“Ah, it’s good enough. Let’s just go with what we have.”
Have you ever heard that? Have you ever said that? While it may be true that “good enough” is ok, how about trying to do better? How about pursuing excellence?!
I talk about pursuing excellence as part of my Confidence as a Leader: Finding Your Purpose program. I think it is a lost value for many people today. But, not for Lombardi. The Green Bay Packers won 5 NFL titles in 7 years, including the first two Super Bowls. They won those titles and lots of games from running one play: The Packer Sweep. Everyone knew that they were going to run the ball using this play and nobody could stop it.
The team would practice this play over and over until they could execute it to perfection. Lombardi used to do seminars on it! That is excellence.
Here are some tips for your students to help them pursue excellence in their studies, campus organizations, and life:
- Practice, practice, practice. If you were asked to give a speech to a large audience, you would practice it, right? Do that with everything! Practice means going over things to make sure they are right, like the Packers did with their famous play. Do this with assignments and tests. I had a math teacher in high school who drilled it into my head that I should always check over my answers before turning in a test. That simple idea, a pursuit of excellence, served me well throughout my education into my mortgage career and even today as a speaker.
How does this apply to organizations? If you are asked to run a meeting, put together a planned agenda. That is better than winging it! Are you a little unsure of Robert’s Rules and parliamentary procedure? Then practice! Have a friend make motions and ask you points of information. Look up the correct responses. Practice it!
- Expect the unexpected, don’t let it incapacitate you. Things are going to come up that you are not anticipating. Don’t let it ruin your day! Have a contingency plan for meetings, projects, events, etc. Think of it as “If this happens, then we will…”
I recall a time that I gave a keynote speech along with some breakout sessions for a conference in New York state. There were six schools and a couple of hundred students in the audience for my keynote, which went great! I was wearing a brand new suit and, I must say, I looked very dapper. The keynote was the last program of the day and as I left to go to my rental car I found that it was snowing. A slushy, wet snow. Being the brave Wisconsin native that I am, I ventured out into the cold mess to get to my car as far as I could. I had taken off my suit coat and put on a leather coat to fight against the cold. I had to go through a shallow culvert and, only a few feet away from the car, my feet came out from under me and I went down hard on my back in puddle full of mud!
I was soaking wet and covered in mud all over my back, my legs, and my head. How would I get back to my hotel without totally trashing the car? I had managed to land holding the suit coat up in the air. So, I spread that brand new coat out on the seat and sat on it as I drove back to the hotel. What if that had happened on the way in to the conference? I had no contingency then, I do now! I always have a complete change of clothes with me just in case something unexpected happens. A small effort, but a big step towards excellence.
- Go the extra mile: Do a little bit more, make a better effort than someone else, and you will find yourself in the winner’s circle more often. In 2006, Sam Hornish, Jr. was trying to win his first Indianapolis 500. He never finished above 12th in six previous races. On this day, however, he entered the last lap in second place behind rookie Marco Andretti. Hornish tried several times to pass Andretti on the 2.5 mile oval to no avail. Finally, on the front straight away, Hornish shot out to the left, hit the gas and passed Andretti to win the race by little more than a car length. Of that pass, Hornish said: “I figured I came all this way, I ought to give myself one more shot at it. I kind of looked at it as, I was going to drive over him if I had to.” Sometime excellence is only about doing that little bit more. Hornish won $1.7 million that day, Andretti $600,000. Was Hornish nearly three times better? No, only a few feet better, but that was the difference between victory and second place.
Pursuing excellence is an attitude and a habit. Do it all the time and you will find great things will happen for you.
I would love to bring this kind of rich content to your campus for your students. You can check out all of my topics on my program page. Please call my office at 770-552-6592 or email me at DaveKelly@GonzoSpeaks.com or to discuss a date to have me at your school. Booking me will not break the bank – check out my Affordable Pricing Model for a quote! I look forward to serving your students!
I look forward to serving your students with excellence!