Beyond the Victory: The Challenges and Rewards of Pursuing Success in Business and Career
Everybody likes to win, but we don’t often talk about the price of winning: how challenging it is to achieve. What happens when the victory starts to fade the next day and you’ve got another number to hit. And another – if you’re lucky.
Once upon a time, I began a new job in a new organization, invested time in understanding the relationships and resources needed, and focused on building community and foundation – mutually beneficial partnerships and a system through which we could engage, create healthy pipeline and execute.
My team was #1 in the world for 8 consecutive quarters – NOT because we were in a large market, NOT because we were flush with demand, but because of people and process and brilliant execution.
We were so good, in fact, that rather than be celebrated, others would say we were only #1 because of how this one relationship I had created counted in the standings. So they lobbied leadership to change the rules of the game. They changed the rules. We were still #1.
Then, the dissenters said we were only #1 because of how another metric was counted, so they lobbied to have that one changed, too. It was changed, but we adjusted strategy ever-so-slightly, stayed focused on core priorities that looked slightly different, and we never forfeited the top spot.
I was groomed for and promised a role that was being created for me. In the end, that role was created and given to someone else. A few months later, thanks to very strong relationships I had formed in my time there, I was recruited for a much better role.
Winning rarely – if ever – looks like what you dream it will look like. It’s no cakewalk. Not everybody is going to be happy for you or celebrate you. But if you want to keep winning, you will always take a step back, get a balcony view of the new playing field, learn it, understand it, double down on resources and relationships, always seek opportunities to get better, and you’ll never quit. As Napoleon Hill taught us in “Think and Grow Rich,” success beyond our wildest dreams is found after the majority have already given up.
What have you done in the pursuit of winning?
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