We need to be honest and we need to put forth a good effort. Those are the minimum requirements.
It’s nice to continually find ways to improve your processes and your skill set.
It’s a bonus if you can have fun while doing all of that.
So we have the needs, the nice-to-haves, and the bonus of making it enjoyable.
To merely survive, you have to be honest and put forth a good effort. That’s an average life, making average things, having an average impact. For most of us, that’s the most we’ll ever do.
The world has lots of average, so if you want to be noticed, you’ve got to be special and you have to work to make yourself a master of something. Make the task of finding ways to improve as important as putting forth a good effort and being honest. That is the way to get noticed and build an above-average organization that makes a special impact.