The good and the great

When the tiles in our bathroom started to fall off, we were not too pleased. When water from the bathroom started leaking into the kitchen ceiling below, we were further disappointed. However, when water came spouting out the kitchen light fittings during a storm, I started to think a more meaningful intervention was necessary.

The problem was, getting the bathroom renovated was not in the budget. For quite a while I maintained the pretence that I would project manage the renovation myself, but eventually the task was justly but ruthlessly taken from me by my exasperated wife and delivered to a bathroom renovation company.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the following words came willingly from my mouth as the final touches were being completed to our fully renovated bathroom: “thanks so much Phil, we are very happy with the result and we will happily act as referee for you”. I reflected on it then, and reflect on it now, as it was an uncommonly good experience.

The expected attributes of success were certainly there; all the trades people that came on site were pleasant and performed high quality work. Communication was good and people turned up when they said they would. Where there was complexity in the work, such as the intricate tiling pattern, they put extra time in to lay it all out in our garage and make sure it would work in practice. We could tell they cared about the outcome.

As professional as the people were however, they were not the difference between the good and the great. What we saw was that this firm had made a significant investment in process, and that it served all stakeholders in the project. For us, as the client, the initial comfort was in the clarity around the scope of work and what we needed to do and by when. When it became evident that a variation or two in the planned work would enhance the outcome, they readily adapted to it, without missing a beat.

For the tradies, they had certainty as to when it was their turn on site and they arrived to a workplace that had been thoroughly cleaned the night before and where all necessary materials and fittings were waiting for them. All the design drawings and decisions were displayed on the walls of an adjoining room, so if any of the trades was unsure about a detail, the information was readily to hand.

So was it a case of: Good people + a plan + coordination = good result? No. I think that misses the “more than the sum of the parts” effect. I think the equation is more like: Good people + a plan + coordination + vision + values + introspection + repetition = process; process + more repetition/introspection = culture; and that results in excellent and continuously improving results.

My contention here is that good plans and coordination can still live in one or two outstanding team members and can equally leave the organisation with them. Whereas a proper process is documented, reviewed and enhanced in an ongoing cycle that drives both continuous improvement and adaption to changing circumstances. Crucially, when written down and repeated, it becomes an intellectual property asset of the firm, and it drives a culture that can and will survive the loss of key people. Good culture ultimately lives in everybody in the firm and embodies the cumulative experience and wisdom of all that have contributed to “the way we do things here”.

Can the small financial services business I co-founded learn something from a bathroom renovation company? Absolutely! Can focussing on our processes, informed by strong values and honest introspection, help us to drive outstanding culture and client outcomes? I think it can.