Minute With Mallon: From Success to Significance
Hi folks and welcome to "Minute With Mallon!"
Hope you are having a wonderful week! Looks like summer is practically here!!
Let's dive in:
Something I Taught:
Recently, I was working with a person who is at the top of a local government agency. He has more than 1000 people under his leadership.
He told me that when he was younger and just starting out, he made a decision to define exactly what "Success" meant to him. In other words, he decided to take some time and really clarify what success was specifically to him in order to work towards living up to that goal.
He told me that he decided that he wanted to become "Significant!" I asked him what significant meant to him, and he said, "Serving people successfully." In other words, he didn't want the corner office or boat loads of money. He wanted to have a reputation as a person who served well! And because of this, he has become known as a great servant of people.
I pulled out the book, Good to Great by Jim Collins and read him the first paragraph:
"Good is the enemy of great." And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life."
My friend made the decision not to be like the people around him who mostly have good lives. He decided to figure out exactly what great looks like for him. And because he did, he is now living that life. That one decision has made all the difference for him in his career.
So how about you. What does "great" look like in your life? Take a couple of minutes and write out your definition!
Something I Learned:
I've been listening to the Tim Ferriss Podcast on and off for years. Recently on podcast #665 he interviewed Danny Meyer who is the chairman of the board of Union Square Hospitality Group and leads over 300 restaurants. In the podcast he mentioned that there are 6 qualities that he looks for when hiring an employee:
Kind Eyes. Does this person have them? (The eyes don't lie!)
Curiosity. Does this person see themselves as a finished product or are they looking to continually learn?
Work Ethic: You can teach a person to decant a bottle of wine but you can't teach them to see opportunities to do more.
Empathy. Is this the type of person the whole team is going to want to be around. Ask "Does this person understand the wake they leave in their path? Do they care about how they make other people around them feel?"
Self awareness. Can this person read their own weather report? Ask, "What is the single biggest misconception people have about you?"
Integrity/Trust. Ask, "Name something that happened to you before the age of 12 that has changed your life forever."
Bonus: Do they love to Win? Danny said this one has been added over the years. Without this trait, a person will not be willing to do the work that it takes to win.
A great list of traits, some of which I'd never thought about before. Hope it helps you!
Something to Ponder:
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Wayne Gretzky. What's a shot you need to take today or this week? Get on it!
Something I Saw:
A wall of salsa at The Tomato House in Murrayville, GA. First time we’ve spent +$100 on Salsa!!! :)
Thanks for subscribing and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I'll do my best to make this interesting and to never disappoint!
Robert
Pass this on! Minute with Mallon!