January 23, 2009
Many business leaders and managers get frustrated when things don't go as planned. It hurts when you have worked every hour and you have usually been the last one to leave the building. On the other hand, it also hurts because you usually have one or two real die-hards who commit to helping you every step of the way, and you want to achieve so much for them as well as for yourself and the business. It may also hurt because there always appears to be a few happier people when the poor results arrive; you know who they are, don't you?
In contrast there are many business leaders and managers who are always looking for more. They don't worry about the current climate – it's irrelevant – and they will make the most of everything that comes their way. Achieving results is their speciality.
And then there are the people in the middle, the ones who continue doing the same, not really changing the pace or the direction, but managing to keep things going as usual. If you're in this final group, you're probably in the majority, because in times of trouble it's likely that the weakest links will not survive; the strongest will thrive, and the rest, well, it could be argued that they are the ones who have more choices. Not that any one of us is void of choice but the prize for this group is significantly greater because there is so much more to achieve, and with a few moves in the right direction things could be so much better.
In summary let's see which group you can familiarize yourself with: not achieving results, always achieving, not succeeding and not failing.
There could even be subsections to these groups in exactly the same format. For example, if you're in the always achieving group, who says that you will always remain there? There are probably some people close to falling out of this group, some just surviving in the group and some people still striving to achieve more. This is good news because it means there is always the opportunity to improve wherever you are.
So what can you do about it?
Tony Robbins, one of the most dynamic human transformation experts in the world today, talks about the rewards that you might expect from showing up in certain ways. He talks of poor, good, excellent and outstanding performance. Have a look at my interpretation of what this could mean for you.
If you do a poor job, what rewards can you expect? Many might think the answer is poor. In reality, the answer is more likely to be NONE! Poor means you can't be bothered, you may start something and not complete it, or you may have a really poor view of the world that becomes transparent to all around you. In fact, it can have a major impact, in an adverse way, on other people and often does. Is this behavior deserving of any reward?
If you do a good job, what rewards can you then expect? Most people might say that if a good job is done, then the rewards should be good. In reality a good job usually achieves little reward; a good job is expected for the money you earn every day. A good job can reap great benefits for those you are working for, but it's generally fair to say that good really isn't good enough for the majority of us.
If you do an excellent job, what rewards can you now expect? Well, excellent can mean that you're one of the best and you might be rewarded for your work. On the other hand, the rewards are often not great. Think of the last time you did an excellent job; were the rewards really excellent or even life-changing? Well, maybe excellent is not good enough to provide life-changing rewards.
So as Tony suggests, what would happen if you were outstanding because the difference in rewards at the very highest levels are disproportionate compared to any other level!
And the best thing about this is that once you know it, believe it and then create the strategy for your success, the gap is far easier to fill than at any other stage of your progress. To become outstanding requires the least significant shift than at any other level.
And the rewards are ridiculous!
As an example, just think of the rewards of an Olympic gold medallist compared to the no-medal-winning competitors, or the rewards of the finalists compared to the rest of the field.
So whichever category you feel is appropriate for you right now, establish where you sit in that group. Ask yourself, is my performance poor, good, excellent or outstanding? Of course, as a business manager and leader, you will obviously be aware that this information applies to anyone you can think of; in fact you may be a school teacher or an electrician, you may be a bus driver or a politician, and you may be at home looking after the children or travelling the world lecturing about an endangered species. Whatever it is that you do on a day-to-day basis, the theory will apply, and if you make the shift from excellent to outstanding, your rewards will be significant.
And don't forget rewards are the things that are most appropriate to you in your life.
I choose to believe Tony Robbins because he is outstanding, and you can make that choice too. It really is up to you.