Lights... Camera... Axiom?

If they ever did a movie about my life (not that my life is that exciting, but bear with me here), I would look at formative moments that had a profound influence on how I've turned out.

Just in case they ever run out of an audience for teenage vampires, unrequited love stories, car chases, terrorist plots, superheroes, talking animals (am I missing any here?) and are desperate enough to ever want to make a movie about leading a high performing IT organization... I'll keep all of the plot spoilers under wraps for now.

But there is one moment that I would really want to be in the movie that I will share.

It has influenced my approach to life in so many ways.

I don't even remember where or when I heard it, or who said it... but it has become part of me.

It was a simple sentence, originally meant to be funny, but incredibly profound thing, almost proverbial in nature.

It really is an axiom - a self-evident truth that requires no proof.

"It" is this saying:.

"Why is it we always have time and money to do it over,  
but never seem to have the time or money to do it right in the first place?"

This is not about perfection.

This is about doing things right .

Doing things right when it comes to:

• Developing solutions and services for our customers.
• Designing our infrastructure solution. (Cheapest is not always the most cost effective).
• Not compromising the health safety of our employees.
• Managing projects and budgets. (My experience is that more projects fail due to inappropriate project management and cost controls than all other reasons combined.)
• Hiring the best people. (Hire slowly, fire quickly)
• Providing opportunities for our team to develop and grow. 
• Owning up to our mistakes. (See the post Your team messed up. Now What? )
• Taking responsibility.  If you are a leader, lead.
• Not taking shortcuts to maximize profits (note: "shortcuts" are bad, being more "efficient" is good. there is a difference).

In short, doing things right in the first place is really about running a professional organization.

Sometimes, doing it right  seems to cost more, but in the end is a much more effective use of time and resources.

Don't let shortsightedness get in the way of doing things with excellence.

What would you add to the list above?  What does doing things right look like to you?

... if they ever do make the movie... do you think Brad Pitt might be interested in the lead?  I've been told we are dead ringers for each other.

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Image: MS Office Imagebank

A version of this post has previously appeared on LinkedIn

About the Author:

I'm the Chief Information Officer for Appleby College, in Oakville, Ontario Canada, where my team is transforming the delivery of education through innovative application of technology.

I'm convinced that IT leadership needs to dramatically change how IT is delivered rather than being relegated to a costly overhead department.

In addition to transforming IT in my role as CIO, I look for every opportunity to talk about this... writing, speaking and now blogging on BeBee (https://www.bebee.com/@kevin-pashuk) , LinkedIn, ITWorld Canada, or at TurningTechInvisible.com.

I'm also an avid amateur musician and photographer (but not at the same time).  Check out my photostream on Flickr  or on beBee hive: serious-amateur-photographers