I’ve missed you. The past two weeks have been overwhelming here, but I won’t miss another Wednesday Wisdom.

For the past few months, we conducted a massive interview process for a new addition to our team. Last week we hired someone with less education than others we interviewed, but one who could add greater value. I have to say, for me it was a no-brainer. Another strong candidate, well-polished with an advanced degree, expected to be hired but lacked the stuff an education cannot guarantee. Instead, I opted for the candidate in whom I saw passion, the one whose abilities complement our team and whose overall diversity of experience brings something we lacked.

Last week, we hired passion. In no way am I discounting the value of an advanced degree—never that; it’s just not our highest measuring rod. In a world full of people with Masters and Ph.D.s, it’s refreshing to know that our team is less impressed with credentials and more impressed with passion.

After all, that passion is what makes us so good at what we do!

In a recent book by Amy Chua, Why Chinese Mothers Are Better, Amy cites why Chinese mothers never allow their children to watch TV or play video games. If you saw what I saw on television this week, you’d understand why.

Whatever happened to creativity? Has it been sacrificed for shock-and-awe? Has good writing been robbed by poor taste? What happens when we push the envelope so far we can’t take back the message? I have a challenge for up-and-coming writers-be creative without being crude. You can do it…James Cameron has been doing it for decades.

Work, work, work should not be mistaken for value. Many people work at a job, but not all bring value. So, how does one bring value? Value is assessed two ways: 1) an employer’s need and 2) an employee’s productivity.

• Need: Employers hire based on their requirement to fill a need; something needs to get done.
• Productivity: Does the employee deliver ahead of time and on time? Does he or she create additional ways to bring money to the business, help the supervisor leave early, or provide a solution to a problem?

I have a saying in business: “Before I meet the client, it’s our job to know what they need, how we are going to fill their needs, and how we’re going to prove we brought value.”

The question is…Are you valuable?

As an entrepreneur with a consulting firm, I am hired by companies for a variety of services, from program design to conference and meeting planning. Working as a transplant in these organizations enables me to be both a spectator and a participant in growing their business, reaching a new audience, or simply expanding their existing customer base. As you can imagine, working with both for-profit and non-profit businesses, I’ve seen many great ideas end up in the Land of Nowhere. However, in both my professional and personal life, I’ve come to notice a formula for success outlined in four key character types – the innovator, the refiner, the transformer, and the closer. In the business world, it looks something like this:

• The innovator creates the idea.

Often considered creative types, innovators have great ideas but little to no expertise in execution. With the right team in place, they can build an empire; otherwise, they just have good ideas that never quite grow legs.

Innovator Pros

• Creative/Original Ideas
• Forward Thinking
• Visionary/Dream Big

Areas of Improvement

• Plan More
• Streamline Ideas
• Finance Your Ideas

During the interview, I was extremely attentive to Rihanna’s self-esteem.  It was authentic not a façade camouflaged with designer hand bags, luxury cars and trendy new fashion like so many women young and seasoned alike. Even after the abuse, the vacation in Miami, and her love for Chris to which she is still annoyed, she decided to leave.

Sure we see Rihanna’s cutting edge hair, dynamic personality, and trendsetting fashion and think “you have to be confident to rock that.”  But many people say they have self-esteem, some even present themselves with great self-esteem but real self-esteem looks in the mirror and says…I don’t deserve to get beat up, I don’t deserve to be mistreated, I don’t deserve to be misguided, I don’t deserve anything less than what God intended and has extended to me already and I should expect nothing less.  Real self-esteem puts an action behind “the image” they present to everyone else.  Hooray to Rihanna for leading the charge on REAL self-esteem and not the façade so many put out.

When sustaining your A game, performance is a critical component. That means performing above and beyond what is needed or expected. It’s giving the extra 50% necessary to operate above the rest. I hope others will see my performance and become better themselves because of my example. Raising my own bar breeds consistency and responsibility in those around me.

Operating at an A level in a C-level environment can be undermined by three key things: time, knowledge, and staff. Lack of time management robs us of proper planning and often causes us to be hurried and not put our best foot forward. For obvious reasons, a lack of knowledge directly robs us of our A game. We should be in a constant state of learning. And sometimes uncommitted staff members can undermine your Level A.

To maximize staff contributions to the entire mix, it’s essential to have people operating in their sweet spot, where their passion meets their purpose. The biggest indicator of someone not operating in their sweet spot is confusion and disorder, but a great leader won’t cast them out. A great leader will build them up and find the right place for them. Operating at A level means engaging the right staff—an employee, volunteer, friend, even co-worker, and figuring out what excites them—not who can simply do the job. Even Jesus paid attention and took the time and care necessary to develop each disciple. For volunteers it could be by trial and error; for a friend it could be selecting activities that take them out of their comfort zone; for an employee or co-worker it could be helping them identify corporate projects that excite them.

In ministry, I pride myself on producing quality programs that represent Christ. In business, I give my clients the best service available. “Average” is a waste of time for me. I’m only concerned with excellence. Excellence attracts excellence. This means carefully examining my friends and peers. If most of the people I know are average, then I probably am too; if they are moving toward greatness, then so am I. If they are in the same place today that they were in last year so, am I? I should ensure friends are pursuing the same level of excellence and greatness as I am—are they?

Mentors are a key ingredient to developing greatness. Great mentors open doors, create opportunities and secure resources on behalf of their mentee. The mentor nurtures dynamic and fresh talent for greatness; when the mentee demonstrates the potential necessary for that relationship.

Dictionary.com defines a mentor as an influential senior sponsor or supporter. I love that word sponsor because a sponsor vouches for and is responsible for the other person. A great mentor is responsible for the mentee emotionally, intellectually, socially and fiscally. A mentor is emotionally responsible because they guide the mentee regarding how and what to communicate. A mentor is intellectually responsible because they lead the mentee professionally in their trade o industry; socially responsible, introducing the mentee to new social circles and p roviding access for opportunities. Lastly, a mentor should be fiscally responsible by economically empowering, not necessarily by giving them money, but by enhancing their opportunities for economic success.

Mentoring is a huge responsibility that requires hard work and commitment. It’s a long-term relationship, not a quarterly dinner or lunch engagement. The mentee becomes the mentor’s shadow, an extension of themselves. The mentor’s life has to be in order before they can competently mentor someone else. How can I be a Realtor® and not own a home? How can I mentor married couples and my marriage is in shambles? Now that we have developed excellence, built a reputation, ignored the naysayers and found an appropriate mentor, it’s time to develop our strategy for action.