“An old boss of mine, years ago, said, ‘Never give 100%. Anyone can do that. Give 5% more and you’ll be twice as good as everyone else.’”
- Martin Avis
This little gem was place on our company’s notice board this morning. It made me think (Shut up! It happens!).
I won’t argue the math (105% is only 1.05 times better than 100%, not twice as good). So, right off the bat, the logic is already flawed.
The intent is to motivate everyone towards our company’s success. I get that.
But, how do you give 105% of something finite? My skills and energy are all finite; they don’t come without limits. So, when I reach my limit, how do I give 5% more?
If I reach my limit, dig down deep inside, and come up with 5% more, then I really didn’t reach my limit. I was holding back. I might even have 10% more held in reserve. That would make me a slacker by this person's logic.
As a sports coach and former athlete, I’m quite familiar with these expressions. “Come on team, you need to give me 110% out there on the field if you want to win!” 110% of what? I always wondered that.
And, really, can anyone ever truly give 100%? If I gave 100% of my energy to my job, what would be left for my family? What would be left for my friends? What would be left for God? What would be left for fun? Heck…what would be left for the drive home?
We should set more realistic expectations. I’m going to start asking for 33% from my team at work. Yeah, I know…it doesn’t have the same ring to it as asking for 105%. But, I think it’s more realistic.
Think about it. If everyone on my team (all eleven of them) gave 33% of everything they have to offer - their skills, talents, concern, mind, ideas, and energy - we’d be pretty darn successful. I’d be asking them to give a third of everything they are to the success of our company. That’s a lot to ask of anyone!
The typical employee works eight hours a day (a third of a day). So, if they give me a full third of everything they have during that time, they’d still have two thirds left for the remaining two thirds of the day. That’s good budgeting.
What does 33% look like? It means from the time they log in to the time they log out, they remain focused on the success of their territory, our team, and our company. For eight hours, they don't stop driving our success. They look for ways to improve, streamline, and create effectiveness. They focus on the tasks that need to get done and search out opportunities wherever and whenever they might arise.
So that's our new mantra on my team: Give me 33%.
I’ve even come up with an expression of my own. “Team, anyone can give me 33%. Give me 2% more, and you’ll be twice as good as the losers who only give me 33%.” Mathematically, it’s still not really correct. They’d really only be 1.06 times better than those who gave me 33%. But does truth really matter? After all, I’m the great motivator!
Ah...what do I know? Martin Avis is only a millionaire who built a multi-national business. Whatever. He can be wrong.
- Martin Avis
This little gem was place on our company’s notice board this morning. It made me think (Shut up! It happens!).
I won’t argue the math (105% is only 1.05 times better than 100%, not twice as good). So, right off the bat, the logic is already flawed.
The intent is to motivate everyone towards our company’s success. I get that.
But, how do you give 105% of something finite? My skills and energy are all finite; they don’t come without limits. So, when I reach my limit, how do I give 5% more?
If I reach my limit, dig down deep inside, and come up with 5% more, then I really didn’t reach my limit. I was holding back. I might even have 10% more held in reserve. That would make me a slacker by this person's logic.
As a sports coach and former athlete, I’m quite familiar with these expressions. “Come on team, you need to give me 110% out there on the field if you want to win!” 110% of what? I always wondered that.
And, really, can anyone ever truly give 100%? If I gave 100% of my energy to my job, what would be left for my family? What would be left for my friends? What would be left for God? What would be left for fun? Heck…what would be left for the drive home?
We should set more realistic expectations. I’m going to start asking for 33% from my team at work. Yeah, I know…it doesn’t have the same ring to it as asking for 105%. But, I think it’s more realistic.
Think about it. If everyone on my team (all eleven of them) gave 33% of everything they have to offer - their skills, talents, concern, mind, ideas, and energy - we’d be pretty darn successful. I’d be asking them to give a third of everything they are to the success of our company. That’s a lot to ask of anyone!
The typical employee works eight hours a day (a third of a day). So, if they give me a full third of everything they have during that time, they’d still have two thirds left for the remaining two thirds of the day. That’s good budgeting.
What does 33% look like? It means from the time they log in to the time they log out, they remain focused on the success of their territory, our team, and our company. For eight hours, they don't stop driving our success. They look for ways to improve, streamline, and create effectiveness. They focus on the tasks that need to get done and search out opportunities wherever and whenever they might arise.
So that's our new mantra on my team: Give me 33%.
I’ve even come up with an expression of my own. “Team, anyone can give me 33%. Give me 2% more, and you’ll be twice as good as the losers who only give me 33%.” Mathematically, it’s still not really correct. They’d really only be 1.06 times better than those who gave me 33%. But does truth really matter? After all, I’m the great motivator!
Ah...what do I know? Martin Avis is only a millionaire who built a multi-national business. Whatever. He can be wrong.
