I was talking with a friend to get a personal reference for someone I had met during the course of doing business. This person I had met, we\u2019ll call him Robert. It\u2019s hard to find out what a person is really like until you\u2019ve worked with him. So, came the personal reference question to my friend, \u201cwhat do you know about Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My friend spilled over with how he and Robert had worked together, and how Robert was a great guy. He continued and talked about how Robert was very interested in numbers and statistics. My friend went even further and said, \u201cRobert is obsessed with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, when the average person talks about being obsessed, what they really mean is they see something odd. How could a person go so far, to such great lengths, work so hard, for something like \u2026 numbers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, the average person sees someone going above and beyond – working much harder than they would – and chuckles. The average person sees someone devoting hours to an idea and wonders why any other person would do that? The average person sees someone \u201cobsessed\u201d and thinks there\u2019s something wrong with such intense focus in a particular area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why I don\u2019t want to be average, and you shouldn\u2019t either. See, the person who will run farther will\u2026 outrun you. Duh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, in business and the marketplace…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person who cares more will\u2026 out-care you. The person who spends more will\u2026 outspend you. The person who pays attention to every detail will\u2026 see more than you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person who will obsess will\u2026 care more, spend more, go to greater lengths than you. They will work longer hours over a longer period of time to \u201cget it right.\u201d They\u2019ll do it because they love what they do, and people will do nearly anything for love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not obsessing over your idea, a competitor who is obsessing will beat you. If you\u2019re not hiring people who will obsess over the thing that you need them to, you\u2019ve hired second best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person who builds spreadsheets in her free time will probably be great building spreadsheets for your company. The person who reads books on management in her free time will probably make a great manager. The person who cares about people will care about your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re an aspiring entrepreneur, and you think it\u2019ll be great to start a company so you can be rich and free, then you should take a step back to reconsider. If you\u2019re obsessed with your own richness and freedom, you can\u2019t also be obsessed with your customer. Find something to obsess over. You\u2019ll have a chance at building something better, faster, or cheaper than everyone else… You\u2019ll have a shot at being great.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was talking with a friend to get a personal…<\/p>\n