Key Theme #5: Maximizer

Few things frustrate me more than settling for mediocrity, especially if I am forced to do so. No company sets out to do things “good enough” but, through any number of wrong turns (mostly due to poor management, in my opinion), that is where most companies end up. In my experience, I have been in roles where settling for mediocrity is the status quo because:

1. the role is so far removed from profit-driving activities that it is not valued, so excellence is neither expected nor sought;
2. the company is selling a product/service that customers have a hard time evaluating for quality, so performance is VERY tightly controlled based on the few criteria customers demand… and little else; or
3. the workforce is so transient that management sees little incentive to try to get the best out of them.

There are countless other reasons why it happens, but it is like a slow, wasting death for a company. Me? I see something done well and think, “if I tweak this and this and this, it could be done AMAZINGLY!” Thinking about it, analyzing it, discussing it, modifying it – all of these are exciting and important parts of the process that I, as a Maximizer, love about improvement.

This is also the part of me that dislikes trying to fix weaknesses. To me, going from good to great is more satisfying, beneficial, and worthwhile than going from bad to okay. I do recognize, however, that I have weaknesses, and they should be addressed. Contrary to conventional wisdom, though, I feel that weaknesses should managed, not fixed (because real weaknesses cannot be fixed) and that the majority of one’s time should be on maximizing and capitalizing upon one’s strengths.

I would benefit from observing – and perhaps picking the brains of – exemplars of this philosophy. History is full of people who identified their strengths and built upon them to achieve greatness, and I know a few who I really respect based on their ability lead lives very true to who they are and the ways in which they are great.