I just returned from one of the best meetings that I had the benefit of attending, the ASAE Great Ideas conference. This meeting consistently provides the perfect setting to allow ideas and conversations bubble around you. I have consistently left the meeting feeling that my personal batteries have been recharged with a surge of energy.
The closing session was titled Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by author Todd Henry founder and CEO of Accidental Creative.
I think that I enjoyed this particular session so much because it aligned closely with my mantra, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today because God doesn’t promise you tomorrow!” Anyone who knows me, knows that this mantra guides my life. My father, who recently passed, would say to me, “Sue, when are you going to slow down?” My response was always, “Dad, when I have one foot in my grave.”
A sentence from Todd’s book jacket reads: “Most of us live with the stubborn idea that we’ll always have tomorrow to do our most important and valuable work.” Todd shared the “7 Deadly Sins of Mediocrity” that will help us all achieve our greatest work.
The 7 Deadly Sins of Mediocrity
- Aimlessness — You’re being carried along by your work. You haven’t defined an effective through-line for your work. Identify the connective tissue that ties our work together — find your productive passion!
- Passion — comes from the word “suffer.” What work are you willing to “suffer” a little to achieve?
- What outcome are you committed to accomplish?
- What is your productive passion?
- Boredom — You are among the “busily bored” because you aren’t being fiercely curious. Learn to be present!
- Continuous partial attention i.e., always looking at your phone.
- Ping “something out there is more important than what you are doing.”
- Define the list, communing with great minds! What’s inspiring you right now?
- Where am I busily bored? Can I replace that instinct with something else?
- Comfort —
You are growing stagnant. You must commit to personal growth and innovation.- Growth and Innovation i.e., always looking at your phone
i. Discovery requires curiosity
ii. Imitation requires grit
iii. Divergence requires courag
iv. Crisis stagnant requires humility (you can either start again as discovery)
- Delusion — You must know yourself, and commit to a personal ethic of engagement.
- Define your ethic. Ethic is a set of words that tells us “how” we will engage in work (persistent, reliable, clear, etc.)
- What am I doing right now that doesn’t seem like me? Ask yourself or your organization this question
- Ego — You are putting yourself ahead of the work. You must be confidently adaptable
- “Hubris born of success” said Jim Collins. Just because I have previously achieved success you will always be successful!
- Playing the victim is a form of ego
- Confidence: Willing to listen to the ideas of others
- Fear – The perceived consequences of failure have you in paralysis. You must find your voice.
- i.e., The wood plank scenario (can you walk on this 6-foot plank. Wes when on the ground, no, when 10-feet in the air. The reason of perceived risk changes.
- Notice, then act!
- Guardedness — You have become closed off to others. You must stay connected.
- As you grow as an organization, you become more silo-ed.
- We need mirrors in our life. “Who is able to speak the absolute truth to you?”
- Ask members of your team, “What is something obvious that I’m not seeing about myself?”
We all need to hit the pause button and figure out our dreams and aspirations. Don’t die with your hunches, dreams, and aspirations! Die Empty! Don’t let The 7 Deadly Sins of Mediocrity rob you of an opportunity to help others and contribute to your organization.
