Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional

Of course, becoming outstanding is easier said than done. Company-wide change takes time. But the good news is, this book focuses on what we, as individuals, can do to make a difference in our companies. The author says that we don't have to wait for the CEO to push us to do better. We can all make a difference in our own tiny corner of the corporation. All we have to do is get started.

Who should read Outstanding!? Well, this is the kind of book that all of us can learn from. Whether you're in upper management or just starting your first job, Outstanding! is full of ideas that will help you excel and really make a difference in your organization.

As the subtitle indicates, this book gives us forty-seven common-sense strategies for making our companies great. What are they? Well, we should start with what these strategies aren't.

In this book, the author has chosen to ignore the latest fads. There are no buzzwords, and nothing about the newest technology. We're not going to learn how to launch an outstanding new product, or devise a system that will instantly propel our organization to new heights.

The forty-seven ideas in this book are timeless philosophies that have been around for years. But many companies, in today's non-stop culture, have zoomed ahead and left these tried-and-tested strategies by the wayside.

Outstanding! is a book that offers a refreshing new look at these classic ideas, and gives them a personal twist. The author has devoted one short chapter to each concept, illustrated by real-life stories, making the book a really quick and interesting read.

It's also a surprisingly enjoyable read. The author's conversational writing style and gift for telling personal stories make the pages fly by. This book could have easily dissolved into a lengthy list of dry tips, but thanks to the compelling stories the author's included, the messages are driven home. They're full of heart, warmth, and wisdom. This is a book that you'll be able to pick up and put down with ease.

So, ready to start learning some strategies to make your company outstanding? Keep listening to find out why speaking in code in your organization is a bad idea; what classic hiring mistake your organization might be making; and why firing a customer might be the best thing you can do for your business.

The author says most outstanding organizations have humble leaders. And, he shares a great story to illustrate just how important being humble really is.

At one major health-care organization, there was an annual Cake Day, where everyone in the company got cake to celebrate all the year's birthdays and other milestones. In order to save money, the CIO decided to change cake vendors. Now, the CIO thought that going with a cheaper cake would be a minor affair. After all, would people really notice that the cakes would be less tasty than the more expensive ones he'd been buying? The CIO figured that the employees wouldn't care one way or the other.

But, he didn't realize just how important Cake Day was to the team.

He decided to write everyone in the company to let them know about this cost-cutting measure. The email was, by his own admission, poorly worded and insensitive. Suddenly, this minor change turned into a mini-crisis. How the CIO handled the employees helped make his organization outstanding. He responded with grace by apologizing. He wrote a heartfelt message to everyone, saying he shouldn't have made light of this change, and he owed everyone a sincere apology. He admitted he doesn't always choose the best words, but that everyone on the team meant the world to him.

It's rare that we allow ourselves to be truly humble. But, humility is what makes us more likable and approachable. It allows us to work well with others, and gives us an authenticity we might not have otherwise.

Here's another really refreshing idea: Don't speak in code.

What does that mean? Well, how often has someone at your organization described a problem as an 'opportunity'? Or described a round of layoffs as 'right-sizing'? These buzz words have inundated our corporate culture lately, and the author believes they're doing more harm than good.

It's tempting to put a soft face on unpleasant situations sometimes. But when we speak in code, we're not speaking plainly or truthfully. And, the trust our team and colleagues have in us is slowly eaten away, because we're not being authentic.

These code words don't really do much except make us look good. Worse, they don't describe the real situation. When we're not totally honest with people, it robs them of the chance to grow and step up to the plate.

We can help our organization become outstanding by speaking plainly and honestly with others.

Hiring character is another strategy we can use to help our organization become outstanding.

The author says many corporations make the following classic hiring mistake: They value book learning and academic qualifications over character.

What's ironic is that when it comes to firing people, it's almost always character that causes the layoff. During interviews, some companies look at a person's degree or schooling first, and then spend plenty of time on that person's qualifications. They don't spend much time, or dig as deep, looking into a person's character.

After all, most people aren't going to admit that they're lazy in a job interview. They're not going to tell their potential boss that they have a short fuse, or that they really don't work well with others.

These character traits are often well-hidden in the interview process. And yet it's precisely these traits that usually prompt a firing. Not someone's degree, or lack thereof. Which means many of these companies have it backwards.

Outstanding companies show real objectivity when it comes to hiring people. They don't chain themselves to policies and hiring rules. And, they sure don't hire people just because the candidate went to the same college as the CEO, or they're the relative of someone in upper management.

Outstanding companies hire people who have honesty, integrity, passion, and professionalism. When these people walk through the door, they're hired – degree or no degree. Choosing character over credentials is one of the smartest ways to create an outstanding organization.

The next story is one that most of us can relate to on some level.

The author recently took his malamute husky, called Bear, to his long-time vet, Doctor D. This vet had recently left his clinic to open a private practice. He'd only been open a month, and he needed all the clients he could get.

Doctor D ended up prescribing some expensive medicine for Bear, so when the author got home he searched online to see if, by chance, he could find it cheaper. Well, he did. Fifty percent cheaper.

So he called the clinic to see if he could return the medicine. He'd only been home a matter of hours, and the bottle was still sealed in plastic.

But the receptionist stonewalled him. She said they wouldn't take medicine back under any circumstances, because that was their policy.

The author was understandably riled. His goodwill towards Doctor D and the clinic suffered a major blow over this bottle of pills.

The point of the story is that many companies often choose their policies over the people they're trying to serve. Blind adherence to policy comes at a cost, and sometimes those costs are significant. When organizations can approach their customers and employees with common sense and open dialog, they'll get loyalty and trust in return.

As you can probably tell by now, most of these tips are matter of fact, and you've probably heard many of them before. But this book serves as a reminder why these simple philosophies are so important. Whether you work in a large multinational corporation or a small micro-business, these are the kind of ideas and best practices that are easy to implement, but can have lasting results.

Now, if you're like most people you've probably had to put together a piece of furniture at least once in your life. Often, it's a maddening task of color-coded pieces of wood, dozens of screws, and complex, poorly written instructions.

Well, the author had to do this one day for his wife, who'd bought a table for their living room. After hours of painstakingly putting the thing together, he discovered that the table had been boxed up with one wrong leg. Annoyed, he called the furniture store and asked if they'd kindly bring him the correct piece.

But the furniture store said no. They told him he needed to pack everything up and bring it all back. Once he did that, they'd give him a new table. Of course, this meant he'd have to undo all the work he just did, and start completely over from scratch.

Any of us in this situation would have been unhappy, to say the least.

But let's compare that story to this one. A friend of the author's bought a used Timex watch online. It was a fancy watch, with GPS and lots of other high-tech functions. A few months after he bought it, a crucial button came off the watch.

According to the Timex website, he needed to send in proof of purchase with the watch in order for them to fix it. Well, since he'd bought it used, he didn't have that, but he sent it in anyway.

A month later he gets the watch back, only Timex had sent him a brand new one. In the package was a note from the company. They apologized for not being able to fix his watch, and for not returning it to him in a timely fashion like their site promised. To compensate him for this inconvenience, they'd sent him a brand new model.

Obviously, the furniture store and the watch maker are two very different companies. But, both stories show how far each organization was willing to go to stand behind their merchandise. And the outcome? Well, the author isn't going to be shopping at that furniture store again, while Timex has another lifelong supporter.

We felt this was an enlightening comparison. Your company may or may not sell products, but it's selling something, even if it's knowledge or expertise. In today's economy, many companies have really tightened their return or refund policies in order to save money. Although this might save money here and there, this story reminds us of the larger implications of not standing behind what we offer our customers.

Now, we started this podcast off with the concept that customers fire companies. Well, we've all done it at some point. But, the author says that sometimes, companies need to fire their customers.

The world's largest coffee beverage chain had a customer who really needed to be fired. This man would visit several stores on a regular basis. He'd found a way to cheat the system and get extra espresso shots without paying for them. And not only that, he was argumentative and downright abusive to the staff.

One day the district manager got wind of what was going on. She sent an email to every store the man went to on a regular basis. She outlined what was happening, and provided a description of this man. She instructed each store to let this customer know that he was no longer welcome at their coffee shops.

We don't hear about it often, but sometimes companies do the right thing when they fire a customer. Rude, selfish, and mean customers devalue an organization's staff, lower morale, and cause more problems than they're worth.

The point here? The customer is not always right. Sometimes, firing a bad customer can make your staff see that you truly value them, and that you won't stand by while they're mistreated.

As you can see, Outstanding! is a book that's full of common sense. These are lessons that we know deep down in our heart, but have probably forgotten in the hustle and bustle of business.

Is there anything new and groundbreaking here? No. But Outstanding! succeeds because reading it forces us to slow down and remember these useful ideas. People have been doing business around these principles for hundreds of years. They'll never go out of style because at heart, these lessons are all about being personal, kind, and treating people how you – and they – would want to be treated.

Becoming outstanding isn't rocket science. It isn't something you need to have a meeting about, or work into next year's business plan. It starts with each and every one of us, taking small steps to be better people and better workers.

This is a book that you can open up anywhere and find an insightful lesson. Again, it's a quick read thanks to the author's friendly writing style, and we think readers will enjoy the quick pace. The information is good, the lessons solid, and the lack of buzz words is certainly refreshing.

Outstanding! 47 ways to make your organization exceptional, by John Miller, is published by Putnam Books.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights.