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A Brief Look at Attitudes-Based Learning (ABL)
The greatest discovery of my generation (about 1900) is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. William James 'Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a...
Are Moldy Schools Destroying Our Kids?
Are Moldy Schools Destroying Our Kids? Mold is a big issue these days. One reason is the damage it does to lungs and immune systems. And who does it damage the most? Kids and senior citizens. Well, let's just talk about kids right now. And let's...
Expose Lies On Resumes
Purpose: Learn about the new Polygraph for management hires
His heart dropped when he saw his boss from his current company walk into the interview room with his prospective new employer. In a flash, every exaggeration on his resume was known....
Professional Certification for Freelancers and Home-Based Businesses
When we think of technical certification, most of us think of the seemingly endless jumble of letters that follow the names of information technology experts—MCSE, MCSA, A+, CCNA, etc. These certifications serve as standardized, objective...
Why Do You Have a Job? Five False Beliefs that Lead People into Jobs they Hate
If you find yourself stuck in a job that you don't enjoy or in a
company that isn't fun to work for, the first step to making a
change is asking yourself, "How did I get here?" Your being here
at this time in your life is not a random event. You...
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Don't Settle
Chuck was the best of the twenty-four candidates. Still, he didn't have exactly what I was looking for and my instincts warned me of his unusual personality. Yet the skills required for the job were specialized and he had most of them, and I'd been interviewing for five months, and my boss wanted the position filled before the budget process started. No, he might not be perfect, but he would be ok.
So I hired Chuck. As a new manager, it was a decision I came to regret. Chuck turned out to be a marginal performer, never grew into the job, and drew frequent complaints from his teammates. It might have taken me five months to hire Chuck, but it took me eighteen to fire him. Still, I'm grateful for the experience. Chuck taught me a lesson I applied in my next twenty years in management: don't settle.
When you settle, you choose mediocrity. Don't settle for the best of the worst. Keep looking. Don't settle for something that's barely okay. Push to make it better. Don't settle for average work from others when exceptional is needed. And don't settle for delivering good when you're capable of better. Expect more from yourself. Then expect more from others.
Whenever I've settled, the work or decision comes back like a boomerang, reminding me to keep my standards high. As W. Somerset Maugham says, "It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." I know that's been my
experience.
There's a story I like about Phidias, a Greek sculptor working on the Acropolis. As he was finishing a statue of Athena, which would stand a hundred feet high next to a marble wall, an onlooker asked, "Why are you chiseling strands of hair on the back of her head where no one will see them or even know they're there? "I'll know," replied Phidias.
I wish I would have found a cabinet maker with that same attitude when we were building our home. When we moved in, we discovered tops of cabinets uncapped and unstained. It's true no one would see them. But, it was not the quality of work we expected, paid for or wanted. The cabinet maker had settled for mediocre. But we didn't. We had him do them over.
People who are winning at working know when good is not good enough. They operate like Phidais, not our cabinet maker. They understand that quality work is not an accident. It's a deliberate focus that starts with high personal standards. People who are winning at working don't settle for mediocre. Not in others. And not in themselves.
(c) 2005 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Sign up to receive Nan's free eColumn, Winning at Working, at http://www.winningatworking.com. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. Currently working on her first book, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and instructor.
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