What separates Great – from Good – from OK – from Mediocre??

How to achieve greatness!!

Hello leaders!

I’ve been pondering this for some time. I look at those very successful at what they do, and wonder how they got there. I know a lot of very talented people who have some of the same skills and knowledge as those at the top of their game, but they seem to get lost in the pack, or left behind. Why?

If we look at the differences between Mediocrity and Greatness… the answer is pretty intuitive. These are the things we can find in almost any book on success. Passion, Focus, Goal Setting, Service, Attitude. You know… the usual stuff. The same thing can be said of Mediocre to OK and OK to Good, but perhaps not so easily. But what about from Good to Great? I know Jim Collins wrote a book with this title, but it had more to do with business than people. So, what separates Good from Great. More importantly, how do YOU move from Good to Great?

The first point I’d like to make is that to move from Good to Great takes time. Much like fine wine, moving from Good to Great is a process. The process is going to be the same for all of you, but the focus will be different. What do I mean by this? 

Moving from Good to Great is all about continuously making small but significant changes in your life/business. One small step at a time. For those of you old enough to remember What About Bob (Richard Dreyfus, Bill Murray), it’s all about baby steps.

Your first step – is to believe that you can be great. Greatness can be found in many places, and each of you will define it a little differently, but – you have to believe that, however you define it, you can become Great.

Your second step – is to look at what you’re missing from your definition of Greatness. In other words… Assess where you are. What are you missing. I’ll use myself as an example. I look at people like Robin Sharma and Tony Robins and see the impact they have made on millions of peoples lives. To me… greatness is defined by the impact we have on others. God has blessed me with the ability to impact others beyond my immediate family. I want to impact millions. I think many coaches and consultants think the same way. So, in my assessment, I ask myself, what am I missing. What  have Robin and Tony done that I am not doing?

The third step you need to take is to develop a plan to fill in the gaps. In my case, I believe it is building relationships, branding, marketing and selling. So, I have developed a long range plan to start tackling these. One small step at a time, realizing I’m not going to hit them all at once.

The fourth and final step is to take small steps, and start working your plan. Greatness cannot be achieved overnight.

In summary…

  1. Define greatness and believe you can achieve it.
  2. Assess your shortcomings
  3. Develop a long-range plan to overcome these
  4. Work at your plan, one small step at a time

So, I know you are asking if this is so simple, why aren’t more of us achieving greatness? Because some of the small things take time and dedication to overcome. It is also very hard to look into the mirror and admit that we have a shortcoming that needs tweeking or fixing. I truly believe that the difference between Good and Great are made up of small things. I encourage you to take the time to search out these small things that you need to do – then go do it.

All the best
All the time
JT