Going the extra mile..

Through out my career I have seen, again and again, people who go the extra mile find it easier to move up their career ladder. They are happier and more confident with themselves too!

Going the extra mile may sound trivial and simple. However only a few actually go the extra mile as a matter of habit. For this group of people, it is part of their DNA. Let us discuss what does it take to make 'going the extra mile' a way of working that comes naturally, a habit!

I suggest there are three elements which need to be considered, which I will call the ABC of going the extra mile.

A. Anticipation!

- When you think you know what is expected of you, challenge that very mindset. Stretch it a little further. Anticipate and find out what will the output of your work be used for, by who, and when? Beat expectations on all those three fronts.

Let me illustrate.

The assignment may be given by your boss, but he may use the report to brief his boss, who in turn may use the information in his meeting with an investor. Your boss want the report to be ready by Monday morning.

Being an extra miler, you research the context of the report - and prepare it in a format which your boss can present to his boss, and include an executive summary which his boss can extract and use for his briefing with the investor. You have the report ready a few days in advance! That way, there is time for you to even do extra bit of work should your boss need additional information.

That is going the extra mile. An ordinary good employee finish the report by Monday morning as asked, in a format meant for the boss as the end user.

Similarly, going the extra mile in service is doing more than expected. Anticipating what your customer wants which is different from the other customer. Once, the hotel I was staying forgot my wake up call request. As a result I was late for my pick up. When I came back to my room in the evening, there was a cowboy hat filled with expensive chocolates and a letter from the manager, apologizing. It was a hotel in Dallas Texas, hence the cowboy hat! That happened way back in 1994, but to this date I still remember.

B. Basic!

In going the extra mile, make sure you cover the bases. The basic must be done very well, such as grammar, spellings, formatting, presentation, etc. Go the extra mile even in finding our what kind of fonts, and fonts size does your boss normally use when he writes his report for higher level. Going the extra mile in the basics ensure the effort you put into content will not be diluted by some silly mistakes!

The manager of the hotel, in making the gesture with the hat and the chocolates, did not forget the basic. He apologized! Apologizing for the mistake and my inconvenience was basic, the hat and the chocolates were the frills to thrill~!

C. Critical!

Be critical on your own work. Challenge it like your boss does, and better still challenge it like his boss would! Being critical and not easily satisfied with the outcome of your work is a crucial part of going the extra mile.

The manager of the hotel in Dallas Texas did not simply place some chocolates in a box on my bed, but he placed it in a very nice cowboy hat! In fact I brought home the hat as a souvenir. He empathize with me, and was critical on his hospitality standards.

It is in going the extra mile that we gain satisfaction, feel good about ourselves, and may even be rewarded for it. In the end, we gain trust from the people we deal with, and we differentiate ourselves from the rest!

If you are still in doubt, just think of what the initials of Going the Extra Mile spells!

- GEM, it is!