The Olympics were a great chance to watch others succeed (and fail.) If you’re an Olympic athlete, success may be doing the best you can in an event, getting a personal best. But how will an Olympic athlete know that they are there, that they have succeeded?
- Does just getting to the Olympics define success?
- Is it making the finals?
- Is getting a medal the definition of success?
- Perhaps only getting a gold is being successful.
- What about multiple golds?
- And how about multiple golds at successive Olympics?
You see, it isn’t an easy thing to answer, even with something as straightforward as the Olympics.
Many people at work have no idea what success looks like and those who know what it looks like often have trouble knowing when they’re there.
Imagine playing golf all year, multiple rounds, and never knowing how you’ve done. Or knowing how you’ve done at the end of the year but not knowing what par was or how everyone else has done.
That’s what it’s like for many employees in many companies. It is not enough that you know what success looks like. You better be able to measure it so you know you’re there.