Leave it better than you found it

One of our clients recently shifted some of our scope to other vendors. Not because of mistakes, or because of bad delivery. In fact, just the opposite. They frequently praise us as a go-to partner.

They cited just wanting to try something new.

Which seemed odd to us.

But what they really wanted wasn’t what they said. They wanted more input. They wanted our expertise. For us to own more of it. Not just to make the idea better than it was when it landed on our desk, but to bring more ideas forward.

It took a few more conversations to pull that detail from them and get things back on track.

The entire thing was a bit frustrating, somewhat nerve-wracking, and a bit eye-opening.

Sometimes, even when you do everything right… things change.

Often there’s a reason, but sometimes there’s no reason at all, and we’ve experienced that kind of change too.

We all know change is constant. The big difference between succeeding through change or succumbing to it is in our attitude.

Will we let the change happen to us? Or decide to make it happen through us? If it’s going to happen regardless, you might as well drive.

Since that puts you in a position to shape the outcome, you might as well aim higher, and..

leave it better than you found it.

Imagine what would happen if we all carried that mindset into every situation. What standard would we set? What possibilities would open? What impact would we have on our communities and even our own character?

“Excellence isn’t about meeting the spec, it’s about setting the spec. It defines what [we] see as quality right this minute, and tomorrow, if you’re good, you’ll reset that expectation again.” — Seth Godin

Change might be inevitable, but we get to choose: be a victim of it, or an agent for it.

🔗 Find me at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottschoeneberger