4 min
What is your definition of success? Slow and Faithful
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- Gestion
Definitions are powerful. What's your definition of success?
As a parent, my definition of success is simple. I have 6 kids now, and I formed this definition years before I had kids. I would add so much to it if we were discussing parenting today, but I still think it holds as a decent definition.
I'm the child of a teenage pregnancy. I've heard lots of stories about the hardships and struggles. I've seen a few as I got old enough to understand. I guess this is why growing up I considered teenage pregnancy such a burden. This type of mistake carries a lot of fear. Young people have a tendency to continue hiding a mistake, hoping it will somehow go away. I too was young once (long time ago), and I remember clearly thinking the world was against me. I had to do it myself. This type of thinking is dangerous. As we know now as older adults, a lot of harm can be avoided if we get help early and often. My definition of success as a parent is "Can my daughter come to me and say, 'Dad, I'm pregnant.'"?
As a leader, my definition is very similar. Does the team live in fear of failure? Do they hide mistakes, sweep mistakes under the rug, or think they'll make up for it next time? Remember the $2 Billion mistake JPMorgan suffered? Jamie Dimon explains in an interview how the mistake could have been so much smaller had the team admitted earlier what had happened. What's my definition of success as a team leader? Does the team come to me earlier and often to check in on mistakes? Do they trust that we'll push each other hard, hold each other to high levels of accountability, and still realize we have to take risks? Does the team believe we have each other's back?
What about the success definition as a seller? “Let's call Greg.” -- not “Let's look for a solution, or let's shop around.” Even if I don't have the product they need, I'll still help explore a solution. My definition of success as a seller is “Am I top of mind to the customer?”. Do they trust me enough to call early and say, "Hey, we're thinking about X." or "We have a problem. Not sure you can help, but we thought we'd start with you."
In life? My definition is a bit odd. I've always pictured a loud, chaotic, colorful Christmas. Too many gifts. Too much food. Kids everywhere. Laughter. Time together. As Inky Johnson says, it's we not I.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/greg-dyche/support
Definitions are powerful. What's your definition of success?
As a parent, my definition of success is simple. I have 6 kids now, and I formed this definition years before I had kids. I would add so much to it if we were discussing parenting today, but I still think it holds as a decent definition.
I'm the child of a teenage pregnancy. I've heard lots of stories about the hardships and struggles. I've seen a few as I got old enough to understand. I guess this is why growing up I considered teenage pregnancy such a burden. This type of mistake carries a lot of fear. Young people have a tendency to continue hiding a mistake, hoping it will somehow go away. I too was young once (long time ago), and I remember clearly thinking the world was against me. I had to do it myself. This type of thinking is dangerous. As we know now as older adults, a lot of harm can be avoided if we get help early and often. My definition of success as a parent is "Can my daughter come to me and say, 'Dad, I'm pregnant.'"?
As a leader, my definition is very similar. Does the team live in fear of failure? Do they hide mistakes, sweep mistakes under the rug, or think they'll make up for it next time? Remember the $2 Billion mistake JPMorgan suffered? Jamie Dimon explains in an interview how the mistake could have been so much smaller had the team admitted earlier what had happened. What's my definition of success as a team leader? Does the team come to me earlier and often to check in on mistakes? Do they trust that we'll push each other hard, hold each other to high levels of accountability, and still realize we have to take risks? Does the team believe we have each other's back?
What about the success definition as a seller? “Let's call Greg.” -- not “Let's look for a solution, or let's shop around.” Even if I don't have the product they need, I'll still help explore a solution. My definition of success as a seller is “Am I top of mind to the customer?”. Do they trust me enough to call early and say, "Hey, we're thinking about X." or "We have a problem. Not sure you can help, but we thought we'd start with you."
In life? My definition is a bit odd. I've always pictured a loud, chaotic, colorful Christmas. Too many gifts. Too much food. Kids everywhere. Laughter. Time together. As Inky Johnson says, it's we not I.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/greg-dyche/support
4 min