First of all, the use of the word 'ain't' under any circumstances rubs me the wrong way and I feel so ashamed for using it in the title. I did start college majoring in English, so I have deep seated feelings about it. On the other hand, I listen to a lot of country music, which couldn't exist without the word. I went with it because, 'two out of three is not bad' ain't what Meatloaf sang in the classic 70"s song, so I decided to stick with the illegal contraction.

Second, the response to the 'name that book' initiative was underwhelming. There are not a lot of book-namers among the readers of this Blog. An idea I had several years ago when the thought first popped into my head about a book was to title it "Observations at the Speed of Life." So, we are going to go with that unless a brilliant title drops out of the sky.

I hope that the final product is completed fast, doesn't cost a fortune, and is good enough for someone to buy, although two out of three ain't bad.

Years ago, someone smarter than me said in a project meeting: ‘Fast, Cheap or Good, pick two" and I remembered it, and have recognized this seemingly universal rule over and over again.

Even if you’ve never heard the expression, when you think about it, you can recognize projects, programs, and priorities in your past or current world where it was/is true or where someone in charge picked the two.

In my experience organizations, as part of their culture, make the same two choices over and over again.

FAST & CHEAP: Some organizations, products, services, or projects are Fast and Cheap, but not Good. Discount stores and dollar stores might be in this category. Paper plates also come to mind, and $3 chardonnays are included here. Getting 99 cent coffee at Cumberland Farms that you make yourself counts.

 FAST & GOOD: Others are Fast and Good, but not Cheap. This category might include upscale or midscale department stores. Any product made by Bose is in this category and most of the things in LL Bean’s catalogue fall into this category.  Of course, getting a $2.99 medium coffee at Dunkin also fits in here.

CHEAP & GOOD: Still others are Cheap and Good, but not Fast. This could be something on Etsy or from China. That bobblehead you ordered for a friend before Christmas also comes to mind. This could be your Keurig coffee, made with a Dunkin coffee pod that fits.

NONE OF THE ABOVE: But those aren’t the only ‘outcomes’ or types of organizations. You can also have products or services that are not Fast and not Cheap, and not Good. And whatever they might be, they probably don’t last.

ALL OF THE ABOVE: Theoretically, you can also have things that are fast, cheap, and good, and that is probably why Amazon is Amazon.

When organizations change direction, get a new CEO, or refocus their energies, one of the key components of that direction change is modifying the current Fast-Cheap-Good ratio to a new one.

It is one of the reasons that there is so much turnover when organizations change leadership.

How can you tell which type of organization you are with? Didn’t you already rate yours while reading this? Don’t you already know?

Don't you also know that YOU prefer one of the options personally?

Are you a Fast and Good or a Fast, and Cheap, or a Good and Cheap person?

If your personal preference matches that of the organization you are involved with, you ‘fit.’ If it doesn’t, you don’t.

Someone in the back asked a very important question: “Is it possible to be Fast, Cheap and Good?” And the answer is simple: yes, that is known as ‘Success.’ Very rare.

To stand out, in my opinion, confirm what your organizational culture might be. Identify the two choices 'they' have picked, keep them in mind as you do your work, and work hard to add the third.

In fact, the best performers actually master their understanding of the organizational culture and proactively align behavior to the two unstated priorities while working to add the third.

Fast, Cheap and Good is always welcomed by everyone, whether it is a pizza delivery, a chardonnay, a car, a project, a Christmas present or a record album.

As the song and the title of the Weblog states: two out of three ain't bad. But three out of three is always better.

For more than 25 years, my son has been a big fan of Deana Carter (Strawberry Wine) and has traveled to see her perform. Last week he attended two Christmas shows where she performed along with Phil Vassar, another 90's country artist.

The photo from 1996 was taken in Nashville at Fan Fair and was the first time they met. The photo from last week was taken in Hagerstown, Maryland and Deana is holding a collage of their photos over the years, which Joe presented to her prior to the show. www.deana.com