I heard John Maxwell once say that “People won’t remember what you did and they won’t remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.”  There is a lot to be said for that statement.

I believe it goes hand in hand with the statement that I have heard over and over from my mentors; “People do business with those that they know, like and trust.”

I remember when I was back in High School and making $4.17 and hour at a local grocery store bagging groceries.  I think I was a pretty typical kid at the time.  I wasn’t too concerned about saving money but wanted to get the most for what I spent it on. The cheaper the price, the more I would get for my dollar, right?

Somewhere between then and now I learned that this is not always right and the older I get, the more I understand that quality is what you are really paying for, not how big or fancy the box is.

So what is quality?  Is it determined by how long something lasts?  Or maybe, but how good it makes you look?  I think when it really comes down to it, quality is defined by how that product or service makes you feel.

There are basically two different types of things we purchase with our money.  Products and services.  So see if you follow my logic here.

If you buy, for an example, a new vehicle.  Sure you want it to look good and run good but what will really define the quality of that vehicle?  I will suggest that the real lasting impression of the quality of that car will be how it made you feel.

Did it make you feel safe?  Did it make you feel like you made a good investment?  Did you feel like you could depend on that vehicle to get you around no matter what the conditions were?

I remember when our oldest son bought his first car.  It was a used 4-door Mercedes Benz.  Of course he thought it was cool because it was a black Mercedes and made him look like some type of intimidating mafia dude.

But Dad liked the car because it was safe.  It drove really nice and was built with the safety of the passengers in mind.  That car made me feel secure when the kids were out driving it.  That was the quality as I saw it.

I think quality is a little more difficult to define when it comes to services.  I love asking the question; “What do you want?”  It amazes me how many people really don’t know.  They think they know, but when you get the heart of it, they don’t.

Many times it starts with possessions, a new car, a bigger house and so on.  But when you go a little deeper, it becomes about security and quality of life.  A lot of people I have worked with start of believing that stuff is what will make them happy.

Sure, it might help, but it really comes down to finding that quality of life that most never find.  To wake up in the morning and be excited about what will happen next, even if you don’t know what it is.  To be able to do the things you want to do and not be consumed by the things that you have to do.

So what is quality?  It will be different for everyone, but I challenge anyone to tell me that things will ever mean more that the experiences that came along with them.  I believe quality is defined not by what you received but by who you became doing it or using it.

Stuff doesn’t make you feel good.  What you do with it is what leave the lasting impression.  So a question for you to ponder today to see if you can determine the quality of some of your most prized possessions.  “What is the greatest memory you have from your most expensive possession?  Whatever that memory is will determine the real quality of that possession.

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Barry Smith    8/26/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013