Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Become An Enemy of Mediocrity

The signature of mediocrity is not unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.

Jim Collins

I’ve been thinking . . . about how annoying mediocrity is.

Aldous Huxley lamented, “The tendency of the masses is towards mediocrity.” In a world of conformity, average, ordinary, sameness and yes, dreaded mediocrity; innovative companies find being the best of mediocre nauseating. Instead, there is a sense of urgency inspiring them to reinvent excellence; to imagine and create what could be.

World class is unreachable if being just a little bit better excites you. Tom Peters said: “If you are spending all your time trying to incrementally improve what you do, you are not spending enough time reinventing it, going for quantum leaps or blowing it up.” Gradual improvement, doing things just a little different then you’ve done them in the past, rarely produces eye catching, foot-stomping, award winning results.

World class performance requires a visual & mental transformation . . . seeing your operation, your position or your life as you’ve never seen it before. Think about who you can become. What are all the possibilities for outrageous innovations? Dare yourself to envision the unknown. . . even the presently considered impossible.
World Class is all about creating one-of-a-kind, ‘WOW’, unforgettable experiences. How can you be so good at what you do that people can’t help but applaud your efforts? Quoting Tom Peters once again: “If you are not distinct you will be extinct. If when you do what you do very well and it is still just ordinary, you have work to do.” What separates you from the masses?

The way things have always been creates a powerful magnetic force to keep things the way they are . . . or as close as possible to the current comfort level. The possibility of discomfort can dramatically stymie any effort to take giant steps towards reinvention. Find a way to dump the baggage that forces you to a standstill. Continually recreate the status quo, don’t protect it.

As Cynthia Barton Rabe warns, “what we know limits what we can imagine.” Why? Because, as some wise Texan once declared; “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you’ve ever got.” If you keep doing things the way you’ve always done them or you do them the same way everyone else does, what is going to set you apart from anyone?

What’s your passion? Where would you like to have unmatched performance? How can you become uncommon? Where can you invest your energy to move from ordinary to extraordinary? From average to world class? It’s simply not good enough to be simply good enough.

World class isn’t about winning. . .
World class isn’t about the competition . . .
World Class isn’t about beating someone. . .
World Class is about setting a higher standard. World class is about transforming what you can do to be considered among the world’s best at what you do.

William Taylor was the co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company Magazine. In his newest book Practically Radical, Taylor suggests that in order to stay relevant in a changing world, “You have to be the most of something: The most elegant, the most colorful, the most focused.”

What would you tell people you are “the most at?” According to Taylor, “it is not good enough to be ‘pretty good’ at everything. You have to be the most of something.” If potential customers don’t clearly see what sets you apart, then the competitive advantage is literally non-existent.

If you don’t yearn for excellence, then you will soon settle for acceptable or good enough. The next step is mediocrity, and nobody wants to pay for mediocre! It all begins with becoming an enemy of mediocrity and a friend to tremendous, exceptional, outstanding. . .

“Mediocrity is a region bound on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking, and on the west by lack of vision.”

John Mason



Monday, May 14, 2012

It’s All About Team

“The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.” 

Bill RussellBoston
Celtics Hall of Fame

I’ve been thinking . . . about teamwork.

The concept of teamwork seems to be worn out. Maybe we’ve overused the term without fully understanding the intent, process or outcomes. Regardless, I’m well aware that lip service without practical application or personal commitment has bred indifference to this age old concept.

I’m beginning to lean more toward the idea of “team spirit.” Legendary basketball coach John Wooden defines it as “an eagerness to sacrifice personal interests and glory for the good and greatness of the team.” I love that definition.

What would happen if everyone on your team agreed to give up just one of their personal interests for the good of the team for 30 days? What if each person was willing to sacrifice personal achievement or satisfaction for the team’s success? What if “we” rather than “me” guided all decisions for a month? I’m talking more than a token effort here. Let’s think about a full-fledged selfless pursuit of team spirit.

Sound simple? Maybe. There are substantial egos, agendas, selfish interests, personal hang-ups and a host of other issues you’ll have to contend with. Try it anyway. Challenge your team. The potential results are worth the required effort.

Let me illustrate. I’ m normally glued to the Olympics. There’s something about patriotism combined with watching sports I know very little about, cheering my heart out, celebrating the successes and grieving the losses. Personal and team success is undoubtedly magnified in this venue.

Let’s go back in time to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Michael Phelps was having a wonderfully successful Olympic experience. He was prepared for yet another event. His competition was favored teammate Ian Crocker who had posted the best times in the world for the 100-meter butterfly. It was fabulous race. Spectators were engaged. The television announcers called the event with unguarded enthusiasm. Somehow Phelps managed a last second surge and touched the wall 1/100th of a second ahead of his competitors, in route to another gold medal.

Everyone knew nineteen-year-old Phelps entered the Athens games intent on chasing Mark Spitz’s record of seven medals. The quest was still within reach. But then, Phelps shocked everyone by producing one of the most unexpected and memorable moments of the 2004 Olympics.

Immediately following the butterfly competition, Phelps and teammate Crocker sat together for a television interview. They both talked about the importance of team and how happy they were for each other. It was unusual display of team spirit especially in light of some egotistical showboating and boasting on the part of other American athletes. Phelps and Crocker genuinely shared the spotlight and unpretentiously shared the glory of the moment. It was heart warming and probably unprecedented.

Shortly thereafter a special announcement shocked the Olympic world. Michael Phelps had decided to step aside allowing Crocker to swim in his place in the upcoming 400-meter relay. Phelps told the media Crocker was better in this event than he was and the team had a better chance to win with Crocker than with him. You’re kidding. Even though he had earned the right to swim this event, he decided to give Crocker an opportunity to earn his own gold medal. When the buzzer sounded and the relay began, Phelps was in the stands, enthusiastically cheering on Crocker as the U.S. team went on to capture the gold.

Phelps’s decision rocked the Olympic world. His concession made headlines around the world. Why? Because this display of selfless team spirit is so rare in the athletic world. Or is it just the athletic world. Could it be rare in your world as well?

Team spirit is all about understanding that we succeed only to the degree we help our team succeed. G.K. Chesterton is credited with saying, “There is the great man who makes every man feel small, but the really great man is the man who makes every man feel great.” It could also be said the really great team player is the one who knows how to make the other person successful.

Team spirit. . . the realization by each team member that they are only as good as their team’s ability to succeed. That’s powerful stuff.

When it comes to your teammates, you want to compete in such a way that instead of competing with them, you are completing them. Those are two different mind-sets.

John Maxwell