Perfect Score THINKING

Washington D.C.

This past week, I had the opportunity to speak at the Women For Hire Career Expo in Washington, D.C.  It is always humbling for me to speak to an audience of women business owners as an “expert” and I cherish those few moments afterwards in which I can speak with them personally, hear their stories of hope, struggle, and steadfast commitment to their goals.  They always inspire and challenge me to do MORE.   

What I DONT cherish is finding out how each member of my “audience” rated me as a speaker.  In fact, the truth is, I never look at such “scoring” sheets.  It’s not because I don’t care what the audience thought of me in general, it’s that more often than not, these “rate your speaker” sheets are misinterpreted by the speakers themselves and -while necessary for event planners – encourage speakers to focus on ALL THE WRONG STUFF. 

You see… I’ll let you in on a little secret:  I am not really a speaker.  I am simply a coach who speaks.  And be forewarned if you’ve hired me to speak:  I’ve not rehearsed any part of my presentation, have never given any thought to dramatic pause, hand motions, or verbal interferences…. If my nose itches, I will scratch it.  And I don’t care what your employees or business builders think of my hair or shoes.  =)

Sure… I could dedicate my time and attention to these things and maybe get better scores on “delivery”…. maybe even PERFECT scores.  But I have no intention of doing so. 

When I speak, it is about making money as a self-bosser or salesperson.  Period. It’s the only thing I am really an expert in.  It’s what I do.  So, rather than pursue a perfect score on my “delivery”,  or how funny I was, or how entertaining, or how many “UMs” I said…. I’d rather be “graded” on my content and it’s intended use.  How many were inspired to take action?  How much MONEY was made as a direct result of my super-simplistic suggestions? Who doubled their efforts and experienced major income increase as a result?

See, perfect score thinking is tempting.  We’ve been well-indoctrinated into that thinking… since grade school.  We are trained to avoid mistakes, to pursue that 100, A+.   But, here’s the thing.  The REMARKABLE, the LIFE-CHANGING, the DIFFERENCE-MAKING things in life are rarely “defect – free”…. PERFECT is meeting a standardized scoring rubric, and while I am always striving for EXCELLENCE …. to be better, to do more, to have a more profound and farther-reaching impact on people and businesses, I am unwilling to be commoditized by pursuing a perfect score. 

Instead, my focus is on something different entirely:  SERVING my clients or my audience.  MAKING A DIFFERENCE.  As a speaker and a coach, I want to ENCOURAGE you (You CAN do it!), EMPOWER you (You SHOULD do it!) and EQUIP you (This is HOW you do it!) for bottom-line success in your business.  I like to think I am a pretty darn good “speaker”, but a perfect score isn’t what I’m after.  I’m after RESULTS. 

As a side note, it always cracks me up when copy writers or advertisers or resume writers will highlight AWARD WINNING copy….. or AWARD WINNING commercials… or AWARD WINNING resumes in their marketing copy.   Why is this funny?  Because it doesn’t matter.  It’s very “perfect score” thinking and nobody cares.  I mean, forget the AWARDS. 

Did your copy or commercial win CLIENTS for the business?  Did it increase your bottom-line? Did it have a high Return on Investment?  Did your resumes win AWARDS and INTERVIEWS for your clients?  THAT is what matters!!!

So, where have you been pursuing a SCORE over RESULTS in your own business?   What are you really after?   Are you pursuing EXCELLENCE or PERFECTION? 

And before I go, I want to put a shout out to all of the fabulous women I met in DC.  I LOVED every minute of our time together…. Thank you for forgiving my movie-anticdotes, my frank and candid demeanor and the INCREDIBLE HEAT in that room!!!  =) I was honored to be among you and look very forward to hearing more about your success!!! =)  I hope to see many of you again in Atlanta!