This is the Root of All Mediocrity?—?#JayToday
If you find that somebody is not doing their best job, you might think there’s two causes, but there’s really only one.
So here’s the thing.
When you do a construction project, you get lots and lots of subcontractors, and it’s really fascinating to me how the performance of standards of different subcontractors in the construction business really varies.
You get a great painter, but an okay electrician, or a great framer but a not a very good dry waller or whatever the circumstances are.
It’s really interesting, and the same thing is true really in any business.
If you have an employee or a vendor who’s not doing a great job, and is just doing an adequate job, you might think that there’s two problems there.
Problem one is often identified as they’re just too busy. They’ve taken on too much. They don’t have enough time to do a great job, and that makes intellectual sense.
The second issue that you find, and certainly that I’ve found as a manager for a long time now, is you just have a lack of passion.
People decide that, you know what, I don’t love this work or I don’t love this project or I don’t love this client or I just don’t love it.
When people don’t love things, they do an okay job, but they don’t do a great job.
But here’s what I’ve discovered.
When you start thinking about if they’re too busy or they just don’t love it, the reality is one fixes the other.
If you love what you do, if you love the project, if you love the client, if you love the circumstances, if you have a true passion for what you do every day, the time part will fix itself, because you will make the time. You will find the time. You will magically discover the time to do great work.
So if somebody tells you that the reason they’re not doing great work is that they’re too busy, what I want you to tell them is, “You’re just not passionate enough.”
What do you think?
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Consultant Trainer at Hair International hair salon
10 年Well said Mandy and so true!
Co-founder at Higgins Marketing Group
10 年agreed!
Hhhmm, can I also add that sometimes managers don't know what to do with passionate people. That kind of positive energy can feel threatening to them. They don't know how to harness it and so can beat the person down until they channel their passion in interests outside of work.
This is a great reminder. Some days I'm more passionate about some things than others. LOL. I think that's okay because I need to balance important and urgent and my sanity. I think too it's about the integrity of the person. When I had my logo designed I was thrilled with the finished product. But my designer said, "Oh there's a few things I still need to fix. You probably won't notice them, but I know they need to be fixed." And yeah, he's my go-to designer.