Hey there

Perfection is a cruel bitch!!!

She tease you with the promise of the perfect experience...

And at the same time tortures you with standards she knows you'll never reach.

But as wicked and uncaring as perfection is...

She isn't any where as cruel as her first cousin: Mediocrity.

And nothing is more mediocre than deciding ahead of time not to do your best to get things right the first time!

In carpentry there's a mantra: Measure twice, Cut Once.

Follow it and you’re guaranteed accuracy and efficiency.

Neglect it and you waste time, money, material and reputational capital.

Measuring twice and cutting once is a bulletproof strategy for doing things right the first time.

It ensures that your execution is flawless and that you don’t have to do the job over again.

The way I see it...

When it comes to any task or project, you really only have two choices...

Do It Right or...

Do It Again.

You either get the significance of that statement or you do not.

Doing things right the first time is the poster child of excellence.

We have learned from experience that going back to fix things is a costly and stupid Plan B.

So...

Why do we continue to hear horror stories about projects gone bad…

Schedules over-run…

And budgets over-spent?

Unfortunately doing things again is more the rule than the exception…

It has become standard operating procedure for many people and organizations.

But here's what you need to understand:

DOING THINGS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME…is a philosophy, a mentality, and a performance standard.

It’s a practical measure against which any system; process, action, or outcome can be analyzed.

Doing Things Right the First Time is NOT about being perfect…

But, it is about changing your perspective and improving your performance.

HERE”S HOW YOU DO IT

You change your perspective about the quality of your work and the importance of your reputation by demanding a higher standard of excellence than you expect from anyone else.

In other words: Raise your game...

Play a bigger game.

The following are seven compelling reasons to raise your game, enhance your reputation and fast track your results.

1. Do It Right the First Time…because failure is more expensive in terms of time when you have to do the job over again.

2. Do It Right the First Time…because money spent to fail, must be spent again to succeed.

3. Do It Right the First Time…because your reputation becomes contaminated with both yourself and others which leads to lost future opportunities.

4. Do It Right the First Time…because the errors in critical thinking and judgment which lead to failure must be corrected before success can be realized.

5. Do It Right the First Time…because failure negatively reinforces a sense of incompetence which impacts your self-esteem.

6. Do It Right the First Time…because it takes a lifetime to build a solid track record and only one screw up to sabotage your career.

7. Do It Right the First Time…because the people who pay for and depend on your efforts expect that you’ll do things right the first time.

Steve Jobs nailed it when he said…

”Great leaders have a fundamental belief that doing it right the first time is always going to be easier than having to go back and fix it. And I cannot say strongly enough that the repercussions of that attitude is staggering.”

In the end, doing things right the first time is a choice.

It’s a choice you make with every task or project you undertake.

It's a choice you make with every relationship you start or are in.

The passionate pursuit of excellence by doing things right the first time is what gives work greater meaning.

When the work we do is the work we love and take great pride in…

The results are and will always be a shining testament of excellence.

Excellence first, excellence always and a commitment to doing things right the first time is the hallmark of greatness.

Easy?

No.

Possible?

Yes?

Worth it?

Hell yeah.

And speaking of raising your standards..

I'm reopening the 97 day challenge for those of us who haven't yet been able to take advantage of it...

If you haven't yet taken the program and would like to be a part of the program...

You can get in for N750,000 or 4 payments of N187500.

The next challenge comes up in April...

If you'd like to be a part of it...

Hit reply and let me know.

Till tomorrow...

Get out of your own way

CTM

PS:

Wanna learn how to coach billionaires, presidents and people more successful than you...and get them awesome results?

I'm running an elective next quarter for members of the Highly Paid Experts Network...

Non-members: N350,000

Silver members: N150,000

Gold members: N95,000

Platinum members: Free

Interested?

Let me know.