It is interesting to me how a person’s perspective can become distorted. This past weekend, I saw this firsthand. On Saturday night, I was attending the Auburn and Georgia college football game, which has been dubbed as the oldest rivalry in the South.
Oddly enough, the loudest cheer of the game, from the 85,000 in attendance, came when the PA announcer gave the score of the Alabama and Texas A&M game. Let’s just say, the Tide didn’t roll. War Eagle.
Hello!
Seriously?
Call me crazy, but you would think the Auburn fans would
need more
than an Alabama loss to make them happy. Especially when Alabama was not their opponent for the day. Remember the guys in red and black across the field?
Can you say shutout?
Everyone seemed to be content with the fact that Bama went down in flames, even though they themselves were trounced by the Bulldogs, 38-0.
Every day leaders are faced with the temptation to measure themselves and their success by what the competition is doing. The competition struggles and we are lured into thinking we have been successful, when in reality we may be failing too.
When you look at your business, how do you measure success? Are you focused on your goals and objectives, striving to work hard, and maintaining excellence in every area of your organization? Or, are your feelings of success predicated on your opponents failure?
Too many people never commit to excellence and integrity. Instead, they are content with mediocrity, thankful no one else is achieving perfection either?
Maybe today would be a good time to refocus on what YOU can control. Effort, attitude, and focus. Remember those? They are the traits that tend to make the competition irrelevant.
i2i,
Randy
Which is more enjoyable to you, to know that your team won or that your rival experienced a loss?
My wanting your rival to lose, you are actually lowering the bar. You should want them to win every game until your team plays them. That would make the victory that much sweeter. Where is the pride of doing well if you beat a loser?
Great point TH!
I have experienced the same thing many times,
witnessing a fanbase that is more consumed with what their rival is doing and
taking more delight when they lose, than their own team’s performance on the
field that particular day. This interesting and real phenomenon that occurs
every Saturday in the fall is a microcosm of what goes on everyday both in
corporate America and in our individual lives. It reflects a flawed mindset and
view of what success really is. Thanks for calling attention to this and
challenging us to refocus and commit to measuring success the right way!
Thanks for the comment ZL!