Last Friday night I attended an event to honor a few professionals in my field that have achieved tremendous success. I was particularly impacted by a statement of one of the recipients who stated in his acceptance speech, "I know I'm not the smartest guy, but I do know that most people do not work hard. So, I used that as my strategic advantage to get where I am today." This statement is true, however what does working hard really mean?
As I drove home late Friday night, a rush of conviction came over me to conduct my personal and professional matters with a stronger work ethic! The problem is that there isn't 25 hours in the day. Just then, reality hit me...I already have a great deal on my plate. A plan to "just work harder" is a little like using a shotgun to win a marble shooting contest. We all can do more, however doing more may just mean creating more chaos. Even more, in the hectic world we live in, it seems that we've witnessed enough collateral damage in-terms of bank failures and broken relationships that those liable can say were all in the spirit of working hard. This statement, combined with my recent post "The Penny Principle," prompted me to think about how simple, but profound this paradigm can be in terms of bringing clarity to what working hard means.
In light of the penny principle, working hard means paying attention to the activities at hand is such a way that your presence and input will elevate the situation one step closer to a better envisioned reality. In other words, it is a matter of process. Which is exactly what the penny principle is all about. Why does such a simple principle so easily slip by our daily activities sine we all know that great processes are the root of great successes. Moreover, we know that a great process can be identified by a detailed orientated and systematic approach to problem solving. With that said, I suggest to you that a fundamental culprit to the penny principle isn't necessarily the external circumstances, but rather the individual's internal ability to lead themselves. As I like to tell my players, "Manage the moment and the future will take care of itself." Here are three enemies to the penny principle that we all may have hidden within.
1. Pace - In the rush of life we all strive to achieve more. For some achiever's there's nothing greater than the feeling of checking off a to do list! But, the pace of life or our efforts can actually be creating more cost than profit. I learned this lesson the hard way as a teenager while working on a construction job. Since I strived to finish the job by the day's end, my pace of work caused me to overlook the details. The next day my supervisor explained to me that he had to go back and re-do the work with greater detailed. This caused him a loss in pay which then caused me to lose money. Check your pace. Are you moving to fast to pick up a penny? It may even be so fast that you are actually dropping pennies.
2. Laziness - Yes, there are many times when we need to be honest with ourselves. We could do more, however we just choose not to. I heard it once said "Three O'Clock is too early and too late to do anything." How are you managing your day? I don't want to guilt trip anyone, however let's be honest, there are times that we know that we are just not being productive enough.
3. Ego - I once worked on a staff of a very successful leader. As a young professional, I was grateful for the opportunity. A month into the job, I was let in on an inside joke of some of the other young people on the staff who would purposefully drop pennies or nickels on the floor of the office just to see our boss pick them up. The supposed humor to the younger guys was that our boss couldn't resist to the urge to pick up the penny. In actuality, the joke was on the younger people. Our successful boss was successful because he practiced the penny principle! When let in on the joke, our boss just chuckled, but never wavered in his conviction. Is your ego causing you to step over the penny due to the supposed risk of being laughed at?
Today, let's humble our mindset and begin to operate at a pace that doesn't forbid us from paying attention to the details, while keeping in balance the tension between laziness and working hard. By daily checking our sphere of influence for these three enemies, we are actually picking up pennies.
Win Today!
Victor
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