When we were at school or coached in sport we were probably told that you needed to spend time focused on improving your weaknesses.
If at School you were poor at “English” (like me) and good at Maths the school put more effort in developing me in “English” related topics than they did in Maths.
PS – In Australia the subject of English is about spelling and grammar not about speaking English
But is that really the best strategy?
Base Line Competancy
To some degree it is, you need to have a base line competence in all areas of your life.
For example, without a base level skill in English I would not be able to write this article to communicate my ideas to you. Or if you are in communication you need a base level of Maths to be able to manage your money and budgets. Or if you are an Electrician then you need a base level of maths to run your business and English to communicate to your staff.
BUT
Multiply Your Strengths
You should multiply your strengths.
Above the base line competence we should forget about our weaknesses and focus on multiplying our strengths.
For example if you worked hard you might be able to increase your weakness (English) by 20%. But even at 20% you are still a long way behind someone who has this as their strength – you will never match or exceed their skills.
But, if you put the same effort into improving your strength and got a 20% improvement then you have just accelerated away from your competitors who are focusing on improving their weaknesses.
Let’s do it with numbers. Let’s assume my English competency is 50% and my maths competency is 85%.
If I could make a 20% improvement in both then my English competency would increase to 60% and my Maths competency to 102% (for those maths nerds following at home being above 100% competency is not possible, but let’s keep using it for this discussion).
At 60% English competency I am only just competent, I will never be the best, if it was my job I would struggle every day to prove my worth.
At 102% Maths competency I’m now the best in my field, I get multiple opportunities, get the focus of others and am likely to succeed – and enjoy the whole journey.
The Risk
In business we can take this same approach – but be cautious.
If your strength is your craft and you do not have a base line competency in running a business then you will fail at your business. If your craft is your strength and your passion then focus on this and work for someone else – let them excel at running the business and you to focus on your craft.
If you still want to own a business then you will need to partner with someone who is exceptional at business and leave you to focus on the craft – BUT you still need to be competent at business otherwise you risk disaster.
So, what are your strengths?
Are you working on developing them?
Have you first established a base level of competency?
If you want help developing a base level of competency in business – or it’s your strength and you want to take it to the next level book a Discovery Session with our Lead Coach, Alan to talk about how we can help you move from average to outstanding!
If at School you were poor at “English” (like me) and good at Maths the school put more effort in developing me in “English” related topics than they did in Maths.
PS – In Australia the subject of English is about spelling and grammar not about speaking English
But is that really the best strategy?
Base Line Competancy
To some degree it is, you need to have a base line competence in all areas of your life.
For example, without a base level skill in English I would not be able to write this article to communicate my ideas to you. Or if you are in communication you need a base level of Maths to be able to manage your money and budgets. Or if you are an Electrician then you need a base level of maths to run your business and English to communicate to your staff.
BUT
Multiply Your Strengths
You should multiply your strengths.
Above the base line competence we should forget about our weaknesses and focus on multiplying our strengths.
For example if you worked hard you might be able to increase your weakness (English) by 20%. But even at 20% you are still a long way behind someone who has this as their strength – you will never match or exceed their skills.
But, if you put the same effort into improving your strength and got a 20% improvement then you have just accelerated away from your competitors who are focusing on improving their weaknesses.
Let’s do it with numbers. Let’s assume my English competency is 50% and my maths competency is 85%.
If I could make a 20% improvement in both then my English competency would increase to 60% and my Maths competency to 102% (for those maths nerds following at home being above 100% competency is not possible, but let’s keep using it for this discussion).
At 60% English competency I am only just competent, I will never be the best, if it was my job I would struggle every day to prove my worth.
At 102% Maths competency I’m now the best in my field, I get multiple opportunities, get the focus of others and am likely to succeed – and enjoy the whole journey.
The Risk
In business we can take this same approach – but be cautious.
If your strength is your craft and you do not have a base line competency in running a business then you will fail at your business. If your craft is your strength and your passion then focus on this and work for someone else – let them excel at running the business and you to focus on your craft.
If you still want to own a business then you will need to partner with someone who is exceptional at business and leave you to focus on the craft – BUT you still need to be competent at business otherwise you risk disaster.
So, what are your strengths?
Are you working on developing them?
Have you first established a base level of competency?
If you want help developing a base level of competency in business – or it’s your strength and you want to take it to the next level book a Discovery Session with our Lead Coach, Alan to talk about how we can help you move from average to outstanding!
