Good is the enemy of great.

I don't usually post about school, but I'm posting an insight paper on a book we read for my Sales Leadership class, Good to Great. After dreading the thought of the class before it started, this has turned out to be my absolute favorite class of all time. It's more about integrity, humility, and personal relationships than about trying to convince someone of something. I have the most phenomenal teacher EVER and I really have been so blessed by this class. I started this book on my flight to Jacksonville, and a lot of the points really stuck with me. This is only a couple of pages long, and it is written in first person, so I hope it's not too boring, but the purpose is to encourage you all to get this book. We are all leaders in some capacity, and this book really made me think about some things I had not thought of before. Maybe you too will ponder the truth in the statement that "good is the enemy of great."

_______________________________________________

            I started Good to Great during Spring Break, and I walked around our condo professing that “good is the enemy of great” to anyone who would listen. My friends were pondering the significance of The Hunger Games while I was having a mini-epiphany. This one sentence really made the wheels start turning in my head for the whole break. I had never thought about life this way. Good really is what stands in the way of people becoming great. People are so complacent and perfectly fine with mediocrity. Why strive just to be good when you can be great? Good is what stands in the way of being the best. That, to me, though it might not be to everyone, was the biggest revelation out of the whole book.

            After this mind-blowing epiphany, the obvious next step is to learn how to overcome goodness and turn it into greatness. All of the companies listed had one thing in common ­­– the Level 5 Executive. This was another revelation. These people “build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.” These people are not money hungry, power hungry egomaniacs. They are humble and have professional drive. The stories in the book really illustrate how the leaders who were only looking after their own best interest and who did not care about the company whole heartedly were really one of the biggest obstacles in the way of becoming great. The great companies had leaders who made tough decisions, decisions not taken lightly, in order to better the company – even if it meant negative consequences personally. These people were humble and were not in their positions just to puff themselves up. This book is a good confirmation that hard work and integrity are what ultimately cultivate greatness, not a lack of character and under-the-table deals. This thought dovetails well with …And Dignity for All, in which conducting yourself with integrity and character are the main points.

            One of my favorite ideas of the book, though, is that the right people are your absolute biggest asset. Collins’ discussion of how many companies just shift people up into places where they do not really fit, just because, was really truthful and thought provoking. If this is how a business is run, then people are not working in areas that fulfill them personally or professionally. This leads to loss of production in the long run, which we have discussed extensively in class. Having the right people, keeping them motivated, and making sure they are after the same goals that the company is after are crucial to the success of a company. Likewise, you cannot be everything, meaning you are not good at everything. In order to be an effective, great leader, you must take your talents and develop them and use them effectively. You cannot take on every task yourself. You must have the right people on the team to help you execute, which is one of the reasons why the right people are the most important asset.

            The final important thing that I learned from Good to Great is that if you are a great leader, you must “confront the brutal facts of reality.” You have to take charge of situations and implement a plan of recovery. You have to get “the wrong people off of the bus.” You must utilize the “right people” in the recovery plan. As was prevalent in Despain’s book, teamwork is key. You will not accomplish anything without a motivated team behind you. If you have “the right people on the bus,” then they will be behind you because you are all working towards a common goal, the success of your organization.

            I never would have thought that a revelation could happen in the first sentence of a book. Good to Great change that, however. If good is the enemy of great, then the way to conquer good is by removing people who are not performing and who are not behind the goals of the organization, making sure your team is comprised of the right people, and leading with humility and dedication to the success of your company. In essence, rise to the top of the leadership pyramid by putting the greater good of the company above yourself, and in exchange you both will succeed.  -AD

took the midnight train goin' anywhere.

As long as I can rock this, I don't care what I do. Ha.. jk. yeah I do.

I’m always envious of those people who know, while in college, exactly what they want to do when they graduate and have a game plan for getting there.  I started out college as a pre-med student, with hopes of being in dermatology.  But since I spent the entire class period in Biology 203 (at 8 am, for two hours every. Monday. Wednesday. and. Friday.) with my BlackBerry hidden under the lab table, scrolling through CNBC’s tickers—and literally watching the market crash before my eyes—I knew that this was not the place for me.  I never really gave a thought to what I wanted to do.  Everyone around me wanted me to go into medicine—some were people around me who thought it’d be a cheap way for them to get their plastic surgery, others were family and teachers who were super encouraging.  If I had given even two seconds’ thought to my “calling”—what God wanted me to do—I would have not spent a completely miserable semester wondering why I hated what I thought I was supposed to be doing forever.  Thankfully, I wised up and headed over to the business school and signed myself up for what has been the most challenging time in my life.  Hard. Stuff.  Not for faint of heart (shout out to Belski here).  But I love every. grueling. minute.  Despite this, I still honestly have no idea where I want to go after my Super Senior year, once I graduate as a full fledged business woman.  I love PR, I love advertising, I love branding, I love people.  I love sharing the things I love and am passionate about with people—so I feel like I’m on the right track.  I have a list of dream jobs a mile long, and I dream of living and working in Mountain Brook; but I still have no idea where my life will lead—a completely terrifying thought if I think about it for too long.  So, to those people who have it figured out, kudos to you! You are a million steps ahead of me.  Until I’m there, I’m gonna stay in a constant state of prayer and hope that God uses the gifts He’s given me to glorify Him and help others.  Lord only knows where this journey will take me, but I can’t wait ‘til my stilettos hit the pavement on their way to wherever I'm goin'.  

Title cred: Only fitting that Journey title a post about.. well.. journeys.

a woman's right to shoes.*

Via @OscarPRGirl --GIRL, you're livin' my dream.  These Oscars are too perfect. Don't worry. I'll be using this picture again. Most likely it'll happen 'round Christmas time. #beautiful #fashionisart

*Title coined by Carrie Bradshaw.  If you didn't already know that and/or don't know who she is, I'm afraid we can't be friends.  Ok, we can be, but only after you rent the complete series of SATC.

grammar schooled.

     One of the biggest memories I have of my home growing up was our library table. It always had a stack of magazines to the right of it, and it always had one book on its shelf that I vividly remember in particular.  The silver cover of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the pocket-sized icon, could always be found next to Emily Post.  

Always.

     If you don’t have it, go buy it.  I’m 100% convinced that this should be on required reading lists across the world.  This 105-page book is your ticket to all of the basics and essentials of grammar and spelling. 

      Ok.. I can hear the masses sighing already.  Grammar matters, though.  I so distinctly remember hating grammar growing up. Hate.  It wasn’t until French with Madame Williams that I gained an appreciation for how words function and how punctuation matters, almost like a math equation.  I’m not perfect. No one is perfect, but despite what some people I know have tried to tell me, grammar is important.  Is it going to end world hunger? No. Are there more important world issues? Yes.  Does that make grammar an unimportant issue? NO, otherwise it wouldn’t be taught for 12+ years to students. Like everything else we learn, proper grammar creates a well-rounded person.

     Everyone makes the “I’m typing too fast and messed up” error-- even some people like the Journalism and English majors I know.  That’s an issue of proofreading.  No, this issue goes much deeper than proofreading.  

To the people who say it’s unimportant, I say congratulations, because you have just told an employer that you’re either too ignorant to care or are less educated than the person standing next to you.  

     More than ever, especially in a time where people think that texting is the ultimate form of communication, the best way to stand out is to show your potential employer that you are educated, attentive to details, and sharp.  You’ll be showing them that, unlike your peers who are glued to a device, you have “old fashioned” skills.  Whether in speech or writing, grammar matters.  

To does not mean also, too does.* Your does not mean you are, you're does.  I's is never going to be correct.  Sorry, I’m not sorry, but it will. never. be. a. contraction.  The correct word is my.

     Like I said, we all make mistakes.  We are all human, but it’s the habitual mistake, or utter ignorance that makes you stand out in a bad way.

Set yourself apart.  Buy this book if you haven’t, and become schooled in grammar.   It will make a difference.

Also great is Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. 

 And, if you're feelin' a little fancy, the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Elements of Style in hardcover.  Swoon.

*For example, in editing, I put "to" for "too." So, holla, I should proofread better.

do what you like, like what you do.

Oprah.com

I was flipping through the channels the other day and landed on an interview of Diane Sawyer on one of Oprah's new shows, Master Class.  I love watching interviews and behind the scenes footage of successful and/or inspirational people.

Love.  

Diane told a story about the simple checklist her father, one of her biggest supporters, had for life.  For someone like moi who is not sure what she's gonna do once those big gates of the Samford Country Club open and wield me out onto the streets of Birmingham, this quote really struck me.

“Do something you really love, do it in the most adventurous place you can do it, and make sure that it helps other people.”

It's simple in sounding, but it really made an impact on me. Fo sho. Words to live by.

*And happy birthday to my Grammy!! Love you!!

every happy ending is just a new beginning.

TV Fanatic.

I can't take it. I am Blair is the new assistant to Stefano Tonchi at W.  I. Die. Those were a very redeeming last 10 minutes. Dream internship, dream job, bing, bang, boom.