Excellence Brings Praise

My Dad is in the American Craft Council Show, and today was the first day of the three day event. The council posts all the marketing and advertising done to promote the show, and this was the largest magazine cover on display. This is a photo of one of my Dad’s pieces – a Maple Root Burl – and it is for sale in his booth. He had no idea it was being used in a magazine, let alone appeared on the cover; it was a wonderful surprise!

A man was talking with me in the booth this afternoon and was rubbing his hand on one of the tables. He made this comment, “When you look at this table or feel the finish you cannot help but know that this artist loves what he does and is passionate about wood.” I thought it was one of the most wonderful comments anyone could say about the work my Dad created. He is passionate and excellent at woodworking. THAT is the reason his work appeared on a magazine cover and he didn’t even know. Anyone who sees his work cannot help but know he is passionate and a master as his craft.

So what do people see when they review your work? Is there any ability for them to deny the excellence you produce? When they see you enter the room do they know what they will get? Do they talk about your work with praise and excitement even when you are not around? Do they wonder how you did it or want to talk to you to understand your thought process? Do they wait anxiously for you to create more work?

Sometimes we want excellence and yet we forget to demand it of ourselves first. We want others to give us their best and we forget that they deserve it from us as well. Leadership means giving your best when you make a promise or commitment no matter how you feel once the emotion of your decision to commit has faded. Yes there may be circumstances beyond your control. Yes you are busy. Yes there is too much to do and not enough time to do it. And yes, we all have an off day. The challenge occurs when these things become regular occurrences not isolated incidents. They cloud our judgement and allow us to think we have a ‘buy’ due to what is going on in our lives, when others do not know what is happening so they simply expect excellence.

So what is my point? My Dad had a piece of his work on the cover of a magazine because he produces excellence. It didn’t matter if he know, the people who promoted his work through the photo knew. Excellence brings praise, even when you don’t know people are praising you. When you are passionate and produce superior work it brings people to your door, it elicits passion and enthusiasm in others, and it gives you the recognition you need to keep going. It allows people to raise the bar on themselves because they can see that someone else can do it. You might not know it, but people are watching, they are wondering how you do what you do, and they too want to be excellence. There is a great saying, rising tides raise all ships. When you produce excellence people will come, they will praise you, they will want to be inspired by what you do. Don’t let the circumstances of your world prevent you from producing work that you would be proud to see on a random magazine cover. You never know who is watching, or reading, or simply walking by…