There’s a good part of this sentence which is simply true and appropriate–it’s a “today” world. But beyond there needing to be performance today, there’s also another component we can exhibit.
BV, for those who don’t know, stands for Business Volume. It’s your points that you produce in direct selling. So the more points, the more you’re loved in this industry. That’s a commonality in most businesses, and it’s understandable. Even expected. To a degree.
Let me be clear, it’s absolutely VITAL that PERFORMANCE is both expected AND rewarded in any organization. In fact, one of the problems that most businesses have is there’s a socialistic tendency towards treating everyone the same in terms of reward or even employment, regardless of output (though that’s not driven by love, either; instead it’s usually complacency, that such mediocrity has risen to the middle or top ranks that nobody is accountable or interested in that difficult process).
As leaders, there’s an accountability we all share in performance. Beyond this, the only way we can accomplish the dreams and desires each of us have, as well as that of our teams, is to commit and excel. Commit and excel. Commit and excel. (no, I’m not stuttering).
Leaders need to deliver. And they must be recognized for this, significantly recognized. We need to demonstrate “here’s what good looks like”, so this is one of the things I try to intentionally do for those who perform. And then there’s a different application and approach for those who don’t perform. Love isn’t the absence of accountability–or just letting people do whatever they well please.
But today’s Valentine’s Day. And I’m talking about love, here, like the real stuff. And a big part of love is commitment. It’s so easy to love when the going is great. Or to love the big hitters, the high producers. But there’s a greater opportunity that we have to show love to those in our community.
What if, in the quest of trying to do something different in this industry, something that’s never been done before, it was a different type of love? What if there were love and admiration regardless of who you are…or WERE? We talk about it all the time, but the beauty of this is that we’re an industry of second, third, and tenth chances.
For those who are part of this community and culture, as I grow in this it (“it” being the cultural component) becomes more and more important. I’m not talking about us running around holding hands and singing campfire songs like “Kumbaya”.
But I am talking about creating a community of respect, compassion, and understanding regardless of who decides to join.
This is one of the things I really loved about playing Division III football, there was some EXCEPTIONAL talent among the Starters, some of them were phenomenal.
But anyone who wanted to play could, yet they also had to have a commitment to the team. We didn’t pursue people to play, though there were many that did. In fact, a lot tried, but it wasn’t for everybody. A good number quit along the way.
Which was fine. Because there was a special camaraderie shared among the team that was “all in”, REGARDLESS of whether they were a star or no, regardless of circumstances. In fact, one of the coolest parts of this is that I saw guys who had no business playing college football raise up to a level of performance that they could never have achieved without the rest of the team pushing and pulling them along.
Part of this became their own self-commitment that pushed them as well, in that they were commonly bonded and united to the team and felt an obligation to perform in whatever way they could. For most of these guys, it wasn’t on game day–but it was all the behind the scenes stuff, the practicing, the hustling, the cheering, that made the performance of the top performers all the better. THAT was the magic. And part of that was the love.
And that’s a key component of what I love here in the community we have, which is that it’s a team that’s comprised of performance, purpose, and commitment. As part of this team, we have some new additions to the organization–not just new people who have enrolled, but also an incredible group of people from a Company we just acquired–Matol. These are some wonderful people who are so excited to be welcomed into the team.
So, for all of you out there part of this Community, I want to give a simple Happy Valentine’s Day to each of you.
I’m committed to the performance of this organization, but I’m also equally committed to the people at all levels and ranks who share in this purpose and dream. Thanks for all that you do.
