Learn and Improve

Do you have lofty ambitions? I’m on that never ending mission to learn and improve. This means I fail a lot! My ambitions in life are not to merely get by or survive but to make a difference, to create a company that builds a future where customers, employees, and our partnerships win. Lofty goals nonetheless! It is not easy, but I believe it is worthwhile.

The easy part for me is the dream. The hard part is the execution of the dream. We are all constantly bombarded by negative messages. Messages that confine us, restrict us, or make us stay within acceptable boundaries. Boundaries that limit risk and for that matter failure. Not that boundaries aren’t necessary in most cases they are. But the kind of boundaries that make you like everyone else. So I’m sitting here early Wednesday morning thinking about those subtle messages we all hear. You know what I mean? Those messages that say stay where you are, don’t take risk, live comfortably, think within the box, status quo is not always bad, etc.

Then I recall what W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne said in Blue Ocean Strategies. If we are to win in the future, we must stop competing with each other and the only way to beat the competition in the future is to stop trying. In essence we must go beyond competing. We must seize the moment! We must make new rules for the game! We must go beyond competing. In my industry you see it as clear as day. The market space gets crowded and profits and growth are reduced which turns into cutthroat competition. So how do you change that?

We do it by re-creating existing boundaries — set new rules! If you look like everyone else, you probably are! If you are similar to everyone else and it is perceived that way people will only select you based on PRICE! You see it in many industries such as real estate, insurance, mortgages, cell phones, health care, express package delivery, home videos, personal computers, discount retail, etc.

So what do you do it about it personally? You decommoditize your offering! You don’t think in the box, in fact you don’t even see a box. Get in a quiet space and dream. What would you change to re-create what you do? This can be a fun exercise but it takes thought.

I Have to Win!

Many people search for success trying to find it in a system, a book, a tape of the month club, or even by attaining that coveted degree. Is that where you find success?

 Then I thought of Steve Prefontaine. Does that name ring a bell? Steve was the record holder of every American distance-running record (click the link for a short clip of one of his runs) from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He died a tragic death in 1975 but here are some things Steve Prefontaine said:

“Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.”

“A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself.”

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.”

“What I want is to be number one.”

“Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.”

“I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.”

“How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, ‘You’re too small Pre’, ‘You’re not fast enough Pre’, ‘Give up your foolish dream Steve’. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN.”

So you really want success? Then don’t let anyone stop you. Don’t make any excuses. There is a price to pay for success. It will involve pain and guts. Do you really have it in you? Are you fooling yourself? Are you really paying a price? I have to win! Therefore, for me I must work harder than my competitor, I must think about it day and night, I must give my all, I must study and study some more, I must change — not for change sake but because I am growing and it requires it.

What about you? Are you waiting for that special system that poof makes you a success? Or are you saying that no matter what it takes I HAVE TO WIN? Many people give lip service to the idea of attaining higher levels of success but you see it in their actions that they are not serious.

(Note: There is a good movie about the life of Steve Prefontaine called, Without Limits.)

People, Not Stuff

A friend of mine spoke this past weekend and commented about how we strive to preserve our comfort zones - those spaces in our life that create comfort for us. We get irritated when others invade that space. It may be the comfortable group of friends we are with or the time on the computer in a quiet place or that favorite chair with a nice neat setup. Our creature comforts are what we strive to preserve and increase. The trouble is when we value stuff, processes or habits over people. It is people that these things serve. Whether it is the little inconveniences like getting beat to a parking spot, someone scratching our new car or someone not doing things the way we like, we can feel a violation. But what really matters? Is it the person or our preferences? Do we have compassion enough on people and shake ourself out of the delirious state we are in as we fill our lives with comfort stuff? We have these things all around us. When you get irritated next time because you feel a violation - things did not go as you like, or stuff you own got tampered, or your space was invaded - remember to see the people your disdain affects; they always matter more. The people are what business and life is all about. Don’t miss them.