Be consistently good

Original post:  Oct 22, 2015

We're all seeking for success. Everyone wants to be a winner. While no one can guarantee that we will reach the ultimate prizes that we seek, we can certainly maximize our chances by giving our best efforts.

In this article, "Secrets to Success: 6 Tips From the Most Successful People", you might be able to pick up a tip or two that can help you increase your odds of winning.

The first tip talks about the need to be creative. I found it rather eye-opening. The city of Chicago in the 1800s was suffering from serious disease because of its sewage problems. They also realized that they couldn't dig tunnels under the city for new sewers with the existing technology. Ellis Chesbrough came up with a novel solution:

But here Chesbrough’s unique history helped him come up with an alternate scenario, reminding him of a tool he had seen as a young man working the railway: the jackscrew, a device used to lift multiton locomotives onto the tracks. If you couldn’t dig down to create a proper grade for drainage, why not use jackscrews to lift the city up? Aided by the young George Pullman, who would later make a fortune building railway cars, Chesbrough launched one of the most ambitious engineering projects of the nineteenth century. Building by building, Chicago was lifted by an army of men with jackscrews. As the jackscrews raised the buildings inch by inch, workmen would dig holes under the building foundations and install thick timbers to support them, while masons scrambled to build a new footing under the structure. Sewer lines were inserted beneath buildings with main lines running down the center of streets, which were then buried in landfill that had been dredged out of the Chicago River, raising the entire city almost ten feet on average.

Nothing was shut down. As a 750-ton hotel was lifted, people went about their lives inside — perhaps only taking a second to marvel at the surreal experience going on beneath them.

The title of this post is picked up from tip #2. Steve Martin, the brilliant comic, discusses the importance of honing our craft through diligence and hard work in his autobiography:

I learned a lesson: It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances.

Here is a summary of the tips for success on a grand scale:

• When the going gets tough, the tough get creative. Don’t do more, do different. Lift a city.
• Don’t be great, be consistently good. Don’t worry about the big break, worry about being good enough.
• Use rejection as motivation. And remember the compliments you receive. You’re charming, right?
• Working hard is the best way to network. Bring coffee and tea.
• Don’t wait for permission. Don’t poison anyone, but test and prove.
• If you can’t be #1, be clever. Energizing others with style can beat “the best way.” (Mimes are nodding right now.)

Better net results

Original post:  May 8, 2013

Sometimes the greatest obstacle to improvement is success. There are many examples of athletes who are very successful at one level. They might have one superlative skill which covers for a number of other flaws. At more junior levels, it's easy to overwhelm the competition. As you rise in ranks, it becomes far more difficult because there are other competitors who may be able to match your greatest skills and flash other talents that the lesser player is unable to match.

There are even successful professionals who rely heavily on a singular talent. Andy Roddick is one of the best American tennis players in recent history. Recently retired, he was once known for a ferocious serve. For many years, he held the world record at over 140 miles per hour! He could often win matches through the sheer power of his unreturnable rockets. He was even able to win one major championship. Unfortunately, he was never able to harness all of his talents and reach the level of the superstars. He often came close, but never quite broke through. He came very close--he advanced to five other major championship finals only to lose each time.

Four of those losses came at the hands of one man:  Roger Federer. This Swiss champion is widely acknowledged as one of the best tennis players of all time. Federer was never able to match Roddick's sheer power on his serve. His serves are often 20-30 mph slower. Despite this difference, he is still able to locate them with pinpoint accuracy. This ability to literally freeze opponents in their tracks enables him to obtain results on his service game that are equal to Roddick's. He then separates himself with his overall game (which is far superior in just about every aspect).

This video demonstrates how lethal his serve can be. Using the same motion over and over again with almost robotic efficiency, he sprays the serve in different directions. It makes it nearly impossible to predict where he intends to go until it is too late!

When we are faced with similar situations, it will be important for us to learn how to raise our game. We will need to learn how to neutralize our opponent's greatest strength and transition the battle to areas where we can bring other talents to bear. In the end, it may be the only way to succeed!

Confidence

Original post:  Dec 3, 2012

Last week, I witnessed something extraordinary.

It is quite normal for leaders to be highly visible. These personnel are often extremely talented. They generally believe that no one else can succeed quite as well as they can. In many cases, they are right!

One obvious example of the charismatic leader in action is Steve Jobs. He was well known for dazzling presentations. His outsize persona often led to the blurring of the distinction between the man and his company.

While Steve Jobs was undoubtedly talented and certainly directly responsible for much of the success Apple enjoyed, there were also a number of highly successful lieutenants supporting the enterprise. As we have since learned, Tim Cook is a capable leader in his own right. While the company may head in a slightly different direction, there are multiple potential roads to success.

At a national sales meeting I attended last week, the senior leadership stepped away from the spotlight. They allowed their talented team to plan and execute a fantastic strategy. The meeting went extremely well. I think that victory ended up reflecting even more credit on the leadership's ability to build a solid team.

There are multiple roads to success. It is hard enough to succeed on your own. It is even more difficult to build a team that can do it together. The confidence shown in the team was repaid in full!