It’s all about the Effort
As an avid Seth Godin Fan, I check his blog regularly. I stumbled on this posting he did, and I really enjoy it. It really struck me as he begins by mentioning the golf score, and if you’re a golfer you know this is true. I have an article in Golf Digest that details how much work it takes for an 18 handicapper, a 10 handicapper and a scratch golfer to reduce their score, and compares a high ranking PGA pro to Tiger Woods. The difference in effort is remarkable.
It’s that last 10 percent that separates the great from everyone else.
Please enjoy this posting thanks to Mr. Godin, and check out his blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Hardly worth the effort
In most fields, there’s an awful lot of work put into the last ten percent of quality.
Getting your golf score from 77 to 70 is far more difficult than getting it from 120 to 113 or even from 84 to 77.
Answering the phone on the first ring costs twice as much as letting it go into the queue.
Making pastries the way they do at a fancy restaurant is a lot more work than making brownies at home.
Laying out the design of a page or a flyer so it looks like a pro did it takes about ten times as much work as merely using the template Microsoft builds in for free, and the message is almost the same…
Except it’s not. Of course not. The message is not the same.
The last ten percent is the signal we look for, the way we communicate care and expertise and professionalism. If all you’re doing is the standard amount, all you’re going to get is the standard compensation. The hard part is the last ten percent, sure, or even the last one percent, but it’s the hard part because everyone is busy doing the easy part already.
The secret is to seek out the work that most people believe isn’t worth the effort. That’s what you get paid for.
Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge Mr. Godin. I’ve read Seth’s books, and his insight is remarkable. Take the time to pick them up and read them, you’ll be glad you did.
Matthew Schmitt
Your blog has great insights pertaining to my current reading list. It has been a while since your last post. Would not mind seeing more about insights of leadership and management.