Road Trip: Michigan to Washington, DC

On Wednesday, July 26th I threw my leg over my 1995 Honda ST100 and headed towards our nation's capital. 1800 miles later I quietly rolled back into our driveway on Sunday, July 30th, 2006 changed for the better. I am a member of a national remodeling consulting group that organizes events semi-annually to cloister a dozen design/build remodelers in a room for 3 days of facilitated work aimed at improving each others' businesses. The improvement and growth that comes out of the experience is truly life changing.

The economy in Michigan is slow, but our company is looking to grow and continually improve, and I was after an extra dose of best practices like it were an extra shot of espresso. On this motorcycle trip I visited two companies from our group for a half-day each.

I walked in the doors of both of these companies and saw the Owners' vision carried beyond themselves by employees who really believed in what they were doing.

The first company focuses on keeping their clients' happy and quickly handling the issues that inevitably surface in remodeling process. Each week they consciously track, "The Client Demeanor," among other important metrics. In our daily work on every level, we need to ask ourselves, "Do I have a servant's attitude toward our clients?" and, "Is this project creating value in their lives?"

The second company has "planned their work and worked their strategic plan." They have created a happy culture focused on growth and excellence. I heard and saw laughter and examples of personal accountability from many employees, and I believe it is because this company empowers and invites their staff to bring their best work to the table. The astounding amount of sustained growth they experience year after year proves that getting everyone pulling in the same direction produces great results.

I could've read these secrets of success in a book, and I did read 20 non-fiction books in 2006. But seeing these lessons lived out in the people who work in these companies everyday is a much deeper way to learn. Riding a motorcycle turns up the volume on the traveling experience. Walking a mile in the shoes of another remodeler is a life changing experience.

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