A few weeks ago I appeared on the Joy Cardin show on Wisconsin Public Radio for an hour (the interview is posted in the right hand column of this blog). An hour is a long time for a radio interview for a guy with the attention span of a small cat. I was tempted to ask my associates to tie me to the chair, but it proved not to be necessary. Joy Cardin is a tremendously talented interviewer and I was riveted by her thoughtful questions. I have noticed that whenever I am around talented people I become better.
When I played football in high school, when we played a weak opponent, we assumed we would look like a million bucks crushing them, but it never happened that way. Great teams often struggle to win against weak opponents and most often look like dog poop in the process. Surround yourself with weaker opponents and you come down to their level.
I competed in the National Age Group Cycling Championships this past July in Louisville. There were two former Olympians in my race and they eventually lapped me toward the end of the race. But for the first half of the race I was hanging with the best in the world and riding way above my capabilities. I set a personal record for the amount of power I was able to generate on my cycling computer. I was inspired to perform at a higher level because I had surrounded myself with the best.
As leaders it is a further evidence of the importance of hiring the best. Hire a great performer for that new job opening and they will lift your entire company. Hire a weak performer and things will most certainly start to erode at many of the touch points. Ditto for keeping great people you already have on the staff. And ditto for your suppliers. Surround yourself with the best and good things start to happen.
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