The Biz: Being Great is More Than Luck

Okay, so where am I?

Today I’m in the office. I’m in “grinder mode.” Actually, I’m in Finder/Minder/Grinder mode. I’m sure you up and comers know what grinder mode is, right? (If you don’t, you should.)
Let’s go over the definitions…

Finders—these are your sales and marketing types. From finding your audience to positioning your product or sales proposition, it’s their job to get the right eyeballs from the right people to your company. The more the better. We are the creators. The finder role is always underplayed and unappreciated, often taken for granted. We are “people people,” the sage analysts who know where to find lead, how to find them, and most importantly what to say when they do.

Minders—these are your management types because, hey, you can’t do it all alone. Great minders know that the central element for success at the management level is being able to inspire people to climb the mountain with you. Those of you who want to overlord over every aspect of the project won’t find success [read: micromanagers need not apply]. Optimal success is found when you think of yourself as captain steering a ship on the proper path and pivoting when things go off course. Assigning clear and defined roles, teaching at the right times, and letting staff achieve are the checkpoints that need to be ticked.

Grinders—these are your invested workers who either work smart or work hard, or both. Your big ideas won’t matter without the ability to execute. Grinders get sh*t done and never forget it. The indicative sign of an organization devoid of Grinders are continued meetings that collapse in the aftermath when tasks don’t produce results.

Throughout my career, I’ve had to personally embrace all three Finders, Minders, and Grinders roles. I worry about being great. I worry about the important things. I let people work. I make sure they have the tools to succeed. And when it comes to a campaign and its data, I never fully trust the numbers and I never fully trust my instincts. I blend them while taking chances to be different. It’s worked out pretty well so far, but why is that?

Maybe it’s because I have made it a daily priority to be great, due in part to the teachings of Aristotle who wisely said,

“You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Being great is not about task management. It starts with your individual habits of behavior, mind, and heart as you wake each day. Keep in mind that getting up to face the world with the right attitude is the hardest part of your day. If you start with maximum effort [be a Grinder] and blend it with whatever systems of task-alerting, technology, and scheduling, you will learn the most and achieve greatness, even if it is not immediately acknowledged and rewarded by others.

stuff.

I remember seeing an interview years ago with Tony Gwynn, the greatest baseball hitter of the last thirty years, and he said the secret to his success was never taking an at bat off.  Every bit of the process was important to him, as it should be to you as well. Much of this country’s workforce has a daily struggle to stay focused and give 100% of their effort because it fall into apathy where the thinking, “What does it matter?” permeates through the work day and the weekend becomes a shimmering goal within reach. If you want greatness, shed that thinking…right now.

When you map out your career, you won’t be able to chart every hill and valley. Sometimes you won’t know where the bumps are and that’s when you trust your work ethic to kick in and the process will guide your steps. As you progress at work, reading the landscape is also important. Looking for opportunities to hone your skills and develop new ones. Network by joining your industry’s professional organizations to meet new people. Always have that high visual horizon.

Not all of us can be the Finder/Minder/Grinder triple threat. Start with being a Grinder and the rest comes naturally if you have it in you. Giving your best effort every day to be great at whatever it is you are doing will bring you what you ultimately deserve—mastery of skills, accolades, a promotion, or even the break of working with advanced team.

Anyone can find themselves in a situation that they want to change jobs or industries, but striving to be great will allow you slide effortlessly from one opportunity to another. If you master being a Grinder, you have successfully prepared yourself to be “lucky” when new opportunities present themselves. Because, after all, I’d rather be lucky than good, but you have to be good to be lucky.