As you move through your career, leaders and managers share some of the things they’ve learned along the way. It’s really meant to help you. Teaching and transmitting knowledge is something humans excel at. Unfortunately not all advice is great.
Years of misinformation
When I first started working, I was in a meeting with our Marketing Director where she shared some the worst advice I’ve ever heard. She said something like:
No matter how good of a job you do, in business, like in life, people will always remember the bad things you do.
I’m guessing I had done something that wasn’t to her liking. Regardless, at the time, I didn’t realize how bad it was. The problem with her advice is that it looks at average work. If the best you do is average, then yes, people will only remember the bad. The problem of course, is that average is no longer working. As Seth Godin puts it:
The mass market—which made average products for average people—was invented by organizations that needed to keep their factories and systems running efficiently. […]
Mass gave us efficiency and productivity, making us (some people) rich. Mass gave us huge nations, giving us (some people) power. Mass allowed powerful people to influence millions, giving us (some people) control.
And now mass is dying.
Don’t be average
What does that mean? Don’t settle for average. The one way people will remember the good over the bad is if you do amazing work. Relentlessly do the best work you can. Don’t settle for average and be remembered for your great work.
(Photo credit: JD Hancock)
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