02/23/2018

Greeting MTAS,

This Mustard is delayed in delivery this week, and the delay is intentional. I spent two days this week in Franklin at the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) conference. Some folks might associate this with the Baldrige. Here’s the connection, TNCPE’s program is a modified version of the Malcom Baldrige national quality award.

One of the quotes I heard/read this week was from Vince Lombardi: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Another quote I heard often was from Jim Collins “Good is the enemy of great.” If were are satisfied with being good, then we’ll never go after great. I’m not satisfied with good.

I also studied root cause analysis this week. I learned more about my role in leadership as a part of this. The big reveal – the buck stops here, with me.

Further, you attend at least 32 hours of professional development each year. If you’re like me, you leave a conference full of vim and vigor, excited about the possibilities. Then you travel home, back to reality, and then slip into your old ways. So, here’s my challenge to you: Please find a program agenda or your notes from your last professional development opportunity and find ONE thing that you learned that you’ll do differently today, or tomorrow, or next week if you’re not near your office. One thing – that’s it. Try it and see how it works. One of my mottos is “It is not a mistake if you learn from it.” So, go for it, and see where it takes you. If you try and it doesn’t get you the results you thought it would, adjust and try again. Thomas Edison said this about the lightbulb invention: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

I am very excited about our future. We are a good, strong, solid organization, but we can be great. We are a team, and no one player makes a team a champion. Let’s do it together, and I’ll support you as you find your way through 10,000 ways that won’t work. On our way to striving for perfection, let’s go catch some excellence.

Most sincerely,
Margaret