What does marginal effort do for you?



Noah Lyles Wins the 100 Meter in Dramatic Photo Finish

WSJ 4 Aug 2024

I once spoke with a business leader in an airport waiting at our gate.  He was a tech entrepreneur from Silicon Valley.  We spoke about our employees and how they contributed to our organizations.  He had a startup educational technology business, at the time, I was as district official supervising 54 schools.  I learned from him a simple truth, that a little more effort, above the average, was all it took to stand out above the rest.  

Now, all of these athlete above are world class and given a lifetime of training and effort to their sport.  Well above ordinary, but in the photo above, it is a fraction of a second that made the difference.  Lyles did not win this race by a few seconds, its was a fraction.

Anyone who has both risen to a position of leadership as a supervisor, manager or executive knows this principle.  Those individuals have performed in a way that is seen as more than others competing for the same promotion. However, it is not always a significant increase in performance.  More often, it is a constant pattern of a little extra effort, marginal effort, than the average peer that stands out.  So lengthen your stride and stretch, just a little. 


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