We all want the best. Right?
We want the best people on our team. We want that team of “best people” to create the best products. We want to offer the best services. We want the best outcomes.
Often, though, we don’t have the best. We don’t have the best people, the best products, the best services, or the best outcomes.
Why not?
Well, it has nothing to do with the white-hot jobs market limiting available talent. It has nothing to do with the fundamental capability of our organization.
Anytime we observe a lack of “best,” that observation should act as a subtle signal. The signal is not some deficit in the outside world, but of a deficit within ourselves.
I once heard someone criticize the notion of The Secret (if you are familiar) when he said, “We don’t get what we want, we get what we are.” We get what we are.
To understand this sentiment means reckoning with an uncomfortable finding. If we truly want the best, then we must first become the best.
The never ending work of improvement always starts with the leader. When we relentlessly improve, the conditions we find ourselves in will also improve.
