Excellence is obsolete: redefining the standard for success
“Something deep in the human heart breaks at the thought of a life of
mediocrity.” ― C. S. Lewis
In literature, in media and most certainly in the
workplace, mediocrity carries a decidedly negative connotation. Nobody wants to
be merely mediocre.
Google “mediocrity” and you’ll get results such as
“What To Do About Mediocrity on Your Team,” and “Mediocrity Is a Virus — Here’s How to
Banish It From Your Life.” Article after article tells us that mediocrity is a slippery slope
to complete failure.
Excellence, on the other hand, has become an
aspirational gold standard. To strive for excellence is to dodge mediocrity at
all costs.
Every day, news
outlets publish stories telling us how to emulate the Steve Jobs, the Oprah Winfrey’s and the Tom
Bradys of the world.
And once we wake up before sunrise, choose an outfit that reflects our personal brand, and eliminate
gluten, alcohol, and caffeine, we can finally unleash the superhumans hidden
inside.
Even school-aged children are encouraged to pursue excellence — as soon as they can
hold scissors.
But at a certain point in my own career, I started
to question excellence. As the founder of JotForm, should I be encouraging our
130 employees to strive for excellence and nothing less?
Stepping back, how did we arrive at this state of
obsession with excellence — and more importantly, what should be the standard for success?
How the excellence
obsession began
Since 1936, when Dale Carnegie published his
now-iconic book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” ambitious readers everywhere have been striving
to improve themselves.
More recently came the 10,000-Hour Rule,
popularized by author Malcolm Gladwell, who claimed that achieving excellence was simply a
matter of time and dedication — 10,000 hours of practice.
By offering a concrete, quantifiable goal, excellence seemed more achievable. Want to become an expert
programmer, chef or hockey player? You can. We all can. It’s just a numbers
game.
Gladwell’s theory is based on the research of Dr.
K. Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology who has pioneered the study and
science of peak performance.
But Ericsson does not entirely agree with Gladwell’s conclusions. In fact, he calls
them:
“… a popularised but simplistic view of our work … which suggests
that anyone who has accumulated a sufficient number of hours of practice in a
given domain will automatically become an expert and a champion.”
What happens though, when the quest to rack up the
hours required for excellence ends up compromising our health, relationships
and even our happiness?
Is excellence the metric by which we should
measure ourselves?
One-dimensional
excellence might be the wrong goal
“There were times when I didn’t leave the factory for three or four
days — days when I didn’t go outside.”
That’s Tesla CEO Elon Musk, acknowledging the toll
of work-related exhaustion. In a candid interview with the New York Times, he admitted that 120-hour
weeks had become the norm.
He hadn’t taken more than a week off since 2001
when he was bedridden with malaria. His exhaustion had also led to
less-than-exemplary leadership — like berating an analyst, which spurred him to publicly apologize.
“This has really come
at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends,” he adds.
Musk’s experience highlights another possible toll
of excellence: relationships. Those 10,000 hours have to come from somewhere,
and often, we start skimming them from nights and weekends; precious hours that
are typically dedicated to friends and family.
As Erin Callan, the former Lehman Brothers CFO
(who left shortly before the collapse), wrote in a New York Times article,
“When I wasn’t catching up on work, I spent my weekends recharging my
batteries for the coming week. Work always came first, before my family,
friends, and marriage — which ended just a few years later.”
Musk and Callan aren’t the only successful figures
who received the wake-up call. It took a personal health
crisis for Huffington
Post Founder Arianna Huffington to reshape her own idea of success and start
prioritizing her health.
In fact, her latest venture, Thrive Global,
is dedicated
to “end[ing] the
stress and burnout epidemic by offering companies and individuals sustainable,
science-based solutions to enhance well-being, performance, and purpose, and
create a healthier relationship with technology.”
As she explains,
“It was a day I’ve talked and written about dozens of times — the day I collapsed from sleep deprivation and
exhaustion, broke my cheekbone and woke up in a pool of blood. For me, that day
literally changed my life. It put me on a course in which I changed how I work and how I live.”
Before we barrel blindly toward excellence or 10,000 hours of mastery,
it’s important to consider the potential tradeoffs.
Loss of passion
Sometimes, we get so invested in a certain outcome
that we lose sight of why we even started. We can’t see the bigger picture, and
our passion and excitement fade.
Take elite athletes, many of whom are groomed for
greatness from a very young age. Sports psychologist Adam Naylor says he
observes many college-level athletes who are now playing “out of obligation,
not passion.”
After a life spent in training, the excitement
that first led them to pick up a hockey stick or tennis racket is long gone
when they arrive at college.
When passion no longer fuels your drive, chances
are you won’t achieve excellence — and you won’t be
fulfilled.
Redefining success
The history and pitfalls of pursuing excellence are
convincing but how do we redefine the meaning of success?
I believe we should think less about excellence
and more about personal fulfillment — a sense of achievement
that’s balanced by
wellness.
The World Health Organization defines
wellness as
“…a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Increasingly, we’re seeing more thriving, high-profile leaders who are openly prioritizing their
wellness.
Whether it’s meditating, exercising or clocking at
least eight hours of sleep, wellness is slowly replacing old, masochistic work
habits.
For example, many CEOs have regular meditation
practices, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and
Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Wellness also means checking in with yourself and
being self-aware. Sleeping,
meditating and exercising are
great practices, but it’s equally important to step back and re-evaluate from
time to time.
Examine your short and long-term goals, and whether your work still feels inspiring.
Sure, you might not be whistling while you program every day, but on the whole,
your work should bring a sense of satisfaction and pride.
So, now you’re focusing on fulfillment, meditating
daily, and feeling good about your work-life balance. But, will you ever make a
name for yourself if you don’t chase excellence? Will you leave your mark on the
world?
There’s no guarantee. But by pursuing
fulfilling work and living a
balanced, healthy life, you might — because chances are,
you’re working from a place of inspiration, instead of just going through the
motions.
And even if you never launch a buzzy global
startup or make partner at your firm, you can still make a strong contribution
to your team, earn a good living, and enjoy fulfilling hobbies outside of work.
I definitely agree that hobbies are underrated, and they can enhance our quality of life.
Personally, I love traveling with my family. That’s why last year, I spent the summer working
(four days a week) from our Turkey office. When I wasn’t at my desk, we
explored the charming villages that line the Aegean Sea. It was a wonderful few
months that also made me a better leader, father, husband, and friend.
Spread the gospel of
fulfillment
Reaching for the top can have many negative
consequences — on our health, our relationships, our passion, and our
happiness.
By striving for fulfillment, we might end up
happier and more successful than ever before. That’s the goal I set for myself
and the advice I share with our team members.
Aytekin Tank
Founder at www.JotForm.com || (contact:
AytekinTank@JotForm.com)
Nov 1
https://medium.com/swlh/excellence-is-obsolete-redefining-the-standard-for-success-4a4dde5a1ec4
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