Exceeding Expectations

Have you ever found yourself glued to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? While most of the show is considered a glorified commercial for Sears, Pier One, and many other name brands there is something interesting that happens during the first 10 minutes and the last 15.

If you never watched before, the show is focused around a Design Team that facilitates and participates in the remodeling of a home for a needy family—with a completed project deadline in 7 days. During the first 10 minutes the Design Team reviews the family’s submission tape and assesses the housing needs by interviewing each family member of his/her current living situation. After listening to the family, the Design Team collaborates on their vision of the house and they begin to talk about the barriers, dreams and passion that each family member shared with them. The bulk of the show is a fast-paced timeline of Days 2 through 6 of the builders, interior designers, landscapers, woodworkers, electricians and hundreds of volunteers who work together to complete the job.

What strikes my interest in the show is always found in the last 15 minutes. It seems that regardless of the housing needs the outcome always exceeds the expectations of the homeowners. Why? Is the key to success the interview process that identifies the needs of family? What made the interview valuable to the process? What fostered the development of the collective conscience of the hundreds of volunteers? Why is it even important to study the process that led to the results when the outcome exceeded the expectations? Isn't that enough?