It’s not glamorous.  It’s not fashionable.  And it’s not always fun.

Persistence is the "not so secret" ingredient to success as it is the unwavering pursuit of your goals, which is fuelled by a combination of determination and desire.

This one trait has seen me through the years and helped me overcome twists, turns and challenges.

According to the dictionary, the definition of persistence is:

• Continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition
• Continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period.

That certainly sounds like a lot!  Persistency means seeing these as opportunities to reflect, grow and improve.

An important question, and one any person desiring to succeed, is can you LEARN to become persistent? In short, how do you become persistent?

CORRECTLY SET GOALS 

Almost 19 years ago we had Blair start with us. Genuinely, he is overtly ridiculous in his passion for quality control! He has created and implemented a system — our goal — to inspect our products and verify the quality of the output. It’s in this method of detection that we deliver the product on time, within our customer’s allocated budget and satisfy all requirements of each project. This mission is communicated to all within our team and it’s how we work cohesively to attain high calibre craftsmanship.

“I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.” -Og Mandino

BE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE

Anything worth achieving has a price. The main reason why we can accomplish our installations so well is that we invest time, from the beginning with our employees and our contractors, teaching them what quality is acceptable, appropriate and aspirational.

Blair’s attention to detail doesn’t compare, he impressively persists.  Our standard workflow presently involves him visiting each location after our installation team completes their tasks. Blair not only looks over the aesthetics, where almost anyone can see a crooked post or uneven tread but he inspects the features of the stair closely. Here, he looks for any issues such as glue clumps or if the cross sanding is good. He documents each site review by capturing photographs, this visual reference helps ensure our work is protected. Once we have his approval and ‘go-ahead’ then painting can occur or the hand over to another trade; which is normally 48hours afterwards. This overview encapsulates our checklist for project management that delivers a very high standard of workmanship consistently.

DESIRE

Persistent people want it bad.  Really bad. They want it so much they never look for an excuse or a way out of doing it. Blair is this exact person on our team! So much so, that he likes to start his workday at 4:30 am when the standard is 7 am.

He honestly lives and breathes his career with us. Furthering this point, he tells us, “most people look forward to pay-day Friday. Not me! I look forward to Monday morning - when I can come into work again!”

I think Blair’s aspiration comes from a combination of wanting to ensure we deliver phenomenal products which then intertwines continually producing peak customer satisfaction as to what staircase is constructed within their unique space.

EMBRACE LIVING OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE 

Part of our client reassurance is that we ask, ‘why not?’. This means that we clasp to new ideas and concepts. This ranges from incorporating new materials, to designs and pivoting to the use of state-of-the-art technology.

HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET

Years ago, Blair knew he worked well with his hands and wanted to join a small company to assist in expansion. He walked through our doors when we only had seven or eight installers. At the time, he was looking for a change in his career path but knew he enjoyed woodwork and thought my company would allow him just that opportunity.

He also created a questionnaire that is given to all of our clientele following a completed job. What he finds most important, is honest customer feedback that gives him the practical insight into how the customer feels about the finished job, which is ultimately our brand as a business.

Within the industry, Blair has a reputation for who he is and what he does.  It’s the trust I have in him, that I’m thankful for because I continue to receive customer feedback like this one from last week, “Blair is great.  EXCELLENT help!”

These five topics help define part of our “behind the scenes” recipe to success in persistency. Like I’ve always said, “I’ve needed to make sure that I hire the right people”. Blair is indeed one outstanding individual and we’re ever so fortunate to have him on our team.  He helps us to keep going and continue to move forward.