In Good to Great, Jim Collins identified what “great” companies do differently as compared to “good” companies. He had specific criteria for defining these two subjective terms; however, for the purpose of this post, I simply want to reinforce that the companies did things differently.
Recently my older daughter received an academic award. Her sister, 4.5 years younger, was proud but also distraught. The younger one lamented to her father that she was never going to get awards. My husband wisely told her that to achieve such success, you must be willing to do what it takes, to work hard. Otherwise, with moderate effort, you’ll likely be “good” – which is perfectly acceptable…unless you want to be great.
In my Control vs. Influence post, I noted that an Accountability Ambassador does “whatever it takes to be the best person I can be”. You don’t have to be great at everything but you aren’t going to be great if you aren’t willing to earn that distinction. So, first decide what greatness you want to pursue. What is so important, so motivating, so rewarding, that it is worth the sacrifice of time and effort that is required to get what you want? Are you willing to make that sacrifice?
Originally published June 9, 2017 on www.kiddenprep.com
