The Greatness Guide, Book 2: 101 More Insights to Get You to World Class (10 page)

Made me think about praise within the workplace (and within the home). A rare commodity. Praise, to me, is like the sun: The more you give away, the more everything around you grows toward you. However, most people don’t give praise freely (even though it’s free). According to a Gallup Organization survey, the number-one reason employees leave an organization is that they don’t feel appreciated by their supervisor. Yet, most managers give away neither praise nor appreciation. Because they think it makes them look inferior.

Here is the truth as far as I can tell: Giving praise to all those around you, when they most deserve it, makes you look like more. It elevates you. It makes you look like a hero. It makes you look like a giant within the workplace. To everyone around you. So don’t withhold what your teammates most crave. We all want to feel special. I do. You do. And so does Deborah.

It’s true what they say: The harder you work, the luckier you get. You may wonder, “Is a remarkable life the result of luck or are there a series of natural laws at play that produce great results once we align ourselves with them?” Well here’s my answer. Good things happen to people who do good things. Do the right things and you cannot help but see the right results.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about farming. No, I don’t plan on giving up this leadership and personal success stuff and spending my days planting corn (though it would be a cool way to live). But just think about it: The laws of the farm and the laws of nature are the same laws that rule our business and personal lives. As you sow, so shall you reap. Care for and nurture your farm and a bountiful harvest cannot help but develop. Care for and nurture your career or your health or your relationships and do you really believe that you will be denied an abundance of produce? Not possible.

Sure, sometimes we get lucky. That’s just icing on the cake. To me, a rare-air life is the result of living in alignment with the laws of nature. Doing things like adding value to your customers and all those who surround you. Treating everyone you meet like
a VIP. Being unexpectedly honest and surprisingly enthusiastic. Just keep doing these things and you’ll be fine. And remember, the more seeds you plant, the more plants you’ll see.

Most organizations don’t fall apart as a result of one big blow. Most relationships don’t end because of one grand argument. Most lives don’t fall to pieces due to one sad event. No, I suggest to you that sustained failure happens as the consequence of small, daily acts of neglect that stack up over time to lead to a blowup, and a breakdown.

Remember the camel’s back metaphor. Pieces of straw kept getting piled on the poor animal. Each piece alone was light and caused little harm. But piece after piece got placed on the camel’s back until eventually the load was so heavy that a single added straw broke his back.

I call this Camel’s Back Syndrome. A little neglect inevitably leads to businesses and lives of striking disrepair. The best truly do sweat the minor details. They get the seemingly insignificant things right. They have the discipline to shine at the tiny projects and activities and To Do’s, which give birth to the spectacularly big ones. They understand that lasting success comes via evolution, not revolution. And so can you.

Reading British
GQ
on a flight home from Rome. (Rome’s fantastic. As an Aussie friend said to me recently, “You can take any turn and discover a history lesson.”) The biggest idea I ran across in the magazine comes from Chris Carmichael, the coach of seven-time Tour de France–winner Lance Armstrong who said, “The last 1 percent most people keep in reserve is the extra percent champions have the courage to burn.” Magnificent thought. I hope we never forget it.

Spend every bit of your energy playing at your best and creating world-class results. Offer every bit of your potential to all you do. And awaken your talents. And your inner fire. So at the end, you can say, “I gave it my all. I did my best.” That would be fantastic. Wouldn’t it? And please remember—the opportunity for outright greatness comes at the very moment that ordinary people give up.

It’s only human nature to want to help those who’ve helped us. Each of us has a deep-seated hunger to do unto others as they’ve done unto us. And so I do believe that we get back what we give out. An example.

I just drove 20 minutes out of my way to buy gas. Why would I do that when I have a big list of To Do’s and a full schedule for today? Why would I do such an inconvenient thing when convenience suggests that I go to the station two minutes away from my office? Answer: I did it because I wanted to return a favor. To someone who was good to me. To a good person.

A few weeks ago, after dropping the kids off at school I noticed I had a flat tire. I went to three gas stations, and only one could fix my tire quickly. An elderly gentleman in overalls with the name Tony stitched over his heart said he’d be happy to help me. Offered me a coffee while I waited. Entertained me while he did the repair. He did his work with obvious joy. A Leader Without Title. People like him inspire me. Make me want to be a better man.