How well could we do our job without all the suppliers that serve us?  I know.  We couldn’t do our job at all.  For example, GMC keeps us in dependable vehicles, and the various oil companies keep selling us gas to drive these vehicles.  Oh yes, the fuel is expensive, but the alternative is certainly not acceptable.  We have cell phones and office phones that allow us to communicate.  This computer that I write this communication with was made with care by a supplier of Aquaterra, as was all of the software that allows the computer to do its work correctly.  The power company sends the necessary electricity to it just so that I can say “have a great week”.   Let’s face it, we depend on our suppliers.

I can’t tell you how well our vision and our mission statements have helped guide us as we make day-to-day as well as strategic decisions within Aquaterra.  Today, let’s consider a specific aspect of our mission statement that is directed toward our suppliers.

You will recall that our mission statement challenges us to exceed the expectations of five separate groups:  our clients, our employees, our suppliers, the public and our professional peers.  Each group is addressed with specific ways that we want to exceed their expectations.  When it comes to our suppliers we say the following:
Aquaterra will exceed the expectations of our suppliers, while practicing fair and consistent trade policies, meeting contractual obligations, and providing timely and accurate communications.

The term “suppliers” should be considered in a broad sense.  The term may apply to any company or individual who assists us to get our work done.  We all have the opportunity to interact with our suppliers.  We may purchase a bag of cement at a Lowe’s store, a box of pens from an office supply store or perhaps a replacement part for a drilling rig, to name just a few of a myriad of supplier types.  Consider this too:  we often order analytical laboratory testing, cleaning services, contract drilling services, legal consultation,  accounting work, welding and and machine shop work.  The list goes on and on.

The point is, we can’t be preeminent (as our Vision statement exhorts us to be) unless we have suppliers who also aspire to preeminence.  Think about it;  if we want to do the very best job when it comes to grouting a boring, but the cement that we purchase is inferior, we will do an inferior job.  If we hire an analytical laboratory to provide data on water samples that we collect, and if the lab provides inaccurate information, our work will be wrong.  I think that you could come up with dozens of examples of just how much we must depend on the quality of our suppliers in order for us to render quality services.

We have an opportunity to do something really special for each and every supplier.  We can make them a better company!  That is what we are driving at with the words of our mission statement.

We start by saying that we want to practice far and consistent trade policies.  This means that we should expect our supplier to be compensated adequately for their goods or services.  We should show our suppliers what they can expect from us, and then we should be consistent in our trade practices, so that they can begin to work within our team, predicting our needs and us prediction their responses.

When we say “meeting contractual obligations”, we mean that we should pay them what we have agreed to pay them and within the time schedules that we have agreed.  Sure the power company will turn you off if you don’t pay the bill, but the local machine shop needs to be paid as promised even if we are done with him.  Conversely, we should not pay a supplier who has not met their contractual obligations with respect to the product or the service provided.  If we simply pay the bill without receiving the expected service, then we have certainly not helped them become a better company, and we have caused funds to be paid from Aquaterra that should not have been paid.

Instead, we should, as we say in the mission statement, provide a clear and timely notice to them of our expectations.  We should be diligent to be accurate in our expectations and in our communications.

Finally, as a part of providing timely and accurate communications, we should provide feedback whenever we can.  If a supplier has a customer survey, by all means complete the survey.  I did this just this weekend for a hotel chain that I stayed in last week.  If no opportunity for a survey exists, an email, or a letter (with praise or criticism as appropriate) is a great means to let them know what we are thinking of their service.

So, the point here in our mission statement is, go the extra mile with our suppliers.  Don’t just get what you need from them and get them paid.  If we work diligently to improve our suppliers, it will happen.  If our suppliers improve, then we improve.  And we all take another step toward preeminence.

When one of my boys was in middle school, he examined the grading system and realized that making a “C” was equivalent to the mark of “average”.  It was interesting to watch a young man come to grips with what that meant.  Unfortunately, he took an approach to that understanding that burdened his dad.  He opined that if a “C” was average, then the effort to do better was just a waste of time!  Its tough being a parent, but that is another web page.  I am proud to report that, as he matured, he became an “A” student, obviously rethinking this epiphany as he matured.

A term for a “C” could be mediocre.  Yeah, it got the average job done, but nobody is taking notice of an excellent effort.  In many instances in everyone’s life, we can be pleased with the grade of mediocre.  It may require our best effort to achieve this average mark.  However, there should be some areas in your life where you know that you have more than a “C” in you, and you should work to refine these areas to achieve the excellence that you can reach.

Our vision statement for Aquaterra leads off by saying that we desire to be the preeminent earth science and engineering company in the Southeast.  If we are to accomplish this, we cannot accept mediocrity in our leadership, in our staff, in our vendors, even in our clients.  You may recall some of the many references that I have made in this forum related to our vision statement in general, and to this pursuit of preeminence in particular.  Pardon the repetition, but it means a lot to us, and here I go again.

We may never get there, but we can always strive for preeminence.  To be recognized as the best, to be acknowledged among our peers as the firm that stands above the rest.  However, I see signs of that happening all the time.  Just recently, a client emailed us this comment:

“This status report and format is an unprecedented product (in my experience in over 25 years as an architect).”

I am very impressed with your construction expertise and services, and wanted to commend you on your professionalism and team-spirit on this project.

I plan on telling anyone who listens what I think of Aquaterra, and you can believe me that it will be a glowing report and reference.  Thank you again.

I suppose that such praise can show up in anyone’s practice, but, I see it more and more here at Aquaterra.  I am proud of the efforts of Aquaterrians (as we like to call them) and the results.  We can pick out other situations where our light did not shine that bright, but we should not be discouraged by these situations.  Instead we should learn from them and say we will never be there again.

Here is an example.  We have a driller named Randy Warren.  Most of us know Randy well; he has been with us forever and he has taught many of us a lot.  He taught me something one day; many years ago.  He showed up on a job to drill some borings, and I was there too.  The client also met us there to discuss the project.  At times during the day I noticed that Randy was irritated and frustrated. As the day went along, I inquired as to the reason for his frustration.  He told me that he had not been informed of the complete specifics of the project, and he did not have all the tools that he needed to excel in his assignment.  This dilemma was amplified by the fact that our client was on site with us.  By the way, the client had no idea that we didn’t have everything in perfect order, and neither did I.  Randy would not accept less than an excellent performance.  I got it.  He wants to be preeminent in the drilling profession, and he had been struggling with a circumstance that was hampering that.  We all work as a team in this effort.  If I had made sure that Randy had been completely informed of his duties, he would have been able to avoid the problems that he faced that day.  The lesson, we must be preeminent as a team, or none of us can be as individuals. A vision statement is put up for us all to see and to help focus our own vision as we make decisions on a daily basis.  When you do your next assignment think this thought:

Will this effort complement a pursuit of preeminence in our profession?
If you have to answer this in any way but “absolutely”, consider the reasons for your answer.  Is it because you are lacking in your ability to accomplish the assignment, or perhaps the team that you are working with has one or more faults.  Is the client not allowing the effort to be excellent?

After you have come to grips with the reasons, then consider a solution.  What will it take to make a change for the better?  Do not let your work be mediocre because you have not followed through with implementation of change.  We all want to improve.  Please make your thoughts known to those who can help initiate change.

We really do want to be preeminent.  Our leadership decisions are ALWAYS cast with this vision.  Watch for the way that Aquaterra moves from this day forward, and see if you agree with that statement.  Great things are in front of us.  But rest assured, it will take the extraordinary effort of everyone reading this to achieve the great things.

Yes, we can do our job, achieve mediocrity, and assume that to do better would be a waste of time.  But you don’t work for a company that is willing to accept that ideology.  You work for a company that desires to be preeminent in our profession.  We can be pleased with our pursuit of this vision with your help.