Mind-set #3 basically says ‘things get better when I do’. My extended team holds this mind-set in spades. It allows us to really focus on the work—even when things go side-ways. Allow me to illustrate.
Many of you know that we’ve been developing artwork in conjunction with the mind-sets that, once framed, clients can hang in their conference room, offices and the like. Without getting into the weeds, the customized images are developed in Vermont, printed in California, and framed in the mid-west. (Yes, we know there are more efficient production methods than the one we’re currently using. We do it this way to ensure quality control.)
Ron, my printing guy, calls me on Monday evening indicating that our latest print run looked odd—the artwork had a prominent red tinge throughout it. I went to see for myself and, sure enough, something was clearly wrong.
After about thirty minutes of diagnosing the problem, we eliminated every possible mechanical source associated with the printing mechanism. From that, I concluded the problem was likely the files we were given. I told Ron I’d contact the Vermont ‘file’ guys the next morning. Ron, who was already perturbed by the situation, reluctantly agreed.
As I was departing, Ron says, ‘wait a minute’. He continued, ‘you know maybe changing the paper option would make a difference’. Ron went into the software, tinkered with some settings (none of which I understood)…and, viola, ultimately produced some stellar prints. Problem solved.
Ron is a perfectionist. His focus the entire time was on things that he might have done improperly that contributed to the problem. Never once did he do the easy thing—namely point an accusing finger to the Vermont guys who produced the files. In other words, he believed that he must look inward first to see what his contribution to the problem might be. Ron epitomizes mind-set three.
Turns out, Ron had done nothing wrong. Rather, a quirk in the programming software proved to be the culprit. Yet, Ron’s approach saved all of us a lot of time and unnecessary aggravation. Boy, isn’t it great working with people like that?