Sustaining Exceptional Achievement Requires Deliberate Practices

We have all either personally experienced or worked with a coworker or the newly hired/promoted employee that jumps out of the gate and in their first year they make their impressive mark by exceeding all expectations. Their sales exceed their goal by 120% or more, their innovative ideas for change are immediately recognized as revolutionary, or their cost saving ideas impressively reflect positively on the bottomline. Although the immediate achievements demonstrate impressive accomplishments, business owners, managers, and individuals must not feel complacent that the exceptional successes will continue without deliberate effort.

To put this in perspective let’s look at this from a sports minded point of view. Contemplate any one of your cities professional/college sports teams. Let’s assume they won the National/World Championship. Do the owners/athletic directors, coaches, and even fans assume that even though they will return the next year with the same players, schedule, plays, coaches, off season training etc. they will repeat their same success? Some do and they soon find themselves on ESPN as the headline facing their employment, or rather unemployment, demise. Whether in corporate business or professional sports the method is the same to avoid being the one hit wonder. Deliberate best practices must be strategically implemented in order to Sustain Exceptional Achievement.

Many factors play into deliberate practices in sustaining exceptional achievements.

• Humility is the foremost sustainability factor. Cockiness or the idea that growth will continue by virtue of initial success is the sure fire death sentence of growth. The only place for accolades and resting on your laurels is on your resume. The absence of humility will certainly breed a deficit of focus which is the next factor of sustaining Exceptional Achievement.

• Focus is likely considered the most obvious, but equally overlooked because of the assumption that focus is in our natural ability. Following an extreme success and achievement focus must be elevated on the the next challenge beginning immediately with the next end goal in mind. Immediately focus on the next great achievement.

• Technology…is it friend or foe. Technology is absolutely both friend and foe. Specifically technology must be balanced. Always consider the technological implications of your product or service and the impact technology plays on it from your business standpoint as well as your customers. A new form of technology may be your next great achievement supplementing your business. Whether it is an app, online ordering, or a blogging site, technology his here to stay and likely always within reach of every toddler through senior citizen. Technology can also be your adversary. Inaccuracies are published by the minute online as well as technology at your fingertips can be a tremendous distraction that pulls you from focusing on your next great success.

• “One Day Contract” is a book and a concept authored by the now University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Coach. He developed this concept from the idea that every sports athlete is always performing their best when they are nearing the end of their contract. If the end of a contract inspires people to perform at their peak producing Exceptional Achievements, then why not initialize a contract every single day that expires at the end of the day creating inspirational greatness in your daily performance? In short he explains how we should all create our own “One Day Contract” to kindle Exceptional Achievement like it’s the end of our contract

Sustaining Exceptional Achievement is much more than motivation. If you would like support in Sustaining YOUR Exceptional Achievement in your business or profession, we are eager to team together with you to get the results you desire. Visit our website at www.themeritgroupindy.com or call 317-805-4896 today!

Look for more small steps that produce BIG results!