Company Blog

When “My Best” Isn’t

by Adam Zack — October 4, 2016

We are fully invested and part of the success.

I was working on a project a couple days ago and finished it with what I considered OK results. Not great. Not awesome. More like so-so. Fair. Acceptable. I thought “Well, I did my best.” And I thought that most of the time when people say that they really didn’t do their best. “I did my best” is more of an excuse than it is a statement of effort. I didn’t do my best. Not even close. My best requires deep thought and concentration. It requires hard work to achieve high standards. It can’t be done with distractions while multi-tasking. My best is something I am proud of and want to show off. I lowered the bar, then claimed it as my best. So what does doing your best really mean, and is it something that should be done in every task? That is surely a lofty goal – giving every single task you do your true best effort. While mundane tasks like washing the car, taking out the trash and shampooing the cat might pass muster without delivering your best, any interactions with your customers and your employees do deserve the best that you can do. Every time. When we complete a project for a customer and can honestly declare that it is the best work we could have done, then we have given 100% commitment. We are fully invested and part of the success. Our employees know when we do our best. They watch and listen and know when a half-hearted effort or lack of follow through is far from our best. Our best makes them want to give their best. Our customers deserve our best effort and so do our employees. And face it, we also owe it to ourselves to give our best every day.