Confusing effort, preparation and performance with the outcome
How’d you perform on the sales call?
It was great.
How do you know?
They bought.
How did you play?
Super.
How do you know?
We won.
Actually, that’s selling your potential short.
Even if the chip shot went in the hole, it doesn’t mean you hit the ball properly.
It might simply have been a positive variance. Next time, it could easily bounce the other way.
In order to improve our performance, we need to model our preparation, our effort and our form against a standard, not base it on the outcome. Because outcomes aren’t always guaranteed by our work.
Just because you won doesn’t mean you did a good job (and vice versa).