A month ago, I was working with a company where the CEO was trying to figure out what explained the vast differences in productivity per employee.
They had just introduced some new metrics showing the varying efficiency levels of all team members. Some who were less efficient than others were burning themselves out trying to raise their score simply by increasing the number of hours they worked.
To their credit, they worked hard, but they couldn't seem to close the gap.
I pointed out to the CEO (and the team) that in horse racing, the winning horse doesn't work 10 times harder; it often wins by a nose. It's not just about putting in more hours and more effort. Or consider the difference between gold and silver medals in any Olympic competitive event. Gold medal winners have 10 times more opportunities after their victory to capitalize on that success than the silver medalist, but the gold medalist didn't work 10 times harder. In most events, they won by a fraction of a second. They won by a margin well below 1%.
So, what leads to those results? If you look at what the "experts" have to say on social media, you'd think the only thing you need to do is more, and more of that, and then more of that. But is that really it?
To make the point even more explicit for the team I was speaking with, I used the Rubik's Cube as an example. It has thousands of possible states it can be in, but only one is "solved." And yet, learning to solve it is such a straightforward process that a child can learn it. It's not about being 10 times smarter; it's simply about knowing what to do, and in what order.
Superstars aren't the ones who work 10 times harder than their peers. They are the ones who recognize where the highest and best use of their time and effort lies and consistently apply themselves to those areas. That is the secret, if there ever was one. To bring it back to my toy: those who can "solve it" aren't smarter and didn't work harder... What they learned was the right process, and then they followed it every single time.
In sales organizations, for instance, superstars aren't the ones with an otherworldly personality. They aren't the ones working 14 hours a day. They aren't the ones who are exceptionally brilliant. Of course, these traits help, but the world is full of failed salespeople who are brilliant, charming, and hard-working.
Superstars are the ones who recognize the MOST IMPORTANT elements of their sales process and discipline themselves to do ALL the important work.
This will vary from industry to industry, but there are a few generalizations we can make:
1. They are the ones who follow up with their customers after the first sale and maintain a relationship.
2. They are the ones who ask for referrals on a regular basis.
3. They are the ones who identify the "gaps" between what they offer and what their customers are buying, and present compelling cases for why the customer should buy more from them.
4. They are the ones who take the time to prepare high-value opportunities, ensuring they understand the ways their proposal might fall short or what to say when faced with an objection.
All too often, we see salespeople (and employees in general) get bogged down by urgent but low-value tasks, reducing their ability to execute on every required element. And when that happens, it doesn't just cost them 10% or 20% in effectiveness—it cuts their earning potential by 80-90% or more.
Challenge for this week!
Take a look at some of the most important areas of your business and try to identify what has had the most significant impact.
Write down the top 1-2-3 things that impact your sales and lead generation efforts, revenue generation, customer experience, retention efforts, etc. That's it. The top 1-2-3 things in each area that have the biggest impact on your business results.
Now, ask yourself if you are truly investing your time in the highest priority areas and executing them well consistently, or spending your time randomly trying to 10x everything.
I can almost guarantee that it's not about doing "more, more, MORE!" but rather doing the right things well, consistently well, 99% of the time.
Remember, winning by a nose is still winning!