Raise the Bar
Elevated standards create elevated results.
You notice this whenever you work with an outlier. The bar they set for themselves and others is beyond what most people imagine.
Standards apply not just to the quality of work you produce but the opportunities you work on. If you accept substandard work from yourself, you’ll only get average work from others. If you say yes to average projects, you’ll have no time for exceptional ones.
Raise the bar to raise the results.
Last week’s “Tiny Thought” from Farnam Street
Among things I read and listened to recently, this passage stood out for me, both as a general thought and as this is, thematically, a lot of what I am working on right now with several clients seeking to “raise the bar” for themselves and their organisation.
There is no bar
You could even go one further. As the story referenced in an earlier blog, “Growth Mindset and Pole Vaulting” (featuring the pole vaulter image above) notes, “there is no bar“.
Brave Thinking and Big Ambitions
In the linked post above, I referenced “Growth Mindset”. There is no growth without stretching, though for some “there is no bar” may be too much, so simply be really clear on to what level you will elevate your standard, raise your bar, then go with that and commit to it.
Ultimately this will always take some Bravery. As I wrote about in the blog “Brave Thinking and Big Ambitions“:
Be Brave.
Bravery means you’re open to being uncomfortable, to stretching, as that’s where the growth lies. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re playing it too safe.Bravery is a virtuous circle. When you embrace your full potential (discomfort and all). Your vision becomes clearer and your confidence increases, even in the face of uncertainty.
How high will you raise your bar? How brave will you choose to be?
“Small world” Postscript
Oh, and I also smile at how small the world is. I wrote “Growth Mindset and Pole Vaulting” in 2017, then “Brave Thinking and Big Ambition” in early 2019, a blog that highlights how Dundee has transformed itself through the collaboration of a group of brave leaders willing to raise the bar so high that there was no bar.
In September 2019, I then flew to Dundee for a huge 50th Birthday Party for one of those brave Dundonians, my friend Chris van der Kuyl (for more from Chris he appeared on WhatComesNextLive here). At the black-tie dinner, I found myself sat next to the person who told the “there is no bar” story about the pole vaulter, Bill Gammell. Bill and I then had a truly memorable dinner conversation, a privilege and an inspiring and energising chat with another of Scotland’s brave business leaders. Sma’ world, ken?