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Here is the good news — we are not alone. Throughout the nation, people are taking a stand against shoddy workmanship, sloppy behaviour and less than perfect service delivery.
On Sunday afternoon I visited my bank to withdraw some money from the automated teller machine and the next thing the machine decided to hang onto my card for a little longer than I would have liked (It had obviously found my card tasty).

I pressed buttons, spoke to it sweetly, threatened it with violence, but the cash machine stubbornly refused to hand my card back.
Due to whatever machine internal error I found myself with no cash and no card.
Fortunately for me, the security guard was somewhat more alert than some I have met, she made a call and told me that someone would be on the way shortly.

“Shortly” turned into one hour, then two. The guard had called back only to be told to be patient.
A rather nice SUV arrived and a gentleman stepped out to use the ATM. I warned him that he would probably have no luck and explained my plight.
In a fluid movement he whipped out his phone and made a single call. It turned out he was a director at the bank.

He spoke to the technician (who admittedly was on the way), encouraged him to hurry up and apologised to me. Here was a man who did not tolerate the substandard — at his company or at anyone else’s. Needless to say, I got my card back.
The whole episode was (despite the delay) rather encouraging. A security guard, who being subcontracted has no affiliation to the company, was willing to sacrifice her airtime to help me — not just shrug it off with an “I am not the one” attitude.

I liked the fact that the bank had a system that allowed for 24-hour service and maintenance even on a Sunday.
A director who values the reputation of his firm and who is willing to do something about it for a poor customer in a dire situation. These are people who will fight the substandard with you.

Compare this to people that just suck. They are always there and a can ruin your day merely by occupying the same vicinity as you.
They exist in any company or project. They are the passive, always complaining and dull people who are totally dominated by the substandard.
They are what I call the Grey. Their mere presence pulls the colour from your day because you know that they will fault find and procrastinate.

They have given in to the idea that nothing needs to change, nothing should be done and nothing can be done to change that status quo.
The Grey are not the enemy though. The substandard is the real enemy. The best way to deal with the Grey is to ignore them.
Move them to the periphery of your life and work with people who share the same drive and desire as you.

It is easy to sideline the Grey in your own organisation, but they are not only confined to your office.
You will meet them all over the place because they are as ubiquitous as the substandard. You find them when you go to get a permit stamped, when you phone to make an appointment with your doctor and when you have a large family gathering.

It requires a different set of tactics. Rather than ignore and sideline, here you have to work around them or side-step them.
You need to push past them relentlessly till you can find someone in the organisation who shares the same desire as you to build with excellence.
Working with those people who can help you effectively and efficiently can make you wonder why it has been so hard to get things done all this time.

There is one last method to dealing with the Grey, but it is at great cost and peril to yourself.
It involves drawing them out from the clutches of the substandard. This is by far the hardest course and you need to steel yourself in case they taint you.
It also takes the help of others who are determined to fight the substandard.

The Pacific Institute has found that it does not require a majority to bring about a change in the culture of an organisation.
It requires a critical mass of people thinking the same. This critical mass can be as little as 25 percent of the office.
That means that in an office of 10 it only needs three of you to change the vibe and begin to affect others.

It takes time. It takes constant reinforcement and challenging. But it can be done.
Colour people’s world with a constant barrage of positive affirmation and progress and watch them change.
If they do not like it, well then they are free to leave. The substandard has no place in our lives. Keep fighting.

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