The Extraordinary Wizard Discussion

Yesterday, my partner, Roy Williams, wrote a memo – The Extraordinary People Myth – that’s been drawing quite a bit of interest from my client’s colleagues. What one of those colleagues took away and shared was:

“You can’t just advertise you have great people.”

True, but … well, read the memo, then come back and read what I emailed my client:

From: Tim Miles
Date: September 2, 2008 8:53:59 AM CDT
To: Shana Martin
Subject: Re: MondayMorningMemo from the Wizard of Ads for 9/1/2008

But … most people miss the important part of the memo … they get “we can’t advertise good service,” but they miss:

Properly enforced systems, methods, policies and procedures allow a company to get exceptional actions from ordinary people. If your business requires you to attract and retain extraordinary people, you’ve got a dangerous business model.

Systems, policies, and procedures work. They can also be advertised. “Always on time or you don’t pay a dime,” is worth advertising – even though its subtext is “we give great service.” It’s showing vs. telling.

And it’s still worth getting excellent employees – particularly when you go into people’s homes … but it’s your systems – background checks, drug tests, multiple interviews – ensure those good employees.

Hope those important points make sense. They’re worth remembering … and you’re welcome to share them with your pod if you wish. t

In the battle of strategy vs. copy, strategy always beats copy. Feel free to share and discuss.