"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."—Aristotle
Many people think that extra-ordinary
performances require only making colossal efforts whenever they are in the mood
of great motivation and vigour. However, really great people adopt a different
{though seemingly ordinary} strategy towards gaining preeminence. This simple
but powerful strategy is what today’s article is centered upon.
With “Little by little does the
trick.” the Greek fabulist, Aesop explained in fewer words what the Greek
philosopher, Aristotle meant when he said: "We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Clearly, since excellence
is largely about habit, rather than intensity, what the greats wisely do is to
design a few living fundamentals and then commit to them habitually; instead of
relying on the fickle resource of willpower for the accomplishment of their big
business and personal goals.
This
powerful lesson is what the author, Joe Calloway has to teach us as the key
difference between the commonplace and the extra-ordinary, in his studies of
companies’ habits over the years. He wrote in his book, “Work Like You Are
Showing-Off” as follows:
“Perhaps
the most striking lesson I learned in researching indispensable companies is
that they have a firm grasp on some
seemingly obvious but often overlooked factors in business.
Being
accessible to customers and giving them what they want, the way they want it,
when they want it is a matter of design, not luck. It’s also a matter of every
employee having a constant, unwavering focus on the customer.
Here’s
the key: repeatable process. This is the
missing link between intention and reality. With a repeatable process, you can
achieve the brand strength that comes only from consistency.”
You see, the main difference between
indispensable companies and the average companies is neither assets nor great wealth.
But it is first about having a fundamental process that is repeatable and sustainable;
and second, the commitment to executing by that process indefinitely.
Lead performers in every business are
far more consistent than their competition because they have designed a system
of fundamentals that is simple and sustainable for their business. And they all
commit to their own process firmly and tenaciously. This is why the American author of self-help, Robert Collier
also declared that, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and
day-out.”
Now let’s look at the practical application
of this simple idea in day to day life.
Practical Application to Our Lives
Whether
you are running a business or just going about your business of living, design
a repeatable process of your essentials first, then decide to commit to your
designed process, all the way: This is the principal key to unshakable
consistency.
For
example….
If you
really want fitness and strength, first design a repeatable number of essential
exercises and then commit to them regularly.
If you
want a successful sales career, first design a fixed number of sales calls, and
then commit to making that number every working day.
If you
desire knowledge and scholarship, first design studying a particular number of
pages per day and then commit to your number every single day.
On this point, the leadership expert, John
C. Maxwell once said: “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day
lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” And Harvard researcher
Teresa Amabile agreed with John when her research revealed that the single most
powerful incentive to work was small, daily progress. So the key here is to first
design your daily process and then commit to it sincerely. And the satisfaction
from the daily repetition will continue to fuel your commitment to the process
indefinitely.
Indispensable
companies have built the habit of high performance by the fundamentals they
work with every day. Their few but profound
fundamentals determine what they do most of the time. And it is relatively easy
for them to do because they thoroughly understand that repeatable process is
the master key to unshakable consistency. Such a radical understanding of the
repeatability idea is perhaps the overriding secret of all viable entities.
Finally, I don’t think any sane person will deny the supremacy of
consistency. And the American football coach and administrator, Jim Tressel has
spoken the inarguable truth on this when he mentioned that: “The hallmark of
excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency.” So my writing on
repeatability is to illustrate that manageable, meaningfully designed essential
behaviour is better in effectiveness and a lot more sustainable at the end of
the day than all volumes of momentary intensity.
