“A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body – the wishbone.” – Robert Frost
Most people are happy to tell you about their phenomenal work ethic, or how they are always trying to improve, or how they’re never satisfied until their organization has reached the highest level possible. Many of those people are dishonest, either with you or with themselves.
The unfortunate reality is that many people are doing just enough to get by, and they really don’t ever want to change anything, and they’re perfectly content with being average. I’m not suggesting that these are bad people. They just aren’t really interested in being great and achieving great things.
Just as unfortunate is that there are times when those last two paragraphs describe almost all of us. Whether it’s fear, laziness, confusion or something else, the reality is that at some point or another we find ourselves hoping things get better, wishing for some magical improvement, but not willing to do anything to make that happen.
If you want your situation to be better, then you have to do better things, and do them at a higher level. Things don’t just improve. You have to make them improve. To paraphrase a famous quotation, your business is perfectly designed to get the results it’s getting. If you want different results, you have to change the business.
Are you willing to change? Are you willing to do something different and better? Or are you waiting for someone to come along with a magic bullet or an easy button or an app for instant success? If you’re serious about being a leader, and you’re serious about your business performing at its peak, then you have to be seeking out and making change. No one will do it for you.
Don’t spend your entire career (or life) wishing for something better. Make something better. Go find the change that will matter and make it. Years from now you’ll look back and wonder what took you so long.
