A company that was a client of mine a decade and a half ago adopted a slogan for its sales force and dealer network: 212 Degrees.

The premise was simple. At 211 degrees F, all you have is hot water. But at 212 degrees — the boiling point — you have steam that can power an engine, generate electricity and do all kinds of incredible work. So, said management, let’s all give that one little extra degree, and we’ll achieve great things.

It was a simple and compelling concept. It was also quite wrong. The creators of that campaign neglected the reality of what it takes to turn 211-degree water into steam. When you raise the temperature by one degree, you still have only hot water. That’s because making steam means also applying something called the heat of vaporization.

Simply stated, it takes one calorie of energy to raise the temperature of a milliliter of water by one degree Celsius. But to turn that milliliter of water at the boiling point into steam takes 540 calories more. That’s a great deal beyond a little extra.

Leaps forward

Something similar holds true in transforming an organization’s performance from merely good to truly excellent: It takes a tremendous amount of energy, dedication, commitment, creativity and persistence — analogous to that additional 540 calories.

During my years around the clean-water business I’ve encountered several organizations that I would describe as exceptional — that did what it took to bring excellence to a boil. They weren’t content to do a capable job, meet their permit and protect their receiving stream. They pushed boundaries. They did things most utilities never dream about, let alone attempt.

Consider the East Bay Municipal Utility District in California. Energy efficiency is a huge deal in treating wastewater. This agency didn’t stop with the traditional energy audit and set of conservation projects. They didn’t even stop with achieving net-zero energy.

Instead, they arranged to haul in and co-digest high-BOD food and process waste to increase biogas production as fuel for turbine generators. As a result, the district now produces more energy than it consumes.

Then there’s the Hampton Roads (Virginia) Sanitation District. Not content to simply continue its long and consistent record of compliance, the district set out to further protect the environment, enhance the groundwater supply and address issues such as Chesapeake Bay restoration, sea level rise and saltwater intrusion.

The district’s SWIFT initiative takes highly treated water that otherwise would be discharged into the rivers, further treats it to drinking water standards, and injects it into the Potomac Aquifer, which is eastern Virginia’s main source of drinking water.

And let’s not forget Clean Water Services, based in Hillsboro, Oregon. This utility is a pioneer in naming itself not after its raw material (wastewater), but after its end product. It’s also a leader in watershed assessment and planning, water reuse, nutrient recovery and renewable energy production.

CWS also promotes the idea of One Water Cycle, encouraging its residents and customers to think about all the paths our water can follow, “from the rain, through pipe systems, treatment facilities and back to the environment to be used again.” It’s an old concept that is gaining new acceptance as an overall approach to managing and protecting water resources.

Leading the pack

As for that company I worked with all those years ago, it was definitely a good one — profitable, respected in its marketplace, its products solid and highly competitive. The 212 Degrees campaign did seem to energize the internal and dealer sales forces. My sense, though, is that it didn’t drive a quantum leap ahead — because it only asked for that “one little extra degree.” The three utilities I’ve highlighted here did a great deal more to get where they are.

For a private business or a public entity, there is nothing wrong with being merely good, or very good. Lots of organizations of that caliber serve their market or community well and provide long, rewarding, satisfying careers for their people. And if in the bargain they improve steadily and incrementally, that’s great.

But those that want to blaze the trail, to be the subjects of cover stories in the trade magazines and to revolutionize the way their sector’s business is done, need to apply more than just one extra little calorie of energy — something more akin to that big boost called the heat of vaporization.