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July 2009

I'm Exceptional. How about you?
 
Jim Collins is the business guru's guru. He writes the number one business book in the world, commanding 5 and probably 6 figure speaking fees, and probably gets a lot of free stuff from companies wanting to be called Good or even Great. Fast forward to today and Dr. Collins has a new book coming out that details why 11 of the 60 companies in his first two books, Built to Last and Good to Great are now worse to awful or good and gone. This includes Circuit City and Fannie Mae - both former pillars of the Good to Great movement. If you have had a more long-term exposure to business books you will have a copy of In Search of Excellence somewhere in your library. Many of the companies profiled in this ground-breaking book are also long gone.
 
The trouble starts as Collins states with people and organizations experiencing "hubris" or in other words, reading their own media releases and then believing them. Organizations then quickly move to "we're invincible so we can take over the world," "it's only a temporary set-back due to market forces" then "we've got to fix this PDQ by (pick one) - find a saviour, make an acquisition, cut costs and people, change the culture, etc. The final step is irrelevance or death or some combination of financial reorganization to become "the new same old company" without the debt.
 
Both Jim Collins and Tom Peters have their respective followings of millions of avid readers of their books and blogs, and they are two of the most highly sought-after speakers and workshop leaders today. I believe that one of the key differentiators between Peters and other "one-hit wonders" is his exceptional ability to present himself and his ideas in ways that are counter-intuitive to his audience. Peters owns the stage when he speaks and aside from the message, he is an exceptional human being operating absolutely in his unique passion zone. This intensity, focus and drive are the keys to him being able to accomplish what he does day after day. Just like an exceptional entertainer of a rock star, people come to see what he will do next, hear what outrageous prognostication he will make and be a part of his [very smart] world. This is the nature of fame and the nature of exceptional individuals.
 
I am blessed to say that I know several people that I would call exceptional. I want to spend time with them, feel part of their exceptional skill and learn what exceptional talents they possess and how they use those talents. Each is exceptional in their own way and each one has successfully identified/cultivated /nurtured/capitalized on their exceptional gift that seems to them to be, well, ordinary and every day-ish. That's the thing about exceptional people it sometimes takes others to see their exceptional qualities.
 
My exceptional people are all different. One is scarily smart, one is uniquely creative, one is a visionary. Several could likely be called savants.
 
If we look at people who build organizations from the ground-up, taking risks, laying it all "on the line" they are exceptional individuals. What happens in organizations when they grow, prosper, change or reinvent is exceptional; it all seems to get watered down to pretty smart and good enough over time and at the good enough stage is when things start to go off the rails. I wonder if Jim Collins can see in those companies that no longer are good or great, the attitude that good enough is now OK. The people we have are good enough - not exceptional, the teams we have are good enough-not exceptional, our customer service is good enough-not exceptional and our cars are good enough but not exceptional. These people need new hopes, new energy, a new moon to land on, a new dream.
 
I am now jump-starting my new dream.  In the Best Half we call this the song that is playing in my head. Many of you know my legacy, the Best Half. The Best-Half is now being successfully used as a leadership coaching tool, recruitment tool, and talent management tool however for me that is not good enough.  I want it to do more, to be used more, to help more people find and live their dreams.
 
As one of my exceptional people I need you be part of helping my dream become a reality.  Below is a survey link with 10 short questions that will help greatly in the development of an on-line Best-Half Discovery Forum. The link to the survey is in the box below.
 
It's the exceptional that makes the world a much more interesting place, makes experiences memorable, friendships deeper, knowledge more intriguing and creativity more astounding. Remember exceptional talent always rises to the top because in the fight for talent good enough is not that far sway from exceptional.
 
If you are sitting on the dock in the next month, think about how you want to be in the world. Exceptional or good enough? Do you want to be called upon because of your exceptional abilities or because you happen to be good enough. Do others seek you out for the opportunity to benefit, revel or be part of your exceptionalness? Do you want to be seen at your next job interview or yearly review as exceptional or good enough? We get to make the choice to be exceptional or simply good enough. The answer is simple to be exceptional, live an exceptional life. 
Best-Half on-line survey
 
Who We Are...At the heart of it, we are helpful. Our clients are busy, successful, smart and curious. We approach any relationship with a sense of gratitude, generosity and respect. We like to have fun. Our work is about uncovering our client's perspective and creating certainty, expanding and discovering creativity and possibility and above all taking action.
We understand and are experts in change from a theoretical and a practical basis. We know the value of engagement, communication and the importance of creating a sense of confidence.
We provide all of the human development side of strategic HR. We help hire the right people. We work with teams including boards of directors so they can become more effective and more efficient. We coach leaders; sometimes with our proprietary process called The Best-Half™. Organizations looking to develop or implement strategic plans have us on speed-dial. Many of our clients have said "we are nice people to work with."