Boring Isn’t Bad

Last Sunday’s football game was probably the most boring in Super Bowl history. The score was 3-0 at the half and it wasn’t until the seven minute mark of the fourth quarter that either team scored a touchdown. In the end it was the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever. At the same time, the experts declared that this was a gem of a game for the Patriots. I had two thoughts as I watched the game. One is that boring isn’t bad and the second was there’s a business lesson to be learned from all that dullness.

With very little fanfare, the Patriots defense was incredibly efficient holding the Rams to just one third down conversion and constantly being in the face of the their quarterback. By the time the game was in the fourth quarter, the Rams were feeling the effects of the never-ending Patriots pressure and a resulting interception was just the opportunity that Tom Brady needed to win the game

The business lesson mirrors the work of the Patriots defense. To be successful, you have to grind it out – every day of every month of every year. There are no fireworks when an Algood sales or customer service rep suggests the right solution to meet a customer’s needs. There’s nothing spectacular about consistently manufacturing casters and wheels to the right specs. There’s no cheering section when our product regularly meet quality standards. And there are no horns blaring when our orders are delivered on schedule 98% of the time.

And just like the Patriots, it’s that unceremonious, almost dull, commitment to getting it right that creates the opportunity for the big moment – the one that does get a lot of attention. Whether that’s manufacturing 60,000 non-standard casters from design to delivery in less than 60 days, or creating the casters to be used in Canada’s first fully computerized hospital or being chosen as the supplier of the year by a global industrial powerhouse.

In the end, I’m ok with us being boringly good at what we do. It’s ok that many, if not most, of our customers can’t point to the one “Hail Mary” moment where we defied all odds to get their order right. (Although there have been some of those). Because there’s something really satisfying and rewarding about being boring in business.