Raise The Bar

If you do what everyone does, you will get the same results that everyone else gets. If you want better results, there is only one way-  raise your bar.

You will never be exceptional at anything unless you raise your standards, both of yourself and of what’s possible. Unfortunately, that sounds like a lot of work for most of us. We gravitate toward being soft and complacent. We’d rather coast and convince ourselves that we are giving our best. And paradoxically, we want better outcomes !!

What’s the problem here? No commitment to a higher ideal !!

Most of the time, when we accept substandard work from ourselves, it’s because we don’t care about a higher standard. We tell ourselves that it is good enough or the best we can manage, given the circumstances. But the truth is, we are not committed to the idea of a higher ideal- excellence.

This manifests into another issue. We end up accepting substandard work from others, and it’s for the same reason. We are not all in.

The bottom line is that when you are committed to excellence, you will not half-ass it, nor will you let anyone under your watch half-ass it. You set the bar, you set it high, and you expect all those around you to work just as hard and level up to what you expect or above. You will not accept anything less.

Your team’s standards will always reflect your personal standards. And your personal standard isn’t about intentions (which always aim high) but about actions. If your standards are substandard, your actions—and the results that follow—will show it.

Bill Walsh, the legendary NFL coach, put it best: “Champions behave like champions before they’re champions. They have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.”

So, raise your bar. Commit to excellence. It starts with you—because how you show up sets the tone for everyone around you.