Effort and outcome

I hear so many similar complaints. They have not changed and they still keep coming. Perhaps most people do not understand. Perhaps they have not been told. Perhaps the seminars they have attended offer wrong and erroneous lessons and they bought into it.

So, what am I talking about?

The same complaint I hear is this: “My boss (my company, my leader, my parents, etc.) are never satisfied with what I do. Nothing can make them happy. I worked so hard and have given so many hours into the job yet they never appreciate all the hard work I have done….”

You hear these complaints, constantly don’t you? Or perhaps you air the same complaints too?

Well here is a principle I have discovered early in my life that has changed the course of my career and has led me to do business with a considerable degree of success. I would like you to process this thought. Be objective and suspend your judgment. Refuse to be cynical but then carefully scrutinize whether this principle carries merit and if it does, let it penetrate into the heart and mind, share this with the people in the workplace and then drive this down into the psyche and consciousness of our children so that they too may embark on the right way to act and cultivate the right mindset for success.

And the principle is: “Do not expect to be rewarded for efforts; the reward should come based on the outcome arising out of the efforts.” My brother-in- law Felix, who is a retired US Marine officer in California would say: “Do not confuse activities with results!” And that is so true as in any field of endeavor we engage in.

Efforts are expected though they may come in different degrees. Some may be relatively easy and most of efforts are just plain hard grind but at the end of the day, business, life and everything else is still about outcome and not effort. Even in the business of life, we are not rewarded simply because we have activity. But we enjoy the fruit of effort and the outcome defines the quality of enjoyment we will have. 

Andrew Carnegie said these words many years ago: “The average person puts only 25 percent of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50 percent of their capacity and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100 percent.”

But these words were said during the industrial civilization when machines and factories rule and most workers were mere cogs doing repetitive work either in the factory floor or in the office. In fairness to the many hardworking people slugging it out every day in today’s digital economy; some are working hard but are not producing good results. This is why they complain a lot. Others are simply engaged in a variety of digital distractions that minimize their work result.

Here is my take on this. In order to be successful, we have to ruthlessly eliminate activities in our life that do not add value to our success goals. Time is the scarcest commodity these days and there are just too many activities competing for the same ticks of the clock every day. Some activities may give momentary pleasure but then it pushes us to a position to when and where we need to double up and work harder just to catch up with the snag; and then the stress comes.

I have read so many books on personal development and have personally benefitted from them. The one most important principle I have learned and applied is the advice given by the late Jim Rohn when he said, “You need to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” At first this was difficult to understand; but as I pondered, reviewed, read and reread his works it all made sense to me. I needed to spend most of my waking moment developing my skills, building my competence, increasing my knowledge, networking with people and seeking mentorship by those who are good in their fields.

I read books. Yes, I read tons of books and applied what I learned. Some worked, others did not but I got to learn from every one of them. Yes, I was working harder but this time not only on my job but also on developing myself.

Today, I have had a considerable amount of rewards and not because of the efforts put into the work but because the rewards, awards and the acknowledgments came to honor the outcome and the results.

May I ask therefore: What activities do you indulge in every day that can add value to you as a person? That which makes you smarter, brighter, more skillful and more competent that would bring in bigger and better results?

When we approach life, work and business this way, we do not lose. Rewards are for outcomes not just for efforts.

(Francis Kong’s Level Up Leadership will be back on March 19-20 at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Lahug. Attend and experience two inspiring days of leadership training and network with key people from different industries. For further inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)