Who's Responsible?

...for good enough?

Is it...

• the company?

• the manager?

• the system?

• the front-line worker?

• the parent?

• the teacher?

• the culture?

• All of the above?

We might be constrained by all of these things...probably are. But, despite the system, our colleagues, our friends, and even our parents, our individual performance, our choice about how we deliver, whether we lean in or out is completely up to us. We're responsible for what good enough looks like in the moment. And these moments influence what good enough eventually becomes.

We can choose to do our best right now, no matter what everyone else does. Choose wisely.

Always Give 110%

We see this quite a bit. The idea being to do more than you think you are capable of…to perform beyond potential. There’s always room for just a bit more…more effort, more pain, more endurance, more focus.

And, of course, it’s wrong. It’s not that we are capable of doing more than 100%. It’s that we aren’t achieving 100%, realizing our full potential at this moment…we are underperforming. So, we set the bar higher…to give us something to reach for with the hopes of achieving our true, 100% potential.

But our potential also changes. It moves up and down with our capabilities and effort at the moment. Practice enough, form the right habits, get stronger, wiser, hone a craft, learn from others and our potential will change...for the better. It’s this practice of improving the potential and performing to it which makes us better. Achieve 100%…live every moment like it was our last.

And then finally there’s the hold back principle, the resistance in our heads which whispers to us to underperform just a bit. Do just enough to get by, and not get noticed…fit in, stay safe. For if we perform at a higher potential, we might be asked to do this all the time. We might be measured on this new potential and then be called out for underperformance. We might fail. Or, we might discover this is the path to getting better. We might find out it’s the only path to getting better. Keep the ratchet of turning, one click at a time. The question is…which way is the ratchet of potential turning? Hopefully, it’s forward. Choose wisely.

Your 6,000th Day

should be like your first…because that’s what your new client, customer, co-worker or friend expects from you. They expect the same energy, glean in your eye, leaning in approach to the performance. Anything less would be a disservice to them.

Go break a leg.

The World is a Stage

Every interaction is a performance. People watch, listen, anticipate, expect, and respond to how you act. If you’re in the business of leading change, making a difference and creating a remarkable legacy, every performance might be the most important one you ever give. Choosing to act this way takes tremendous dedication, courage and effort. It’s both physically and mentally exhausting. And it requires lot’s of learning and practice. Of course, the audience doesn’t always respond the way you’d like them to. But sometimes they’re in synch and actually become part of the show. The energy of their engagement helps move the performance to an even higher level. And that’s when the magic happens…the unexpected delight of the show of a lifetime.

Every audience deserves the best you. Otherwise, what’s the point of showing up on stage.

The Performance Business

No one goes to a U2 concert expecting anything less than their very best effort…maybe even the best one ever. It’s remarkable entertainers pull this off so often…pouring their heart into it, night after night. Same goes for dancers, magicians, actors and circus performers. The entertainment business is built on the rule that the final act, the one everyone sees must be remarkable. All of the work, practice, preparation, filing down takes place beforehand resulting in the best moment for the audience at a given point in time. Successful artists simply care more about the delight they seek to create than the hardship (and monotony) of getting there. And it’s expected.

Everyone should be an artist. Everyone should use emotional labor to cause delight for someone. And everyone should consider themselves in the performance business…every time they enter the stage and interact with someone. But we fall short…we don’t see ourselves as performers on stage. We see ourselves doing a job, going to class, or fulfilling family obligations. We do the work to get through our day, hoping to meet spec and check things off our to do list.

Imagine what the world would be like if everyone approached their job, class, interview, study group, or family time as a performance. Imagine the unexpected delight, the captivation, the excitement and the learning that might be created…if everyone made each performance the best one ever.

Is this tiring, hard and sometimes embarrassing? For sure. That’s the cost of performing at the edge and more importantly, creating new ones. But the world needs that. And it’s what your audience deserves.