"Good" Isn't Good Enough

For those of you who know a little about me, one of my all time favorite reads was the book by Jim Collins titled “Good to Great.” The book is recognized in almost every corner of the globe for its views on Leadership and it even displayed on pedestals in some companies "trophy"cases. The book has had that profound an effect on some! The content of the book certainly impacted me too. The book is essentially a description of research of some very successful companies and what commonalities they shared along the way from being a "good" company to becoming a "Great" company.

One particular aspect of the research that hit home with me and seemed to be the very building block was the “First Who, then What” concept. What does this mean?...a quote from the JimCollins.com web site describes it best…and I quote: “The main point of this concept is not just about assembling the right team—that’s nothing new. The main point is to first get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it. The second key point is the degree of sheer rigor needed with regard to people decisions in order to take a company from good to great.” Hmmm sounds like the ability to make decisions, even if they are difficult ones...doing what's right for the future of the Organization... It's not about doing what's popular, but more so about doing what is ...right.

It seems so simple, so basic, so…..common sense like, and yet it is quite obviously so utterly difficult that few ever achieve it fully. What makes this so difficult either to grasp or to implement? I tend to believe it all boils down to the commitment and belief of the individual. Are they willing to put the end result (goal) ahead of themselves…for the “good of the cause?” Are you willing to make unpopular decisions, even if they are the right ones to make? Most say they would…few actually demonstrate it. But, those that do demonstrate it (live it); can and do achieve something extraordinary. The essence of Good to Great…. If achieving greatness were easy…wouldn’t everyone be there by now?

The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant. (JimCollins.com)

Where are we on this trek? I would ask each of you to help with that answer…. Are we Great? What are you doing to help us reach upwards towards that end? Are you considering the Agency goals ahead of your personal ones? In your daily work, are you focused on the goal that will move Conservation forward? Do you belong on the Conservation bus…are you making every possible effort to move Conservation forward…are you thinking outside the box….are you challenging yourself to be an important part of this work….?

I believe in order for Conservation to continue to be successful, we all must do our part to help. No resting, waiting for others, hoping someone will tell us to do the right thing…we need thinkers, we need action people, we need to be proactive…..We need to move Conservation forward by providing technology value that is affordable, relevant, and adds value. We need to be helping add that value to Conservation. THOSE are the people who belong on this bus….

[If you’re interested this short mp3 provides an example of The Right People.]
TAFN