Chad Silverstein contrasts two mindsets at a collection agency: workers chasing monthly numbers versus those pursuing excellence as a way of being. The ones aiming for excellence outperformed and stayed more fulfilled over time.
Chapters
So in my company, we used to have to reset every 30 days. We were a collection agency, so we would recover funds for doctors and hospitals, and then every month we'd have to send the checks to the clients, and then we'd start over at zero every month. And I remember all the high performers. There were two types of performers in my office. There were the ones who always were setting goals, and they were shooting for that excellence. They always wanted to get better. And then there were those who just wanted to hit the high numbers, break their records, and then kind of take it easy. And there was a mindset set within this way of being every single month when we reset. And I used to. I used to see it come into play around the 25th, 26th, 27th of the month, because that's typically when people would finally reach their monthly goal. And I would see the one group push harder and keep going, and one group take it easy and take their PTO days. And they knew they were getting commission, so they kind of took it easy. And they weren't shooting for excellence that month. They were shooting for a number, and that was it. And there's real power in shooting for that ideal and not a number. This is why purpose and why opus is such a big deal at Built to Lead versus when we put things on a scorecard like numbers, which, again, you're going to have metrics, you're going to have your KPIs. We get it. And in your leadership meetings, you should have that. But the Build to Lead way is to have more of a driving aim at something that's more purpose over profit. And excellence is kind of in that same realm. It's shooting for a way of being. I always love when I hear people say, don't be perfect. You know, I gotta tell you, I love shooting for perfection. I love, you know, trying to be perfect at things I'm doing. I'm never gonna be it, but I don't mind aiming at it. And I certainly don't get down on myself, because I'm not, but I'm gonna aim at it. So I love hearing people say, you know, don't. Don't go. Don't try to be so perfect. Like, I don't know, would it try to be bad, Try to be mediocre? I don't know. Like, same thing with being extreme or too intense. Would you rather me be lazy? So I'm not talking on the side of being unhealthy with it, but there is a mindset about excellence, and if you're going to be a high performer and you're going to lead anything, then your mindset needs to mean more than the numbers, more than the metrics. And the individuals in my Office who the 26th and 27th and 28th of the month kept going because they weren't satisfied with hitting their goal. They weren't satisfied with just making sure they got their commission check and they got their bills paid and they made a little bit extra. They were shooting for excellence. And in the long run, when I look at that group, they were so much more successful, so much more successful and so much more whole with their job. They loved it. And it wasn't as much about the job as it was about the mindset and the winning and the pursuing the drive. Even sometimes the drudge of the grind of every month, hit that button, start over and get back at it. And I think it's what endured so many of them over time, because resetting every month is not easy. Year after year after year, month after month, it's very hard. And people shooting for excellence never got tired of doing that.
