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Perspectives |
Commitment from the Ground Upby Ron Harriman As we celebrated our 20th anniversary two years
ago, Benchmark hired a business consultant to survey several of our
customers. We wanted to confirm how
our customers felt about working with us.
Three attributes were mentioned most frequently as being the most
important Benchmark characteristics: o
Highest standard for consulting
expertise o
A practical and
objective approach o
Responsive individual
attention Initially, the business consultant recommended that we
incorporate a “tagline” into our communications as a way to reinforce our
business approach externally, and as an internal reminder to all
associates. The need for a new
corporate brochure prompted us to look back on the customer responses once again,
and as a result we have titled it, “Commitment from the Ground Up”. What does that mean? We grew to appreciate this title / tagline, as it seemed to
be a rather natural fit with our increased emphasis on pavement
consulting. Literally, our commitment
reaches from the parking lot to the roof.
In a more abstract way, Commitment from the Ground Up means
much more. In fact, it has many
possible meanings that we believe reflect the uniqueness of Benchmark. John Wooden, the ex-UCLA basketball coach, developed what he
calls the “Pyramid of Success”, which includes 15 character traits that lead
to success. All 15 traits are
important, however, the two essential cornerstones (at ground level) are
industriousness and enthusiasm. Coach
Wooden describes industriousness, “there is no substitute for work. Worthwhile results come from hard work and
careful planning.” He describes the
importance of enthusiasm, “it brushes off upon
those with whom you come in contact.
You must truly enjoy what you are doing.” The importance of hard work and enthusiasm is so true. Working at Benchmark is rewarding, but not
necessarily easy. Just last week I
overheard one of our consultants say he was leaving
for his project Monday morning between midnight and 1:00 a.m. No one told him to do this; he simply felt
it was important that he be on the job for a critical part of the project. Likewise, I heard a customer recently
talking about one of our consultants and how it was obvious he loved being on
the paving machine and making sure his client got a first rate project. His enthusiasm for his work was infectious. We’ve all learned the hard way; you can’t build a pyramid, a
roof, a parking lot, or a business from the top-down. You can have great materials (and skills),
but by themselves success will most likely be short-lived. The structure simply won’t stand the test
of time. Benchmark
is fortunate to have collective talents and abilities that allow us to rise
to the challenges of immensely difficult projects and handle the management
of comprehensive roof and pavement programs.
If Benchmark is going to stand the test of time and truly meet the
expectations of our clients, we know we can’t focus only on the “top”, we’ve got to start every day with a Commitment from the
Ground Up. Copyright (c) 2005, Benchmark,
Inc., all rights reserved. |
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