This is the time of year for awards. There are sales awards, blogging awards, service awards. There are bonuses being awarded for end of year performance. For that matter, there are performance reviews as well.
Some of our colleagues receive these awards year after year. How do they do this? What drives them to meet or exceed the bar that is raised by their employer or circle of colleagues?
It’s as though these folks have their own internal barometer of achieving mastery and excellence. They do.
These folks are All In. All the time.
They are continuously committed to targeting and achieving excellence. Excellence may be delivered in the form of the content they produce, the keynotes they deliver, their design and engineering output, or the day to day trustworthiness and respect that they serve up to everyone.
There is no middle ground for these individuals. Their output is truly black-or-white. You know exactly what they think and what you can expect from them. They encourage your feedback and opinion, as a peer.
They don’t betray the trust you have put in them.
These people give 100% of their focus, attention, creativity, commitment, process and discipline to serving their customers and colleagues.
These folks are All In.
These leaders don’t necessarily play it safe either. They take chances creating content. They say the stuff in meetings that makes the other people seated around the business table sit up and listen – with new ears.
These leaders run the risk of rubbing readers, colleagues and customers a bit uncomfortably in the short run, to urge each individual to think beyond their comfort level and the status quo.
These thought leaders accompany their clients and encourage them to walk through whatever the personal fire is that gives them pause.
These thought leaders are life-long learners. They surround themselves with individuals who encourage them to think about the same things, only differently than yesterday.
These folks are All In.
Perhaps you have been thinking about writing that paper and presenting it at a conference. Perhaps you have been thinking about working with students on an engineering project. Perhaps you have been thinking about starting a monthly meet up to discuss STEM topics with non-technical professionals.
Is there a blog in you? Are you thinking about having lunch with that guy or gal from marketing who said something provocative at your last cross-functional meeting? Wouldn’t asking for a tour show you how things are made in the plant, so you could market it better?
All it takes is getting up from your mental chair that’s been confining you from moving forward 1 millimeter outside of your current comfort level.
That first tiny millimeter can appear to be an unfathomable distance to traverse. Until you make the first move, take that first step, say “Hi” to that daunting individual, type your first sentence.
That is what’s involved along your personal road to being All In.
What is your Action Plan for becoming All In moving forward?
Babette N. Ten Haken, President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC, catalyzes business transition, startup growth, and professional development. She’s All In on your behalf. She works with non-traditional sellers, engineers, manufacturers, and technical startups.
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