Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 49 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Encore Effect – Part 1
— From The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do by Mark Sanborn
“It’s not what we know in life that matters most, but what we do with what we know.”
“Every day is game day,” says Mark Sanborn in The Encore Effect. “Every interaction is an opportunity to give a remarkable performance. The thing is, whether we realize it or not, we all perform for others in one way or another.”
Sanborn continues, “Performance counts. If you want to win the loyalty of your customers, coworkers, boss, and other constituents, you need to turn in a consistently strong performance. And if you want to wow them, you need to turn in a remarkable performance.”
But don’t mistake a remarkable performance to be necessarily a grandiose thing, the kind that you read about in the newspaper. Most remarkable performances never make the front page. To illustrate this, the author shares the story of a school bus driver whose coworkers teased a lot for not wearing a coat on a freezing day. The driver smiled and took it in stride. When a school administrator asked him why he was not wearing a coat, the driver explained that one of the students didn’t have a coat that day, so he gave his own to the student.
The author says that it’s important to notice that there is not one particular approach either. As long as our values and practices are genuine, they will guide us to perform in a variety of roles that are different expressions of our best self. We can ensure that way that our performances will be remarkable. “A remarkable performance… moves us and makes us want more.” That’s the potential and the promise of the Encore Effect.
Conversely, think how hard it is to perform remarkably when your heart is not in what you’re doing. “It’s difficult, if not impossible,” says Sanborn.
The key is recognizing that our lives are performances of which we are in charge. Every remarkable performance by others affects us positively, and every remarkable performance by us affects someone else positively too.
Remarkable performances can change lives, and “that’s why creating a remarkable performance is so key to personal success.”
Sanborn closes by saying that it is likely that, “all of us, would like to have our performance described as remarkable. All of us would like to excel at the things that matter most to us. And it is by giving such performances that we achieve the Encore Effect.”
Come back tomorrow to continue learning about the encore effect, we will focus on the traits of remarkable performances.
ACTION
TODAY: What remarkable performance can you give today as an individual, spouse, parent, employee, boss or as any other of the roles you play in life? Sanborn says, “Try this. Do the important jobs or tasks you have to perform before turning out the light tonight remarkably—even if you’re alone, even if there’s no one there to watch you. After all, you will still be aware of how you do what you need to do. Remember: self-respect is the first step toward gaining the respect of others. Ask more of yourself today; it will lead others to expect more of you tomorrow.”
FUTURE: Create the habit of planning, preparing, and creating remarkable performances that will leave your audience wanting more.
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