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In the First Tee Program for young golfers they teach the kids that Par is what a professional golfer would score on a given hole and on that golf course. The message they are trying to convey is twofold: that shooting Par is very difficult and that you don't need to shoot par to have fun, you just play to your ability.
When I play golf I'm trying to shoot par or better on every hole. I've never been able to shoot par for 18 holes but that doesn't keep me from trying. In business I see similarities to golf. Owners establish a kind of "Par" for employees, vendors, and subcontractors. When they visit other businesses they measure them against some score that they have established as Par. Most have established a Par for their own performance. As a coach, my concern is this: Is your Par a score only you can achieve and, even then, not on every occasion?
One of the most challenging things every owner faces is how high to set the bar when measuring the performance of others. It often starts with unreasonable expectations for your own performance - and then an inability, or unwillingness, to accurately measure your results. I call it excessive optimism. It's no wonder employees express frustration when they are held to a standard even their employer fails to achieve.
You might be familiar with the system the United States Golf Association developed to equalize scores when people of different abilities play against each other. It's called the Handicap System. If I usually shoot about 90 on a par 72 course, my handicap might be 16 strokes. My playing partner might have a handicap of 18. To compare our scores I would subtract 16 from my total for that round and he would subtract 18. We would compare our final scores based on our individual abilities.
What if you could look at the world and assign everyone, including yourself, a handicap based on the ability of each to perform on a consistent basis. What if you then measured their performance against that standard instead of against perfection? Do you think people would see the potential for improving their performance? Do you think it would be easier to reward them when they clearly exceeded their handicap?
We all have handicaps that can be overcome with education, effort, and a little help. When you can confront your own it makes it so much easier to help others to overcome theirs. | 
