There are Many Ways to Win, But Only One Way to be a Winner
You can win by cheating or you can win by getting lucky. It’s also possible to win because your opponent didn’t prepare, didn’t care, or didn’t have enough experience.
Simply stated in the words of Seth Godin, “just because you won doesn’t mean you did a good job.” To win is not the same as being a winner. Furthermore, there are many ways to win, but there is only one way to be a winner. That is by having a winning process.
Winners Win With Process
The reason why process is the key to being a winner is because processes are repeatable. Winning one time doesn’t make you a winner. What makes a winner a winner is winning a lot. Not 50% of the time, not even 70% of the time. I would say close to a 90% or more winning percentage is what makes a winner a winner.
The only way to get such a high winning percentage is to know the right things to do, and do those things right every single time. This is why process is so important to winners. While every winner has a slightly different process depending on the domain, more often than not the genesis for a winning process comes down to 5 things.
- Focusing on 3 to 4 essentials skills and mastering those skills.
- Using routines and staying consistent with executing those routines come hell or high water.
- Measuring progress and collecting meaningful data.
- Getting honest feedback from mentors and coaches.
- Making adjustments based on the honest feedback and meaningful data.