You are not as great as you think you are.
“I behave this way. I am successful. Therefore, I must be successful because I behave this way.
Wrong!
The higher we move up the organizational ladder, the more our employees let us know how wonderful we are! Our behavior is often followed by positive reinforcement, even when this behavior makes absolutely no sense. One night over dinner, I listened as a very wise military leader shared his learnings from years of experience with an eager, newly-minted General, ‘Recently, have you started to notice that when you tell jokes, everyone erupts into laughter – and that when you say something ‘wise’ everyone nods their heads in solemn agreement? The new General replied, ‘Why, yes, I have.’ The older General laughed and continued, ‘Let me help you. You aren’t that funny, and you aren’t that smart! It’s only that star on your shoulder. Don’t ever let it go to your head.
…UNUM, the insurance company, ran an ad some years ago showing a powerful grizzly in the middle of a roaring stream, with his neck extended to the limit, jaws wide open and teeth flaring. The bear was about to clamp on an unsuspecting salmon jumping up stream. The headline read: YOU PROBABLY FEEL LIKE THE BEAR, WE’D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT YOU ARE THE SALMON.
The ad was designed to sell disability insurance, but it struck me as a powerful statement about how we all delude ourselves about our achievements, our status and our contributions. We often:
- Overestimate our contribution to a project;
- Have an elevated opinion of our professional skills and standing among our peers;
- Exaggerate our project’s impact on profitability by discounting real and hidden costs.Many of our delusions can come from our association with success, not failure. Since we get positive reinforcement from our past successes, we think that they are predictive of great things to come in our future.” Source: Marshall Goldsmith
I know a former NFL player who played in the NFL for many years and has several super bowl rings to show for it. He’s retired now so what does he talk about? He talks a lot about the past because he had a great past. Yes it is interesting but what about the future?
In Network Marketing you are successful because your people are successful . Period! This is a team sport and the team is on your side as long as you are with them. When it becomes obvious that you are no longer a team player you will start losing your support. Just like the title of a Marshall Goldsmith book: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
How do we have a great future? “You aren’t that funny, and you aren’t that smart! It’s only that star on your shoulder. Don’t ever let it go to your head.”
