At lunch, he was preoccupied. Dan had to fire two people when he went back to the office. The details don’t matter as much as what inspired his next thought. On his way to be President of the company, he used the fear of being fired to get him on a better track. This example and others can be a way to scare yourself to get ahead.
The best time to fire someone? According to Dan, long enough after they get the kids in school and well before Thanksgiving and Christmas. In other words, right about now. Whenever October rolled around, Dan would imagine he was on the bubble for being fired.
“I’d picture the guy who'd replace me and the changes he would make. Then I’d make the course corrections instead. This fear forced me to up my game on the job. It seems like it worked, because I never got fired.”
Most believe, fear can be your single greatest enemy. Eleven years ago, a conversation with Bruce Jenner changed all that. Skip his reality show, tabloid and plastic surgery hijinks – or his propensity for a Brian Regan-esque “Me Monster” keynote where his opening video tees up "the world’s greatest athlete" and "the world's greatest father." In a one-on-one conversation, he said something that turned fear on its ear.
“Make fear your friend.”
We compared training notes (actually, he told me about his training and didn't seem curious about mine) and we each had stories (well I heard his - mine didn't make it into the conversation) how we (in his mind - he) used scare tactics to drive our (his) conditioning further ahead. (Hey, c'mon... Between the two of us we have one Olympic gold medal, an appearance on the Wheaties box and, hopefully, a healthy ego.)
There were times when 100 push-ups was the target. At 95 push-ups, a self inflicted mind game would surface. “Okay, if I don’t do 110 push ups I won’t get to the Winter Olympics.” Despite burning arms and shaky form, the mind pushed the body to go the extra distance. "107 - 108 -- 109 --- 110."
Other times I’d be cycling up a curved hill and eyeball the time. “If I don’t get to the top in 7 minutes, I won’t be marching in the Opening Ceremonies.” Fear of missing the dream would be enough to get past the pain of pushing harder.
The idea is NOT to put fear in your heart all the time, but it helps, now and then, to turn fear into results. Use fear as a tool. Not an anchor.
So… it’s October... and you haven’t been fired – YET.
What change or changes would your replacement make?
Execute those changes!
Go beyond keeping your job. Be the replacement your boss was looking for all along.
Scare yourself to get ahead.
(Bosses: Feel free to forward this 70 Second eBrief. You won't be accused of being subtle. ;-)
