The pursuit of excellence insults those who like things as they are.
Short-term thinkers reject the pursuit of excellence. Stagnant organizations die because the pursuit of excellence hurts at first. Mediocrity persists because average effort is comfortable.
Hierarchy dislikes the pursuit of excellence because it offends snobbery.
4 alerts for the pursuit of excellence:
Alert #1: Choose how you show up.
Anger might motivate change, but there’s no advantage to coddling it. Be kind, compassionate, and positive. Smile while you poke the box.
The pursuit of excellence begins with frustration and succeeds with optimism.
Alert #2: Anticipate resistance.
Those most invested in the present resist the future. The longer someone has been with a stagnant organization, the more resistant to change they become.
Those comfortable with the status quo hope you fail. Some sabotage your efforts.
Alert #3: Don’t demonize.
Don’t make enemies of the people you expect to support your pursuit. When you complain about the status quo you insult the people who built it.
Use the present as a platform. Honor hard-working people. Focus on benefits while acknowledging challenges.
“We can improve,” is better than, “You’re all losers.”
Alert #4: Empower champions.
Go with believers. Don’t spend all your time convincing detractors. Encourage early adopters. Be patient with others.
Find a champion with authority who believes in what you’re doing. The more people your efforts impact, the higher your champions must be. If there’s a board, enlist at least one influential member to support and guide your efforts.
Which idea in this post can you practice today?
What have you learned about excellence?
Read, “In Search of Excellence.”
—
Previously Published on leadershipfreak with Creative Commons License
***
Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating?
Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching.
Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing!
***
On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content.
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community. A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities. A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.—
Photo credit: unsplash
