Looking under the hood

Quality.  It's about the thoughtful thinking that went out before anyone did any execution.  It's not just about sexy branding, pretty pictures or cool technology.  

There may be something off about my approach.  I'm open to that feedback.  Former bosses have told me that I am very critical and hard to please, and that I am too demanding of people.  While I've worked very hard to be more flexible, and accommodating of people over the years...   

However, I still believe to get the real essence of understanding the quality of work being completed - there has to be some level of unprompted test-driving that needs to be done to assess the quality of the work being produced.  My current process: 1) Generally, I enjoy discussing and sharing to create the desired outcome/goal of what we are about to do (pick a random side project, small short term goal, whatever).  We agree on something.  Then 2) on top of any action items I take away, I always stress that I am available to do whatever else is needed to help, support, work, give feedback.  Literally.  Whatever it takes to reach that goal.  I will do.

Very few people take me up on that offer.  Very few.

It's a weird "weed-out" move that showcases the ones that will thrive and succeed (in whatever they decide to pursue), and those that will not.  

Those that thrive:

 1) Reach out - proactively with status updates, quick check-ins to triangulate and see if we're still aligned with what the outcome/goal/vision was.  They ask to meet up and trade notes on progress.  They ask for me to do some of the work.  They ask for feedback.
2) Build a top-down plan on how they are going to accomplish the goal.  Sort of a process map or framework.  
3) Get to it.  Literally, they start brainstorming ideas filling in the steps needed to accomplish the goal.  It starts to work, or it doesn't.  What's important is that we know one way or the other, with real data.  

Most people don't do anything at all.  Nothing.  I never hear from them.  Silence.  Weird, to me.

Others, they just start doing without any sort of planning.  No strategy at all.  Maybe they'll ping me to get me to do some part of what I had previously agreed to do.  ...  And then, they do.  We might sync up randomly, only to find, they have been just mindlessly executing towards the end goal, not thinking at all about the process to get to that end goal.  Also, weird, to me.

No matter what project, goal, program, initiative, job --- take the time to look under the hood and figure out if there is a high level plan, strategy, outline, hypothesis, ...  anything.  It'll literally show you if what they say they are doing, is really what they are doing.  In most cases, they are not doing, or they are what I call, "spinning".  Quality is not just about the outcome.  

Quality involves the thoughtful journey and process. (This includes having a: Framework.  Diligence.  Records.)

--Arry