A master carpenter doesn’t use plywood for the back of a hardwood cabinet even though no one is going to see it. The carpenter will know, and doing it “right” matters because that is the mark of a master. This is the stamp of quality. Rare as it may be, this obsession with quality can be found in every industry and across every imaginable product and service; however, you have to look hard to find it, sometimes peering behind the cabinet, as the metaphor implies.
People pay more for quality. They shell out a premium for quality others can’t see because they stand for the same value and work ethic. Anything less robs them of their desire to carry the same flag. Even when they can’t produce quality in their own work, they like to rub shoulders with greatness. They collect quality wherever they can find it to show the world they know excellence and want to be in its company.
When it exists, the quality of masterful work permeates through everything a business or organization does. No shortcuts occur or ever enter into the equation. The only thing that matters is producing the highest quality work anyone is capable of creating. When this ethic takes hold in an organization and is passed along from master to apprentice, amazing products and services result. A deep commitment to quality must be reaffirmed with every movement and action. Over time, pride becomes a badge worn by everyone in the organization. In the words of one team of craftspeople, “Grit got us here. Glory moves us forward.”
