Skip to main content

“Everything can get better.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Leadershift (p. 111). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And we want that, don’t we?

John says, “You’ve probably heard the expression, ‘It doesn’t get any better than this.’ Well, I have news for you. It can get better. Everything can get better. And as leaders, we should be catalysts for improvement. We need to champion the idea expressed by poet James Russell Lowell, who said, ‘Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but making something out of it after it is found.’”

John goes on, “I have a process for making things better that I use with my team. I call it 10-80-10. Whenever we start on a task or project, the first thing I do is identify the target, which represents approximately 10 percent of the process. So, the first 10 of 10-80-10 focuses on knowing what we want to accomplish. After all, how can I find what I don’t know that I’m looking for? This sets up the next part of the process, which is the 80 percent. The focus here is production. Now that the task has been set in the right direction, the team finds the way to execute it. Sometimes they have to try things out, practice different approaches, find out what works.”

He continues, “I’ve observed that when most teams reach this point, the leader is done. However, there’s still one more step to take things to a whole new level. This is the final 10 in 10–80–10. This last 10 percent is like putting the cherry on top. Once the team has the strategy and process down and everything’s working, I see if there’s a way to make it even better.”

He then says, “Can we take an idea to the next level? Can we target a message even more sharply? Can we make a client’s experience even better? Can we add something to an event to make it spectacular? Is there anything important that the rest of the team didn’t see because they were too far into the weeds and didn’t have perspective? What can we do to go the extra mile? This phase is where great innovation often occurs, and we are able to maximize ideas. It’s also the reason we as a team are so often able to exceed expectations.”

And that is what we want, isn’t it? 

Yes, yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...
Post a Comment
Read more

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident.   In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose.   In other words you are not an accident.   I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth.   In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man.   And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ”   Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like?   Like that characteristic is a curse or something.   Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God.   Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...
Post a Comment
Read more