It’s a weird concept, right? You were recruited to your school because they like what you do. You got called up to the Bigs because you were having success in the minors. You got hired for the job because you interviewed well and have had success at previous positions. So why would you ever change? The reality is the world is always changing and rapidly progressing. Think of our cell phones, TVs, and cars. What did they look like 10 years ago? Vastly different, right? They weren’t broke, so why did we fix and improve them? As everything around us evolves, we can’t afford to stay stagnant.
Two things come to the top of my mind when I think of this concept. 1. A conversation with Cal Quantrill. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Cleveland Indians starter and former first-round pick and talk some pitching and development. He talked about his process on continued development from the time he was called up to the big leagues to now. One thing that really resonated with me was talking about why some guys have tough adjustments from Triple-A to the Bigs. He credits this to be resistant to changing their approach. As mentioned above, they called you up because they liked what you were doing before, right? So why change?
I believe there are some parallels here between an MLB organization and any large company. The first thing I see is once you truly reach an elite level, there is no threshold on talent. Think of it this way, if you dominate in High A, you’re going to go to Double-A soon. If you’re a junior sales executive and you crush that role, you’re going to get promoted. In both cases, you can continue to climb the ladder. Triple-A or a manager role. Finally, the elite and top positions will emerge.
However, this concept gets interesting when one reaches the top level. Individuals begin to think about the reasons they have success. According to Marshall Goldsmith, these are called success delusions. Since we have had success before, we are resistant to change. I’ve seen this plenty of times. Whether it was the JUCO transfer who dominated his conference and couldn’t perform at the 4-year school or an employee who couldn’t handle the managerial promotion.
So how can we fix this? Marshall Goldsmith outlines 20 habits that are holding you back from the top. It’s an interesting read so be sure to add it to the list. Let’s focus on 3 ways we can easily ensure we never develop success delusions.
An athlete gave me a quote that his dad always tells him, “practice like everyone is better than you but play like no one is better than you.” Except for an elite few, there is someone out there that is always better than us. This isn’t meant to discourage anyone. Simply made to fuel the drive and growth for an individual. Take Matthew McConaughey for example. He was one of the most sought-after romantic comedy actors during the 1990s. However, that industry wasn’t what he wanted. He tirelessly worked to refine his skills to be suited for the thrillers that he is now known for today.
Feedforward is the opposite of feedback. It’s the process of replacing positive or negative feedback with future-oriented solutions. In simple terms, it means focusing on the future instead of the past
Nothing comes to fruition without action. Think about how many times we said we would start something tomorrow, or next week? Is that healthy? Is that progress towards the person we want to be? The most successful people in life are not the smartest, they’re simply those who have taken action and leveraged 2-3 unique things about themselves.
If big leaguers and C-level executives continue to reinvent themselves, why shouldn't you? Take this time to reflect on what you can do to move forward and create a course of action today.