailed description of the company, a complete brain dump on what the company does, tries to do, and wants passionately to do. It asks what is known and what is needed in terms of additional research.

Once done, a reality check is applied by asking existing customers to react to specific questions based upon the situation analysis. This uses customer feedback to tell the company how it is perceived on the outside.

For example, let’s say a company believes strongly in corporate giving to the community but in talking to the customers, no one is aware that the company gives so much. The reality check might lead to a better community-relations campaign around corporate philanthropy. Put another way, success is bestowed upon us by our customers, clients, and personal relationships.

In order to succeed, experts seem to agree that an organization must make details, passion, and economic realities a habit. Excellence, then, will not be an act. Excellence will be a reality in the minds of those we most care about: our friends, clients, and customers.

Dick Dyer is nationally accredited in public relations and owns Dyer Associates in Winthrop, Maine. He can be reached at dyerapr@fairpoint.net.