Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

Shep Englander — Federation Journal

For the better part of two years, our Federation team has been making a deliberate effort to define what drives our work and how we do it. The four core values of Community, Inclusivity, Learning, and Integrity rose to the top. The next step was to identify a list of fundamentals: actionable, daily core behaviors that bring our core values to life and define our culture. Each week, we make a point to focus on practicing a different fundamental, and I kick off that effort by sharing my thoughts on each one at the beginning of each week. Here are my thoughts for our seventh week:

Fundamental #7:  GO THE EXTRA MILE.  Be willing to do whatever it takes to solve the problem or to accomplish the job . . . plus a little bit more.  Whether it’s starting early or staying late when necessary, or doing something that’s not in your job description, it’s the extra mile that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. 

We are going to have to work hard, change our thinking and our habits to make some of the Fundamentals real in how we work every day.

But others, like “Go the Extra Mile” are already embedded in who we are. We don’t see this as just another job. We are not limited by our job descriptions.  

I don’t need to urge us to embrace this Fundamental. We already do.