The Fire Within

A number of years ago I sat in a session given by Marshall Goldsmith where he asked everyone in the room to close their eyes and raise their hands if they considered themselves in the top 50% of all of the people in their field of work. He asked everyone to keep them up, without looking, if they felt they were in the 70th percentile, then 80th, and finally 90th percentile. If I asked you to do the same thing, where would you rank yourself? During the session Mr. Goldsmith told us to put our hands down and open our eyes and he went on to share that he has done this very informal and unscientific poll countless times and every time he has done it he estimates the vast majority feel they are in the top 90% in their particular field, and never could he remember not having anyone think they were at least in the top half. Think about the incredible odds of never getting someone that was below average in all the years and sessions he has done that. I've thought of that session recentl...

We all say we want people to be honest with us, both in work and personal relationships. The problem is we often don't like to hear the truth. I was in a situation in a past job where I was released from my employment, my fancy way of saying that I was fired. Nobody told me at the time that I wasn't performing, just got called in one day and said they were ending my employment on a set date in the future. I was shocked to say the least. It turned out to be one of the better things that has happened to me in my career though it didn't feel like it at the time. More importantly I was able to take away a core value for myself. I promised myself that I would be honest with people, that they deserved the truth. I had just wished that someone was honest with me, and told me what I was doing wrong. I remind myself of this whenever I get feedback that is less than positive. Initially I react like most people, I get defensive and frustrated, I will go home and complain to my wife ...