Efficiency, Effectiveness, and the Top Ten Percent

Efficiency is doing a good job at what you are working on. It is finding the fastest, most economical, and most efficient way to do the task at hand.
Effectiveness is prioritizing. It is knowing what to work on. It is figuring out what task or tasks are the most important, that need to be done right away, and knowing what tasks don’t really need to be done at all.
Efficiency is being the best bricklayer you can possibly be. Effectiveness is knowing that you are building a frame house, and a bricklayer isn’t needed.
When you combine efficiency and effectiveness, you are on your way to becoming the best in your field. Why care about being the best in your field? As Brian Tracy says, “All the rewards go to the top ten percent.” You see, average people get average results. This is true in any field. Average people are replaceable. The average worker can quit their job today, and be replaced tomorrow, and the company won’t be hurt in the least. Average is most people (hence the term average). But the top ten percent are irreplaceable. The top ten percent require no supervision, because they always give their best. They demand more of themselves than any boss could ever demand of them. These people are voracious learners, have a great attitude, seek out improvement, and consistently perform above expectations. The company can not run without these key people, so these people get to name their price. They are invaluable. If their company doesn’t want to pay them enough, it is only a matter of time until the competition will. These people stand out wherever they go.
The average American worker complains that they work too hard and don’t get paid enough. I say the average American worker complains too much and doesn’t work hard enough – if they worked too hard there is a high likelihood they wouldn’t still be average. Further, they get paid about what they are worth. You see, wages tend to be set at the least a company can pay to fill a position with a competent worker, and the average worker tends to do the least they can do to fill the demands of their job. While the average worker complains about their pay, if they truly felt they were worth more than what they made, they would demand and receive higher pay, or quit and go find a job that paid them more in line with what they thought they were worth. The problem is the average American worker is looking too closely at themselves and their wants and needs, and not closely enough at the formula. If you get paid about what you are worth, what does it take to improve your results?
Just this one thing - make yourself more valuable! Be more efficient. Be more effective. Work harder and smarter. Have a great attitude. Make yourself invaluable, and the cream will rise to the top. It is impossible for it to happen any other way. When you become the top ten percent, you get noticed, and you get promoted. If not with your company, the competition lures you away. Maybe you leave to start your own business. If you are in the top ten percent, but don’t advance in your field, some other opportunity finds you. The top ten percent get recognized for their superior effort and attitude and work, by co-workers, bosses, competitors, customers, etc. The top ten percent stand out, and it is just a matter of time until the right opportunity finds them. Rest assured, if you get to be in the top ten percent at what you do, the accolades and the rewards will come. If you feel you have been in the top ten percent for a long time, and yet you haven’t received the accolades and rewards, perhaps you should evaluate more closely whether or not you are really in the top ten percent. Ask your boss if you are top ten percent material or not, and, if not, what it will take to get you there? Ask your customers the same thing. Figure out the missing ingredient, and then do something about it.
When I was an 8-5 employee, I was good at what I did. I received a few promotions, and eventually landed in a spot where I was very comfortable. I had a good attitude, worked hard, was efficient and effective, and, if asked, I probably would have said I was in the top ten percent. Early on, maybe I even was.
However, I did real estate on the side. In my real estate, I put in whatever time was needed to get the job done. I patched a tenant’s leaking roof in the middle of a rainstorm. I crawled under mobile homes in mud and gunk to do repairs because I couldn’t find someone who would do it for me. I routinely did paperwork in the wee hours of the night. I was gracious and courteous and kept a level head with tenants that would have drove most normal people irate. For several years, I spent six and seven days a week getting up at 5am, and not going to bed until 11pm, midnight, 1am, or later, because that is what it took for me to manage my full time job, have time for my family, and still make the progress I wanted to make with my real estate investing. No amount of real estate was too much, because I loved doing it, and I especially loved seeing the progress I was making. In my 8-5, I was average and thought I was top ten percent. In my real estate, I was top ten percent. The difference was the passion to be efficient, effective, and get the job done right, on time, every time, no matter what. In my 8-5, I got complacent. I didn’t strive to get better and better – I just did what had to be done. Eventually, recognizing that the passion was no longer there in my 8-5 is why I finally did quit. If the passion dies out in real estate investing, I may eventually have to quit that, too. However, for right now, I still strive to be the best real estate investor I can be. I am still a voracious learner, and I am still improving, and I don’t intend to quit; at least not until I can go out on top!
If you are already in the top ten percent in your field, congratulations! If you are still on the way up, you have it in you! Keep your head up, be efficient, be effective, have a great attitude, and don’t you dare give up – the rewards will be well worth it! Best wishes!