Don't Tick Boxes.

So, we made the move to Abu Dhabi - You can read all about that here.
The bottom line, our aim was to seek discomfort and we hit the bullseye. The transition definitely wasn’t smooth, but it was a solid reset and now we have the luxury of working from a place where we can be better, not comfortable.
It’s something we’re intentional about as a team and in embracing the discomfort we also got to recognize how we can move from where we are to where we want to be in our work.

Here’s four things that are driving this season of change and our quest to not be average.

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Don't tick boxes.
In most businesses, there’s a natural tendency to do what you are told, and in our business, where we help institutions and companies to be better at what they do, we are frequently tempted to accept lists of deliverables as our main KPI’s. That’s the point where we remind ourselves that the goal is not a list, but impact, and impact doesn’t come through ticking boxes.
It doesn’t come through just covering what you need to cover and leaving, it doesn’t come through just doing the least amount possible. It comes through doing the best you can and doing more, even when it hurts. 

Feel the pain.
Which leads us to the pain.
The process of change always has some kind of pain associated and the process of doing more than ticking boxes can be painful. Sometimes you need to feel that pain to deliver amazing work and to understand how good the not so painful moments are.
There is something important, and yet so simple, in the “no pain, no gain” line. Of course, no one likes to suffer, but comfort usually means stagnation. Ticking boxes probably means you’re really comfortable with what you do, and no more. Choosing to move away from a comfortable situation, when done purposefully, like a training plan for a race, will always pay off, and in the end, you are better than when you started.

Get better every project.
We need to constantly look for what's better, and not just what is asked. We need to see things through lenses that are the opposite of mediocrity. Yes, it hurts to be excellent all the time. It’s hard. And this is when having each others backs becomes very handy. Being surrounded by people that have the same drive and the same goals, allows us to be there in those moments of temptation towards mediocrity.

It’s (not) ok.
And here’s the real challenge, at least for us at Slash.
Stop using the “It’s ok” line as a nice way to accept averageness. If something is not really ok, if a deliverable isn’t up to scratch, if you know someone can do better then “it’s ok” is not the right answer.
Being nice is nice, except when you need to be real and be better. That doesn’t mean you have to be nasty, it just means that getting better involves less acceptance of the average and more striving to be excellent.

Don’t tick boxes / Feel the pain / Get better every project / It’s (not) ok.