If you have ever been part of an early stage start up with a founder or two with a great idea or two – just ask them – revolutionary, a real disrupter.
“Don’t worry, the numbers will take care of themselves!”
“What we really need now is …..”
Inspect what you Expect.
The details matter!
The voyage heading south along the West Coast of South America, on our ship, had been day after day of smooth seas and sun filled days. As we came closer to going around Cape Horn the seas picked up strength, the wind switched directions and clouds and occasional fog set upon our ship.
My watch on the bridge would be the one when we would be closest to land and pass directly by the most southern point of South America. Checking our position by radar ranges to points of land and azimuth readings of lighthouses or points of land I was confident of our ship’s position. Due to the use of paper charts and how they were constructed this area required I utilize multiple charts.
When transferring over our position from one chart to the next something odd presented itself. Even though the actual physical sightings were correctly double checked and new ones taken – our position on the next chart was not the same latitude and longitude as on the first chart!
I called up the Captain to the bridge. He rechecked our physical sightings and placed them on both charts. Same result!
It was clear that we knew where we were, however, one of the charts we were utilizing was actually incorrect. I wrote up the details and we sent them off to the organization to report the errors.
In your business and in your life do you inspect what you expect?
Or do you make assumptions about the results you are given or the reports you read?
Details do matter.
Of course we all make mistakes. Let’s not assume right away that the person made the error. Maybe the source for their work was in error.
Possibly that in itself is a teaching moment to always verify and check the source. How has the person performed before? Are mistakes or errors found often in their work? How about the source material?
Has it always been trustworthy and accurate?
None of us can stay on top of every single detail of everything we are involved with.
This fact only gets more complicated the higher your level of responsibility becomes. This is why we must establish this one specific habit – Inspect What You Expect.
Mitch Tublin is the CEO and Founder of Wenkroy International LLC a boutique consulting company with a main focus on adding value to people. Through Speaking, Training and Coaching lives are changed. My passion is to take people to the next level in their life and in their career or business.
