One of my favorite quotes is from Edward Deming, the famous business
consultant who revolutionized management theory. He observed that in the
end, what we measure and hold ourselves accountable for, gets done.
Nobody likes being embarrassed by publicly failing to complete a task, and
for most of us, the personal integrity issue is even more potent. Once
we've committed ourselves to complete a task or reach an objective, we HATE
falling short. I think that actually explains a lot of failure, both in
business and in our personal lives.
We hate failing so much we fear to set objective, measurable expectations.
We have dreams or wishes or fantasies (call them what you will) but we
hesitate to set hard, measurable performance goals.
I see this in talking with people who are interested in coaching. When we
interview each other they tell me they "want" to achieve more than they
have in the past. When I ask them, "What exactly do you want to achieve?",
they often hesitate and give a nice-sounding but vague statement about
being "successful." Success is not a thing to be achieved! Success is the
result, almost a side-benefit of achieving specific, measurable results.
Success is the popular acclaim or nice recognition we enjoy after we
complete far more specific (and less spectacular) tasks.
If you want "success," do the things required to make more sales than ever
before. If you want "success," win some races or publish a best-seller. If
you want "success," do the things that get the results you desire. I
guarantee, "success" will follow, but only AFTER you've achieved those more
mundane, hard, measurable results.
Written by Philip E. Humbert, PhD
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