Bob's Update - June 28, 2005

Last week, when the Pistons were battling back to contention in the NBA Finals and on their way into the final game, you might have heard about the “love” remark. It was late in a close, do-or-die Game 6 and Pistons Coach Larry Brown was huddled with the team for last minute instructions. “We were ready and eager to go back out there and we said let's go, and then he just came out and said, 'I forgot to tell you guys I love you,’” Rasheed Wallace told reporters after the game. That was the ‘something’ in the news.

The stirring ideas came from a story told by one of the conference speakers at IG, John Izzo. He had read about a southeast US bank that Fortune magazine called probably ‘the best bank in the world.’ It was profiled as being a most successful business as well as being one of the best places to work. Izzo said he had to go down and see for himself why this company was different. What made it so good?

He told us of being surprised and a little incredulous when the CEO, the head of marketing, a bank branch manager and a couple of tellers told him that the difference was all about “love”. They also pointed to a sign that was in evidence at nearly every desk Izzo visited: “100/0”. “What did the sign mean? It meant that every person working for the bank knew that he or she was “100% responsible for great customer service and had Zero-tolerance for bad customer service,” Izzo told us.

Now, that morning jog pulled these two anecdotes, both dealing on some level with ways to manage ‘world class’ operations, to a single notion. The Pistons went on to win that game and then lose Game 7 to the new NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. But win or lose, there was something basic, something emotionally real about Coach Brown’s remark that seems to run though all truly great achievement. And the “Best Bank in the World”? What helped precipitate a culture that would have its people so ready to cite “love” as the operative difference and full accountability to back it up?

	Bob's Update is a weekly column to Washtenaw County employees from County Administrator Bob Guenzel. From time to time eWashtenaw republishes these Updates to the public web site. If you would like to comment, or have questions concerning the Update, please contact Administrator Bob Guenzel.

‘Love’ is a pretty loaded word, but I don’t think it was misused or overused in either of these stories. Love is about respect, and about trust. It’s about watching your teammate’s or co-worker’s back. It’s about being in synch. Sometimes it’s a shared vision of something better, sometimes just a willingness to make things better at every opportunity.

It really comes down to a word that is a lot like ‘love’ – and that is caring. I know that you, the people I work with, care deeply on many levels about the services we provide the public. And I know, better than most, that’s the reason this is a world class operation.

So, maybe next year for the Pistons, and I hope Coach Brown will be there in good health to lead them. For me though, the series and my opportunity to hear John Izzo helped me remember, again, that genuine achievement is always hard work – but not without love.

Have a great week and try to stay cool,

Bob