SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best

Chapter 27. Never, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever Give In

SUPERCOMPETENT Hero Thinking:	Even when a task is monumental, I keep working at it until I whittle it down to size.
SIMPLY COMPETENT Zero Thinking:	Good grief! How am I ever going to get this done?

According to legend, Winston Churchill presented a speech in 1941 to a class at Harrow School that consisted entirely of the quote that I've used above as my chapter title—whereupon he sat down, completely finished. Sadly, it's a myth—the speech was over four minutes long—but his message, and the spirit behind it, are clear. Wise man. Whatever you want to call it—drive, effort, motivation, perseverance, tenacity, creativity—sticking to a task like glue until you're done is an important component of success in any endeavor. The same is true, perhaps even more so, for your goals and dreams. As the old Chinese saying goes, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.

People who are positive, work hard, care about other people, and continually educate themselves will be more valuable to any organization. It's uncanny to me how many employers hire the wrong people and then wonder why their goals or businesses fail. You would think, since we've become a service-oriented society, that hiring managers would be concerned with hiring positive people—those who care about others are the ones who smile and have a kind word to say. Customer service is a vital element of any organization. When you hire a person ...