GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN BUSINESS

Good is fools gold in business! It is the week before the Super Bowl, so I am being bombarded with feel good stories of the player and coaches for this weeks game. What is not getting the attention is how these team got to the Super Bowl. Both team’s coaches, at a pivotal point in the season, chose to be great and not settle for just being good. I watched the Baltimore Ravens lose to my beloved Redskins in overtime as a good team but not a great team. San Francisco too was a good team but with a couple losses their coach knew they were not great.

Jim Collin’s in his now legendary book Good To Great punctuates the importance of seeking to be great with his famous quote “Good is the Enemy of Great.”

Baltimore let go of their offensive coordinator late in the season to give the play calling duties Jim Caldwell a rare and un-heard of move. San Francisco benched their quarterback who was 3^rd in the NFL in passer rating but lacked the X Factor. Why did these coaches take this risk? They knew they had good team, play off team, but not great teams defined as a Super Bowl Championship Team.

Does your business settle for good but not great? Are their changes you know you need to be made but would be un-confortable? Letting go of an offensive coordinator who was your close friend and on your staff for years was uncomfortable for Ravens coach John Harbaugh but he wanted GREAT. His brother Jim, who coaches the 49ers had a veteran quarterback, who though sufficient, could not do the exceptional.

TAKEAWAY:          Do not settle for good.

Being Stupid is Unforgiveable

With today’s technology to be stupid just means you are lazy. Why do I say that?  I recently read that anyone who reads 2 books on a particular subject knows more on that subject then 95% of the worlds population. Wow 2 books and I am an expert! Don’t get me wrong your not a Malcolm Gladwell “Outlier” but indeed quite knowledgeable on a given subject.

Let me make it even easier for you, as being a voracious reader I still find that only 50% of every book I read has valuable content and I am being kind. So let me give you a secret to extracting the best from a book or specific subject. Google the book title and in many cases if it is well known Wikipedia will give you the outline with a brief overview of all the key points. Next you will more than likely find articles on the book from the author basically condensing the key points. If is is a subject, with one hour you can read at least 10 periodicals that relate to a specific subject you are seeking to grasp better.

So in conclusion make a list of 10 subjects that if you knew better would dramatically improve key areas of your life. Then take one day a week and commit to spending an hour researching and reading using the tips above. I also like to write my key points on a legal paper with the subject at the top. One hour later I have a greater grasp of the subject then 95%.

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me other the years.

Take a Different Road Home

Change your scenery. What are looking at that's different? Are you meeting new people and places?
You learn very little when you don't expose yourself to new things. Commit to seeing something new every week. Maybe you read a blog.podcast or a book.

Change Your Paradigm

How do you view things? Your paradigm is you view, the picture you have painted of something.
It is from your paradigm that your attitude and behaviors will come from. If you believe you are successful you will act and carryout habits that you correlate with successful people. If you are negative and do not see yourself as successful your attitude and behavior will mirror this. This week just start asking yourself how you view things.
Yourself (self-image)
Others
Career/ Opportunities
Family/ Your Marriage/ Friendships
Your Dreams