Average or Exceptional?

Happy Friday, 

Ask anyone if they’d rather be average or exceptional, and they’ll enthusiastically say, “Exceptional!” The same goes for teams and organizations. “We aspire to be exceptional!” Yet, in practice, most plod a well-worn path.

‘Exceptional - Rare, superior, deviating from the norm.’ (Websters)

To be exceptional requires thinking differently than your peers and competitors. It means adopting a non-standard paradigm - one where you habitually question assumptions, view things from a derivative first-principles perspective, and look outside your industry for ideas to apply inside. 

In life, we become what we think about—as individuals, as teams, and as organizations. If you think like everyone else, do things the same way, adopt the same assumptions, read the same industry publications, attend the same conferences, and always color within the lines, then expect to become a different shade of average. Maybe even good, but not exceptional.

“If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Henry Ford.

Have a great, great weekend,

Dave

Next week...we'll talk recruiting...

Send me a challenge of interest to you right now: dave@goodnewsfriday.com

All past topics are still available at @goodnewsfriday.com

Once again, written by me, not ChatGPT: valuable speed assist and grammatical enhancements graciously provided by Grammarly.