I'm just sayin'

This may sound self serving. And maybe it will be. But that’s not my motive. As my daughter says, “I’m just sayin’, that’s all.”

For many months our company has been winning more than its fair share of all the contracts we have been competing for ("more than its fair share" is just a figure of speech, of course; I don't really feel bad about it).

We recently did a survey to ask clients, amongst other things, why they chose us. Mostly they said it's because we listen particularly well.

That’s nice. But I don’t really think that’s it. At least, not on the nose.

I think it’s the people.

We have very smart people. Nice people. People who listen. People who care. People who are articulate, professional, diverse, experienced. My colleagues have high integrity. And they know what they are doing.

I ask people all the time, “Are you happy here? What do you like most about your job?” And the most common thing I get back is: “I like the people.”

On a daily basis I read of our praises. Internally and externally. Clients send notes of thanks. Colleagues offer each other accolades.

Sometimes I read the work of certain people and I think to myself, “Gosh, is this person ever smart.” Or, “Holy Toledo, this person works hard.” Or, “This person is so acutely client centric, it blows me away.”

But does this explain our success rate? Lots of places have smart, hard working, good people.

Here’s my theory. There are four things: Smarts. Experience. Love. Integrity.

When those things are present in a community, special things happen. When they are brought to bear on client challenges and opportunities, genuine value is created.

I like that Oxford defines 'value' as: advantage or the possibility of advantage. The idea that our work opens such doors is quite alluring.

True, the "love" reference, for corporate purposes, usually needs to be translated into "the desire to serve" or "stewardship", but, well, "I'm just sayin'".