Today is Wednesday, so this post in outstanding performance.
Last week, I was in Dulles Airport in Washington DC waiting to board a flight to Houston. As usual, I was flying Continental, my favorite air line. In the boarding area, I saw a Continental ad. It said, “We sweat the big stuff, because there is no small stuff”. I thought this was an interesting play on words, and chuckled to myself. However, as I thought about it, I realized that it makes a lot of sense when thinking about outstanding performance.
Most jobs have only a few critical components. Outstanding performers excel because they do an outstanding job in accomplishing all of the tasks associated with each component of their job. This is what I always refer as “the genius of the and”.
The genius of the and is a simple concept. Let’s take salespeople as an example. Outstanding salespeople do several things. They close sales. And they meet or exceed quota. And they make the required number of calls they are supposed to make. And they complete their paperwork completely and on time. And they stay abreast of the competition. And they manage their time well. And they stay abreast of the competition. And they are experts in their industry. And they assist in the training of new salespeople.
Some salespeople think that closing sales and meeting quota is the “big stuff”, and all the other things mentioned above are the “small stuff”. Outstanding salespeople know that “there is no small stuff”, so they put just as much attention into managing their time, completing their paperwork and keeping up with the competition as they do in closing sales and meeting quota.
The common sense point here is simple. Outstanding performers identify the critical components of their jobs. They realize that each of these components is a key indicator of their overall performance, and they put in the time and energy necessary to ensure that they perform well on all of them.
What are the critical components of your job? Are you performing in an outstanding manner is each of them? If no, what are you going to do to change this and become a truly outstanding performer?
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com.TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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