work ethic | The Caleb Barney Collection

Three success factors

To achieve optimum success, one needs to have the ability, work ethic, and luck. One of these is in our control, while the other two are (mostly) not.

Take ability, for example. Some people are born with an innate ability or have the physical characteristics to be more prone to succeed in certain arenas. LeBron James was built to be a superstar athlete. No matter how much work ethic or luck I have, I don’t have the same natural gift/ability that he has. Not many people do. But there have been other athletes who were just as talented as LeBron and who haven’t achieved his level of success. This is because LeBron optimizes his natural ability by also having an incredible work ethic.

This leads to the next success factor, which is work ethic. Work ethic is the only thing we have complete control over. Every morning we wake up, we make the decision on how we want to use our day. When we’re at work, are we actually working or are we scrolling through social media or reading espn? Do we casually going through the day or do we have a plan? Set our intentions for each day. What is the one thing we need to do in each area of our lives (mental, physical, spiritual, relational, financial, and vocational) to get us closer to our goals? Are we living intentionally?

Lastly, the success factor with the biggest variation – luck. Some people seem to have great luck while others have “bad” luck. But while some of what we experience is “luck of the draw,” a lot of times there are little things we can do to better position ourselves. If we have a good attitude, and are a great team player, we generally will have more luck. If we share our goals with other people and are likable, other people will want to help us when they can. But they can’t help us unless they know what we’re aiming for. And they won’t help us if they don’t like us. So be kind to everyone, be generous, be curious, have a good work ethic, contribute to a positive culture, and be willing to be vulnerable. Take calculated risks (preferably asymmetric risks, where the cost is low, but the potential reward is high).

Hiring rules

When you’re hiring, look to hire someone who is teachable, has a good work ethic, is trustworthy, and has a good attitude. They need all four of those qualities.

If they have a poor work ethic, the work won’t get done.

If they aren’t smart enough to actually learn (or they aren’t willing to listen/be teachable), the quality of the work will suffer.

If they aren’t trustworthy, you will never be able to fully concentrate on what you need to do, because you’ll constantly be wondering if that person is doing what they’re supposed to do.

And if they have a bad attitude, it will make your workday worse, it will give your company a bad reputation with customers, and it will slowly erode your company culture.

This is why your employees need all four of these characteristics. Don’t necessarily look to hire for someone who already has the specific skill sets you need. As long as you have the time to train them and they possess the four qualities listed above, they will do well and your team will grow.

Tolerant with others. Strict with yourself.

You know what you should do, so go do it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like it. If it’s the right thing to do and it needs to be done, don’t waste anymore time procrastinating. It may be easier to skip that workout, to eat fast food, to go on a spending spree, or to not speak up against injustice, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to not do what you feel is right. Or, maybe you do what is needed, but you only do the bare minimum. Be careful of this. How you do anything is how you do everything. If you start looking for shortcuts, eventually that will be your default behavior.

That being said, that’s what YOU should do. That doesn’t mean that you should hold others to the same standards. Don’t mistake this for letting them off the hook and letting them get away with things that are dangerous, amoral, or illegal. They shouldn’t take advantage of people and still need to be called out (or stopped) when they’re doing something egregious. But for the little things that don’t really matter? Skip the criticism.

Others may do things differently than you – in a way that appears to be less effective and less efficient – but at least they’re doing it. If they ask for advice or for help, then offer it. But don’t do it before then. And don’t judge them for not doing something like you would. After all, those are your standards, not theirs. Be tolerant of their decisions, but strict with your own. If you feel your way of doing things is the “best way” to currently do them, don’t lower your standards just to make things easier for yourself.

Talent isn’t everything

Everyone loves talent. Everyone loves natural ability. It’s enticing. “Think of everything that person could do! If they applied themselves, their potential is limitless!”

It’s easy to get caught up in hiring very talented individuals, even if their track record shows that talent doesn’t necessarily equate to performance OR when there is someone else who is nearly as capable, gives better effort, but is less talented. Why does this happen? Because they appear to have a much lower ceiling for what they can achieve. In fact, they may already have “overachieved” based on their talent profile.

But that kind of thinking is where we get it all wrong. Effort, attitude, and fit is what you need to look for when hiring someone. Let’s review why hiring for these three qualities will lead to a better team/company in the future.

Regarding effort…When you hire someone, you want to know that they will try to work their hardest, not just to suck up to you, but because that’s who they are as a person. Look at other actions they take in their lives. Do they do what they should be doing, even when it’s not what they want to be doing? Are they ok performing the mundane, yet necessary tasks, that need to get done to succeed? And are they performing those tasks well instead of just going through the motions? Consistent, high quality effort will take an individual far.

Regarding attitude…What good is hiring someone who is talented and gives good effort, but they have such a poor attitude that nobody on the team wants to work with them? They’re an individual superstar, but to the team they are a cancer. Not only does their poor attitude affect people’s mood and behavior when they are around that person, but sometimes it can suck the energy out of the office just with them in the building. Instead, look to hire people who are optimistic, who are curious, and who are looking for feedback. They should be willing to accept criticism and not allow themselves to get into a bad mood when things don’t go their way.

Regarding fit…Would you be ok spending 40 hours per week with this person? Do they fit into the culture of the team (or can you see the possibility of them fitting in)? If you try to fit a round peg into an oval hole, you might be able to make it work for a little while. But to have the best fit, where there are no gaps and no places that overlap, you need to find an oval peg for that oval hole. The harmony (synergy) in your office will translate to better production because when people try hard, have a positive attitude, and like each other, their co-workers will pitch in when needed and they can all help each other (and the company) grow/succeed.

Talent is great. I’m not saying to not hire talented people. In fact, if you can find a supremely talented individual who also has a great work ethic, positive attitude, and fits with your team, you just hit the jackpot. But what I am saying is that talent is only part of the equation, and too often it is too heavily weighted when making a decision to hire someone. Next time you go to make a hire, don’t be overly impressed by their resume, but instead take the time to interview them, to get to know them and their work ethic, and see how they fit with your team. If they can check off those other boxes, hire them. Talent is overrated. As long as you have a good training system in place, work ethic, attitude, and fit can overcome many obstacles.