Good Is the Enemy of GreatSample

Going the Extra Mile

Jim Collins opened his book Good to Great with the statement, ‘Good is the enemy of great’. He explained that when we have good schools, good businesses and good governments, we are prone to be satisfied with good quality.

Recently, I was at offsite training with a theme similar to ‘Good is the enemy of Great’. The trainer explained that the mentality of employees to deliver the required service to customers is not good enough, rather going the extra mile in customer satisfaction would make us a great bank.

Deborah could have been a good judge and prophet by just passing down judgements from God to the nation of Israel. When Barak wanted her to go with him to war, she went without hesitation. In her zeal to serve God and to demonstrate her trust in Him, she was not afraid to go down to the battlefield, a quality that made her a great heroine of faith.

As managers, are we just doing the bare minimum or are we willing to go the extra mile in order to achieve greatness? Paying attention to detail and consistently delivering great service to our clients should be our motto. Leading the teams from the front with such focus will enable us to stay great, with a superlative level of quality that is never compromised.

This is where our management skills and experience take precedence. How do we build such great teams with the proper customer focus in a top down approach? We should mentor, coach and train people just like Deborah mentored Barak. 

We need to focus on building great teams rather than good teams. Giving constructive feedback and paying attention to individuals with empathy will go a long way in building such great teams. Instilling team spirit is key to great teams. We win or lose as a team. That is the attitude of a great team. This is passed down by great managers. This makes that team an outstanding great team and not just a good team.

Dear Father, thank You for calling us as managers. Let us go the extra mile to ensure the success of our respective teams and also lead from the front trusting in You alone. Amen