Like many of us, I’ll bet you’re making this comparison all too often.

Looking across the aisle … across the room … at someone sitting in a coffee shop … and thinking … “I wish I ….”

Don’t give it another thought.

Why focus on how they’re doing?

Focus on your own progress.

That’s the only thing you can control.

Virginia “Ginni” Rometty is the current chair, president, and CEO of IBM. After more than 30 years with the company, she became the first woman to head the company in January 2012.

In today’s quote, she hit on a powerful but elusive concept … maybe not quite that accelerated growth creates chaos … but it sure breeds discomfort.

The tragedy is that the opposite condition of stagnant, even moderate growth, creates the kind of comfort that kills companies.

The moral of the story?

Build a great leadership team so you can deal with the discomfort that accompanies growth.

Remember this, too.

No Growth? No Change? No Survival!

The sooner you get clear about this, the sooner you’ll get to …

“Do What You Can Control.”
“Control What You Can Do.”

We all know we’re supposed to get up one time more than we fall.

Never quit.

Never … never … never … never … never give up.

You’ve heard it all before … but are you sure you’re not a quitter?

What does it mean to quit?

Quitting doesn’t always mean stopping or ending what you’re doing. It could also mean “settling” for a less ambitious goal or a less favorable outcome.

Are you dead certain that your current objective is unattainable and your decision is perfectly rational? Or, is it possible … subconsciously perhaps … that you adjusted your goal simply to make it more achievable?

If you’ve ever knowingly reduced your annual goals so would qualify for your bonus, you know what I mean.

Michelangelo said it best:

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

I’m not a quitting. I’m just making a course correction.

If you have … we’ll say it kindly … reduced your expectations … you can take some comfort in the decades-old GE byline I frequently summon myself …

“Progress Is Our Most Important Product”.

Does that mean quitting … is acceptable … or is it okay to simply call it progress?

You’ll have to decide for yourself … but be mindful that every time you reduce the scope of your goals, it may be a sound decision … or you may be quitting on yourself.

When you consider this simple but insightful quotation, pay close attention to how it applies to your business.

We often say, whatever gets measured, gets done _ or words to that effect.

Everything you can count may not be worth counting

We can count pennies. But it takes a lot of them to amount to much.

We can count pencils in the supply room but their value is insignificant, say, when compared to counting computers.

Can you count Attitude or Culture?

A positive Attitude is a common denominator in great employees … and an engaging Culture rousts your senses and forms the foundation of a powerful, motivated, can-do-anything team.

Neither of these characteristics is easy to measure … they aren’t easily counted but they count for a lot.

Focus only on what matters

Take Albert’s advice to heart … and whether you can count it or not, focus only on what really matters.

In the simplest of terms?

Don’t major in the minors … whether you can count them or not!