Mentoring Youth on Quality: Why Excellence Outshines Inferiority

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When you have the opportunity to choose, do you choose high quality over inferior quality? Sometimes, inferior quality works just fine. However, from my perspective, there will be times when you just need high quality, and inferior quality will cause issues.

A tornado ripped through my town, but luckily, my home suffered only minor damage. After a thorough inspection, I noticed my fence had loose planks. Ignoring the problem would lead to a further failure in the fence. It was time to pull out the tools.

The day was hot, but at least there was a gap in the storms. I thought I had everything I needed to get the job done. I laid out all of my equipment: extension cords, drill, galvanized screws, and Phillips drill bit. The drill bit would make work much easier in securing the screws into the hardened wood.

Unfortunately, I had a cheap drill bit.

I secured the shank of the Phillips drill bit in the drill chuck. I was feeling rather self-reliant — I had a plan and was off to a good start. I started the drill to secure the screw. Then it happened. The tip of the drill bit and the screw head both stripped. My efforts only accomplished heat due to the damaged bit. The screw did not go into the wood.

This was an extremely frustrating situation, but I knew what was happening  — it was a hot day, and my tools weren’t working.

Some years ago, I must have purchased my cheap set of bits. When I made the purchase, I thought it would do the job. I was wrong. I should have bought a quality set of bits.

Why didn't I spend just a little bit more and get hardened steel or titanium-coated bits? It was a bad decision and a bad purchase.

In my book, Mentor Them or They Will: Expert Advice for Youth Mentors Who Teach Self-Discipline Life Skills, I emphasize the importance of teaching young people "thinking skills." Look for opportunities to discuss with young people the importance of thinking first and the skills associated with decision-making. I will be sharing my story with my youth leadership team. It is an example of poor decision-making. I should have researched the product before the purchase. The importance of quality would have been a component worth considering.

Here are a few key points from my experience:

• Quality will improve results. If you need to get the job done correctly, choose to use high-quality resources.

• An inferior product wasted my time. It took extra time to secure the fence planks.

• With high-quality standards, confidence in a positive result will increase.

The founder of Federal Express (FedEx), Frederick W. Smith, built FedEx into a giant organization. He revolutionized the delivery of packages and letters by promising overnight delivery. He is attributed to having shared this insight about quality, "The absolutely positively philosophy was really about dependability. When people absolutely had to get something there overnight, we were the quality standard" (attributed, Sigafoos, 1983). Mr. Smith's focus on quality mirrors lessons we should share with mentees.

We can observe quality everywhere. Teaching young people the difference between quality and inferiority is essential. Demonstrate how you use quality as a standard. Quality is a superior option over inferiority.

Mentoring perspective:

Look for opportunities where you can emphasize the importance of excellence. Have your students identify what quality standards look like in various situations: decision-making, products, services, and effort. Have them provide real-world examples of what high quality looks like and allow them to set their standards.

Questions:

• Identify a product or service where you have observed a quality standard in action. Share what you observed.

• Identify your quality standards.

• How do you evaluate the quality of decision-making?

• When making a decision, why might "thinking first" lead to a higher quality outcome?

Smith, Frederick W. (attributed). Quoted in discussion of FedEx’s “absolutely, positively” philosophy, as referenced in Sigafoos, Robert A. Absolutely, Positively Overnight! (1983)