Everything Counts: 52 Remarkable Ways to Inspire Excellence and Drive Results

Chapter 5. Consistency Counts

"Consistency improves the experience for both yourself and the beneficiaries of your efforts."

Consistency—or the absence of contradictions—is one of the hallmarks of success. While variety may be the spice of life, consistency is crucial to the achievement of any goal. It is defined as the "agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole: correspondence; specifically: ability to be asserted together without contradiction." The agreement and harmony of your daily activities can indeed create synergy, making "the whole greater than the sum of its parts."

Consistency not only saves you time by helping to simplify and focus your efforts, but more importantly, it helps you to set and routinely meet the expectations you have of yourself. This equates to a positive impact on bottom-line results. Whether we like to admit it or not, as creatures of habit we all like, expect, and appreciate consistency. When we learn or experience something new, we expect to be able to apply that knowledge on a consistent basis.

Ask most Americans to name the three colors used on a traffic light, and, without a doubt, they will say, "red, yellow, and green." Ask them to name the color of a UPS truck. In unison, they will say, "brown." How about the color of a Tiffany's box? "Robin's egg blue!"

The next time you read a newspaper or magazine, take a good look at the fonts, color schemes, and margins. Then examine each section to identify differences and similarities. ...