The Marks of Professionalism, Part 6—Attention to Details

 

When you say, “She’s a professional.” Or, “He conducts himself as a true professional.” What do you mean? Exactly what are those qualities that clearly make one individual appear professional when compared to his or her peers? So far in this series, I’ve suggested that compassion, justice, common sense, a commitment to excellence, and a wholehearted determination to always tell the truth are marks of a professional. This time I add to the list a careful attention to details.

A professional colleague of mine oversees the Visual Arts department of a medium-sized southern liberal arts college. His role of department chairman is more often taken up with supervisory matters than it is with pedagogical concerns. Almost every phone conversation we have is punctuated by respectfully-told tales of the latest foibles and fancies of the professors, associate professors, assistant professors, adjunct professors, instructors, technicians, and secretaries who report to my colleague. The contrasts are startling.

Three of his people are extremely creative, not at all surprising for visual artists. But, their creativity is consuming. Each one is constantly coming up with innovative ideas for teaching, controversial concepts for performance or exhibition, dynamic ways of fund raising, and clever schemes to draw more of the student body into a relationship with the Visual Arts department.

Four of his staff are what would be considered kindly, in most management circles, as “plodders.” These folks know their stuff, but their artistic expression and creativity is commonplace. It may well be that they have never had an original idea between them. Their approach to each new day is to move forward at the same speed they moved through yesterday. If they’ve been able to procrastinate in completing a particular assignment, they will continue to do so until they are practically forced at gunpoint to finish the job.

The creative trio are constantly completing a significant volume of work: position papers, memoranda, analyses, manuscripts, overhead transparencies, handouts, scores, and a host of output from the visual arts. There is only one problem. Without fail, every document, visual, handout, etc. is riddled with tiny errors. Errors in spelling, improper numbering of captions or illustrations, incorrect dates, blurred visuals, hastily photocopied sections that aren’t quite straight. This list of miniscule mistakes is almost endless. Perhaps the creative process is so consuming that they just can’t bring themselves to make sure the quality of their output matches the quality of their creativity. Whatever the reason, it drives my colleague, the department chairman, absolutely stark, raving crazy. Fortunately, he seems to have infinite patience and an overwhelming sense of humor.

Perhaps the most ironic part of the whole “soap opera” is that these many tiny mistakes of the highly creative professors are fodder for the plodding four. The ones who never create on their own absolutely delight in finding the errors of their peers. They constantly barrage my colleague with reports of the latest mistakes they have found in some document, visual, or other output. “Those that can, do. Those that can’t, find the mistakes of those that can.” Or, so it seems.

There is always a happy side to my colleague’s phone reports. It comes from a husband and wife team who each consistently function at a high level of energy and creativity, and whose work together is DY-NA-MITE!

All material this pair creates is flawless. Pour over their stuff—and the plodders do—but no errors are ever found. Why? Because “He” and “She” possess the quality of a careful attention to details.

You already know which category into which you fall. The good news is that by applying just a few organizational techniques, you can begin to develop the habit of attending to the details that surround your life’s endeavor.

Start by keeping a daily pocket diary or calendar. Note all meetings and appointments and refer to your notes frequently. Jot down phone calls you must make, and then write a few summary words to help you recall the substance of the conversation later.

Put carelessness aside. If you have trouble picking up the mistakes in your written work, enlist the aid of others to check it. Another major point of sloppiness is not using the right terminology. Find out what the correct and standardized terminology is in your field and use it consistently.

Even if you’re the owner or CEO of your company, approach each task as if your continued employment depends on the care you give in completing it. Create a mental posture that attends to details.

It’s that kind of mental attitude that will set the professional apart from his or her peers.

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 3 No. 2 for March/April 1991

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

The Marks of Professionalism, Part 5— Telling the Truth

 

Qualities that clearly make one individual appear professional when compared to his or her peers: compassion, justice, common sense, a commitment to excellence, and a wholehearted determination to always tell the truth.

We live in a society that no longer places a high price on telling the truth. In fact, we sometimes seem to pride ourselves on stretching veracity to a point so thin that just one more whisper would snap it like a dry twig.

Between media commercials that reward deceit, “Who ate all the Cracklin’ Oat Bran?” to those who suggest that little white lies are really just a part of life, “Only her hairdresser knows for sure!” to the social scientists and pseudo-scientists who suggest that the cruelest of the cruel is to speak truthfully.

Now there’s little question that truth must always be spoken kindly—oh, how I wish I could remember to do that—nevertheless when faced with a choice, the true professional, that man or woman of genuine integrity, will always tell the truth.

Back at Christmastime, my wife completed a roll of film and took it to the nearby photo store for processing. These folks have always done a pretty good job, so we’ve come to rely on their service. “Thursday. It’ll be ready on Thursday,” the young clerk intoned.

It fell to me to pick up the much awaited photos of “Christmas on the Farm.” At the appointed hour, I dutifully arrived with the little claim slip from the processing envelope in my hand. “Sorry,” the clerk rattled grimly, “We’re Out of paper. Your prints will be ready tomorrow.”

“Out of paper? Out of Paper!” I thought to myself as I lumbered back to my car. How can a conscientious owner of a photo store be out of paper. That’s as idiotic as the restaurant or snack shop that advertises, “World’s Greatest Onion Rings” being out of onions.

Friday afternoon, I trudged back into the photo store, presented my claim slip only to be told, “Our processor’s been broke for two days and was just repaired an hour ago. We’ll have your photos in 45 minutes.” I turned and left the store, deciding not to come back until Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, over 24 hours after my last visit, I popped into the photo store and handed over my claim slip. “Our processor has been down for a couple of days,” the clerk said, apparently not recognizing me as a frequent visitor. “We’ll have your pictures in 40 minutes.”

My colleague, Wayne Moore, calls me “Mr. Patience.” I have earned that misnomer with pains-taking attention to blowing my top at the slightest delay in my planned schedule. It was all I could do to turn and leave the store without destroying something or someone on the way out.

Forty minutes and twenty five seconds later I was back in the store. The owner waited on me and gave me my photos. He did not say he was sorry for the delay. He did not try to explain what had happened. He didn’t even say “Thank you” when I paid him.

Through a determined series of falsehoods, plus an attitude that can only be described as haughty, the photo store owner had lost a customer, and made an enemy. I now make it a point to tell everyone who will listen about that photo store. So far, I’ve suggested to several other town residents that if they patronize that store, the processing of their valued photos may be delayed.

Did the store run out of paper? Did the machine break? Is 45 minutes really 24 hours long? And, what about saying, “We’re really sorry, but...”

What do you do when you’ve promised customers or constituents that you will provide the product or service they’re expecting and you’ve missed the deadline? Do you tell a lie? Blame someone else who really had nothing to do with the delay? Or, do you speak honestly and kindly, accepting responsibility for your action?

What about your managers or employees? Do you have one of those classic staff members who can never admit he or she is wrong? Instead, it’s always someone else who contributed to the error. Well, chances are that manager or employee treats your customers the same way. Instead of giving truthful answers, the truth is always slightly twisted to excuse the error.

When a professional makes a mistake, he or she explains what has happened, truthfully and contritely, and expects his or her employees to do the same. The plain fact is there just is no excuse for not telling the truth.

Psychologist M. Scott Peck has written a book, People of the Lie. Get it. Read it. And, join the growing number of professionals who speak truthfully. It’s just one more quality that sets those apart who have determined to be the real leaders—the true professionals—in their chosen industry.

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 3 No. 1 for January/February 1991

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

The Marks of Professionalism, Part 4—Commitment to Excellence

 

What are those qualities that clearly make one individual appear professional when compared to his or her peers?

We began three issues ago with a discussion of the quality of “compassion.” Two issues ago, I discussed the quality of a strong sense of “justice.” Last issue I shared some thoughts on the subject of “common sense.” This time I want to suggest that among those key items which point to professionalism is an overwhelming “commitment to excellence.”

Excellence has been a very popular topic for motivational speakers and writers during the last two decades or so. Countless books, newspaper articles, magazine features, and many, many speeches have been made about the quality of a commitment to excellence. Even the military has taken up the theme with the snappy jingle that accompanies an action-packed video extolling the virtue of a soldier’s career: “Be all that you can be, in the Aaaaarrrrr-meeeeee.”

And yet, everywhere we go, we bump straight up against a host of people who, day in and day out, perform at some level below a standard of excellence. Here's a couple of examples.

Back when I traveled regularly, I had an experience when it took me four phone calls, speaking each time to a different travel consultant, to try to get the large national travel agency to process my ticket as a full-coach fare. Because I am a Delta Airlines “Million Miler,” having such a ticket would allow me to upgrade my lengthy flight to first class. I finally got the ticket in the mail and, you guessed it, one segment of the ticket is not coded as a “Y.” I wanted to scream, but then thought better of it.

I eat far too many meals at McDonald’s, purposefully choosing smiling Ronald over the people who want me to “have it your way.” My standard order is two cheeseburgers with extra cheese and extra onions and a medium diet coke.

“ Would you like fries with that?”

“ Are they free?” I have learned to ask.

“ No, of course not!” is the startled reply.

“ Then I guess I’ll just stick with what I ordered,” I respond.

After my food is delivered to the car, what do you suppose I find in the bag when I open it? Well it varies, but only about one-third of the time do I get two cheeseburgers with extra cheese and extra onions. I have even watched a grill person in the Cincinnati Airport McDonald’s announce my order correctly as he lays the wrapped burgers on the stainless steel burger trough, repeated by the order taker as she slides them into the bag, only to discover no extra cheese and no onions whatsoever when I sit down to eat the burgers. And, of course, I don’t just sit down to eat, I sit down to eat with great anticipation.

Somewhere in this chain of events—from order taker to grill person to shift supervisor to store manager—someone, or maybe several “someones,” does not have a commitment to excellence.

Is it so very different in whatever field of endeavor in which you work? Let’s say, for example, that some poor soul calls and says he or she needs the product or service that you provide. Does a mechanism in your company or organization kick in to assure that all along the chain of events—from the moment of this initial call until the product or service is delivered and fully accepted—every person who becomes involved with providing the product or service has a commitment to excellence?

Now I’m certainly not just talking about lip service to some pie-in-the-sky vision of “excellence.” Practically everyone I know gives lip service to the importance of a commitment to excellence. No, I’m talking about a group of “can do” people deciding it is worth their while to provide a product or service using quality materials in a quality manner, and to do it right the first time.

Customers truly do want the best product or service delivery possible. Even if they are operating with budget restrictions, they still expect that whatever they buy will be provided properly with care and attention to detail.

In my chosen field of fire protection, a commitment to excellence impacts significantly on the false alarm problem that has given fire and burglary alarm systems such bad names. If you are committed to providing the best system you can, and are further committed to maintaining that system in top condition throughout its useful life, then by your commitment to excellence you have taken an important step in the process of eliminating false alarms.

So, how does one internalize this particular mark of a professional? The commitment to excellence seems to come, either as a result of several very painful lessons where a failure to perform in an excellent manner resulted in a disaster, or it comes from a personal value that determines where others err, you will not.

Whichever force motivates you, I would encourage you, and myself, as well, to actively seek to cultivate a commitment to excellence. Somehow I can’t help but think that such an attitude will reap many, many rewards.

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 2 No. 4 for October/December 1990

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

The Marks of Professionalism, Part 3—Common Sense

 

What are those qualities that clearly make one individual appear professional when compared to his or her peers?

I began two blog posts ago with a discussion of the quality of “compassion” as one of the marks of a professional. Last post, we discussed the quality of a strong sense of “justice.” This time I want to suggest that among those key items which point to professionalism is an obvious application of “common sense.”

“Now wait just a minute,” I hear you respond. “How can common sense be a mark of a professional? You either have common sense or you don’t.”

I think I know what you’re trying to say. In fact you remind me of the time nearly 25 years ago when, on a very, very rainy night, Fire Chief Bob Gilmore and l were standing at the front of the fire house looking out through the windows in the overhead door. Somehow the conversation turned to a discussion of the neighbors. The Chief remarked that the son of one particular neighbor was so stupid he didn’t know enough to come in out of the rain. As if to magically verify that point, around the corner of the house next door came the son in question, strolling slowly past our vantage point, clearly oblivious to the drenching downpour.

My good friend and fellow seminar leader, Wayne Moore, often remarks to seminar audiences that the reason why so much common sense is available is that so little of it is used. Whether this is true or not, if you think you’ve known a true professional who did not exhibit a clear ability to apply common sense to the problems of every day life, I would beg to differ with you.

Trying to find a definition for common sense is not really such an easy task. The dictionary is only marginally helpful. Asking various people as to how they would define the term “common sense” yields no clearer a result.

I did recently stumble onto a definition, however, that I believe truly captures the essence of this elusive, yet critical, quality of professionalism. The source of this definition was a letter of recommendation written by my niece Tara’s summer employer.

As part of her college intern program, “Tee-Tee” (as I call her—much to her chagrin) had worked for the New York State Department of Mental Health. In writing a letter back to the professor overseeing the internship program, the supervisor for whom Tara worked offered a glowing recommendation. One of the statements he made was that Tara continually showed good common sense. And then, he went on to explain that encountering various situations requiring a decision or some direct action, Tara always seemed to carefully consider the consequences before making a decision or taking action.

WOW! What a terrific description of common sense—considering the consequences of a decision, or of a direct action, before making that decision or taking that action. In other words, before I step out onto the limb of a tree, I think about whether that limb will be able to hold my weight.

In more appropriate terms, before I select a particular piece of new equipment or choose a person to work on my team, I consider whether that new equipment or individual is suitable for the task ahead. Before I decide to cut this corner or that one, in either developing a process, creating a procedure, instituting a new program, making a change to existing operations, or choosing a particular course of action, I consider the consequences.

I can think of a host of circumstances where I have wondered why a particular individual made a decision, or took some action, without seeming to have possessed a sensitivity to what might result from the decision or action.

If you spend just a moment, I’m sure you can come up with a number of examples from your own particular career environment, where you have observed people making decisions without considering the consequences. As you review each example in your mind, think of all the chaos that needlessly resulted from such an unconsidered decision.

The fact is that if every one of us aspired to being able to consistently apply common sense to solving the problems we face daily in our work environment, we would go a long way toward raising the overall level of professionalism in our chosen industry.

How about it? Are you willing to join me in considering the consequences BEFORE we make decisions or take action?

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 2 No. 3 for August/September 1990

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

The Marks of Professionalism, Part 2—Justice

 

What are those qualities that clearly make one individual appear professional when compared to his or her peers?

I began last blog post with a discussion of the quality of “compassion” as one of the marks of a professional. This time I want to suggest that among those key items which point to professionalism is a strong sense of justice.

Lest there be some confusion on this point, let me hasten to explain that by the phrase “a strong sense of justice,” I am referring to a quality that is somewhat different than a sense of fairness or fair play. While I agree that fairness is an admirable quality of a professional, by a strong sense of justice, I am referring to an attitude that “right” must always be vindicated and “wrong” must always be punished.

Do you remember an event in New York City many years ago when a young lady by the name of Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death in the entrance to her apartment building in the plain view of her neighbors. They heard her screams for help. Some of them even saw the man who stalked and killed her. When asked why they had stood by and done nothing, several of her neighbors replied, “We didn’t want to get involved.”

We didn’t want to get involved? What? I cannot help but reflect on that answer in light of what Cain said to God during their conversation recorded in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 4:9. God said, “Where is your brother, Abel?” Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Ironically, as you no doubt recall, Cain, in a fit of jealousy, had already killed his brother.

Getting involved. A person with a strong sense of justice simply cannot help getting involved. He or she is forced to take some action whenever a situation arises where “wrong” seems to be on the verge of triumphing.

During one recent lunch, as my good friend Jerry Polisky and I sat in the McDonald’s parking lot, we saw two young people hanging around a USA Today newspaper box across the street.

“Look at those two,” Jerry remarked. “What do you suppose they’re up to?”

“Probably waiting to panhandle,” I replied with my usual cynical distrust.

“Hey, look,” he said. “They’re stealing from the box.” And sure enough, with a very smug look on her face, the girl turned and handed the boy a fistful of coins. In a flash he put them in his jacket pocket and the two double-timed it down the street.

I honked the horn. Jerry opened his door and yelled at them.

“Wait a minute,” Jerry exclaimed. “Look at this guy.”

A tall man in a long cashmere coat had suddenly jumped out of a car across the way and was running after the errant pair. They spotted him and started to run. His long stride was just too much for them. He grabbed them. They struggled. A shower of coins hit the pavement. The boy and girl looked for just a second or two at the spilled coins and then tore off down the sidewalk.

“Cashmere coat” bent over and painstakingly retrieved every single nickel, dime, and quarter. He walked back to the paper box and for several minutes stood there depositing every coin back in the box. He brushed his hands together when he finished and strode back to his car.

Now I don’t know anything about this noontime hero. But, I would guess that if we were to examine his life closely, we would find that he carries the marks of a professional. You see, in those few moments of action and reaction, he displayed a strong sense of justice. He was going to do his part to make certain that “right” prevailed and “wrong” was punished.

For example, in the fire protection, fire alarm, and burglary alarm industries—where I have spent the better part of my career—how many of us, when we prepare a set of specifications, ask for exactly what is needed to provide proper and adequate protection—no more and no less? When we, as Authorities Having Jurisdiction, review a set of drawings, how often do we resolve to make certain every detail is properly covered without adding some particular pet item that is a “nice to have” rather than a “need to have?”

No matter what your chosen field of endeavor, a strong sense of justice can be a valued guideline, as you deal with customers and with your peers. It is a quality worth cultivating in all our lives. Just one more of those qualities that mark a professional.

Admittedly, there are times when those who do have this quality come across as too harsh or too demanding. When that happens, perhaps it would be wise for those of us who are still cultivating that quality to try to understand the force that motivates their behavior.

A strong sense of justice helps give those who bear the marks of a professional a mindset that they are, indeed, their brothers’ keepers. And frankly, that is a mindset to be admired.

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 2 No. 2 for June/July 1990

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

The Marks of Professionalism, Part 1—Compassion

 

“Say what you want about women in the fire protection field, but she’s a real professional!“

“You may not agree with him very often, and you may not like the way he looks, but that man is a true professional.”

I agree with those I overheard sharing at a recent meeting of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. The two people they were talking about do, indeed, carry the marks of professionalism.

What are those marks? What are the qualities that make us “feel good” about the competency of one working in our chosen field of endeavor?

I think I have a few clues. In the next few blog posts, I want to share these with you, because I’m pretty certain that you and I should be aspiring in these directions on a regular basis.

Compassion. I’ve chosen one of the seemingly warm fuzzy qualities as the first. I guess I’ve done that because the popular media has lately been pushing a mindset of tough negotiation and strident political discourse. In reading this literature, or listenting to the broadcasts, I don’t find any room for compassion, and I know that it is a critical seasoning in the recipe of life.

Have I ever told you that I like my dentist back in Connecticut where I used to live? In fact, I really like him. And, not only do I like him, he’s a real professional. He carries the marks of a professional. Among many important qualities, he has compassion.

Cartoonists depict dentists as persons recruited from a sadistic subculture that lurks around the biology laboratories at colleges and universities. The expression “It’s like pulling teeth” came about for a reason, as anyone who has had a tooth pulled knows first hand.

And yet, there are ways of pulling teeth that are somehow more compassionate than others. Case in point. My dentist, John Rosenlieb, recently under took to remove one of my upper teeth.

Instead of taking a 42-inch long needle on the end of a Novocain syringe, John carefully used a topical anesthetic to numb the outer tissue in my mouth. Then, ever so gently, he inserted a normal-sized needle into the tissue and began to push in the deadening fluid.

From past experience, I braced myself for a mouth-wrenching shock, as the entire upper portion of my face was blasted by this devil-potion. But, alas, John only gently squirted a little bit of the Novocain into my mouth, waited for the tissue to become partly numb, and then pushed in some more. It probably took him the better part of five or six minutes to accomplish the task of numbing the tissue deeply enough to be able to extract the errant tooth.

What was the difference between John and others who had clanked around inside the Wilson mouth? John did what needed to be done, but he did it with compassion.

Certainly, his time was valuable. Just as valuable as any dentist’s. He had every reason, from a coldly economic viewpoint, to rush through the procedure with dispatch and let the pain simply be accepted as a part of the procedure. But, he didn’t do that. He took the time he needed to treat me with compassion.

Later on in the procedure there was a moment where a nerve ending turned just a shade raw and an involuntary tear slid out of the corner of my eye. “It’s OK, Big D,” John said softly, “we’re almost done.” That’s compassion. And, compassion is one of the marks of a true professional.

• Equipped with knowledge and the wisdom to apply that knowedge.



• Gifted in communicating with patients, so that they actually understand the treatment that is necessary to restore them to a proper level of dental health.



• The presence to command respect without having to say anything.



• A strong sense of ethics in handling the business side of dentistry and in working with his assitant, Linda Petersen (who is also a professional).



• Honesty in dealing with diagnosis and with any negatives involved in treatment.

All of these qualities are certainly a part of John Rosenlieb, DMD. And, he has compassion.

I like my dentist from Connecticut. I like him a lot! He carries the marks of a professional.

In your industry, and in mine, as we strive to produce a product, or provide a service, that has significant value to our customers or constituents, may it be said of you and me: “There’s a professional!”

I don’t know how all this strikes you, but I’m going to start being more compassionate.

When I deal with a contractor who obviously hasn’t done his or her homework. Or, when someone on a committee takes a position that I believe is intolerable. Or, when one of my employees disappoints me over some truly trivial issue. I’m going to season my response with compassion. I know it will make me a better person. How about you?

A version of this blog post originally appeared as the “Dean Says” article in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 2 No. 1 for April/May 1990

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

 

Working Your Dreams—A Thought for 2011

 

 

 

A version of this blog post originally appeared on Page 1 in
The Moore-Wilson Sigaling Report—Vol. 3 No. 3 for May/June 1991

 

 

 

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}