Tolerate mediocrity – or PROMOTE excellence?

Dear Reader,

I got involved in bit of a debate today on social media – – something I generally and almost always NEVER EVER do (pretty much because of the waste of time it entails), but somehow I felt today’s sojourn into that discussion wasn’t a waste whatsoever.

It was a topic that for whatever reason struck close to my heart – that being (in essence) to reward RESULTS as opposed to simply “time put in”.

What the discussion was about was employers who seemingly place more value in “time spent at the office” as opposed to real results achieved – and seeing what one H.R. person in particular had posted, I really had no option but to wade in and interject a little, if just to put the word out there!

Anyway, in short, here is how the discussion started – if one gets one’s work done ahead of time – and has the RESULTS to show for it – then there is no reason why one shouldn’t do other things, or simply up and leave from the office – as opposed to simply “clocking time” in the office until quitting time.

While many agreed with this, some were of the viewpoint that those who “didn’t get their work done on time” would bear grudges towards those who did – and therefore “for the good of all”, though what I said sounded good in theory, in practicality it was anything but.

Huh???

Are you kidding me?

Are you telling me the person who GETS the job done – and has results to show for it should be “penalized” in a way for getting the job done in a superlative manner and AHEAD OF TIME – simply because other employees “begrudge” his/her productivity?

The 80/20 rule states that 20% of the employees in any organization are really those that carry the company, while the rest just “show up”.

And if that 20% is extra motivated by special perks and benefits – in accordance with the results they bring – then should we then proceed to de-motivate them by forcing them into the unnecessary and mundane simply so that the “80%” get their mediocrity tolerated?

It’s astounding, but true – there are companies that believe in this even in this day and age, and it’s true!

I was raised to believe in precisely this sort of tripe, and let me tell you right now – I don’t care if it’s a company, country, sports team or any sort of organization of any hue, shape or color – tolerating mediocrity at the expense of REWARDING and PROMOTING excellence is a mistake of the colossal, GRANDEST and DUMBEST order.

Let me repeat that again – it’s flat out STUPID.

Napoleon Hill correctly stated in Think and Grow Rich that the ability to make life write a ticket on one’s OWN terms as opposed to the “being cast hither and thither on the choppy seas of life” comes up with a price – and persistence galore as but one of the requirements.

As he writes, life doesn’t let anyone have anything worth achieving easily. Those that don’t make the grade simply don’t make it – and are NOT rewarded despite the “amount of time” they might have put in!

You either sink – or SWIM – it’s really that simple. And funnily enough I’ve had an employer in the past mention this to me – while a few months later he mentioned something along the lines of what I wrote above to me “when it was convenient for the company”, of course.

The question begets – what do you really want? 

Are you prepared to tolerate mediocrity at the expense of excellent in your organization – activities – fitness – or even LIFE in general?

Believe me now and trust me later, the estwhile Soviet (communist era) policies of “everyone doing the same work and getting the same pay” are about as stupid as it gets in terms of delivering any actual results.

Deng Xiaoping, known as the “grandfather of modern China” and rightly so once famously said “Rang yi bu fen re , qian fu qi lai”.

Though this is commonly interpreted as “to get rich is glorious” – the REAL interpretation is this – if some people get rich, it is a GOOD thing.

In other words, REWARD excellence – PROMOTE excellence – either in the form of riches or achievement (and the two go hand in hand most of the time if not all the time) – – and this spirit of achievement will slowly seep into the vast majority of “other ” people as well.

When I first came to China in 2003, the country was already rapidly modernizing and changing – in large part, if not ENTIRELY due to this philosophy.

The city of Shenzhen was transformed from a seaside village to one of the world’s largest and most dynamic cities almost overnight – and this transformation can be seen in the rest of China today – especially when compared with it’s giant neighbor India, which is light years behind despite having many of the SAME opportunities to advance that the Chinese did and potentially an advantage due to the huge English speaking population in that country.

I mention at the end of The 10 Commandments of Successful Sales that one of the biggest mistakes company heads and owners can make and do make on a regular basis is either wittingly or unwittingly tolerating incompetence and de-motivating excellence.

When I made all those sales at the company, they were thrilled – but after a while, they wanted me to do more (which I did) and more – and more – all without additional pay.

And all with the added hassle of “being in office during working hours” despite the facts that a) I did my best work outside of office hours on my OWN time and b) most of my sales calls were made at night – a time where most hung their boots up for the night and had long since retired for bed.

And how did that turn out for the company – well, you can well imagine. I’ve noted it in the book not because of any other reason other than to say this – folks – rewarding mediocrity at the expense of promoting excellence is one of the very worst things you can do for your organization.

My entire 0 Excuses philosophy is based around this as well.

It’s based around RESULTS – and the fact that you do NOT need to put in hour after hour after hour at the office – or gym – or even living room to get the results you want.

The SYSTEM rewards RESULTS – not merely “time put in”! 

It’s a known fact that intense workouts (and the correct exercises) are what produce the best results, and after your done?

Well – you’re free to go about the rest of your life – the 0 Excuses way – while the “herd” spends its time goggling at the idiot box while idling on the treadmills to nowhere.

It’s a known fact that visualization plus inspired action are what produce RESULTS – and this is another central tenet of the 0 Excuses philosophy.

Of course, you’re free to either go this route or bang your head against the wall in terms of trying to use positive thinking and willpower to achieve the same results, but it’s not going to happen – not even close – because that is not how it works!

In closing – then – in life, or fitness – make sure NOT to tolerate mediocrity – at the expense of excellence. You’ll be all the better off for it!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Results as I said are what talk, and B.S. walks – and if you’re not getting the fat loss benefits you want from your regular routines – why not consider a different – and better alternative? My Corrugated Course gives you not one, not two, but FIFTY different exercises – each of which is guaranteed to strip away the flab in record times provided you give it a shot. Here is where you can grab this little gem of a course – http://0excusesfitness.com/corrugated-core/

P.S #2 – And if you like what you just read, well – worry not – we’ve got more where that came from. Gumption Galore has 50 such inspirational tales for you – – a must read – – grab it NOW – – https://0excusesfitness.com/gumption-galore/

 

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