Leadership trainings, talent pools, workshops. You've done all that and you’ve developed a sense of competence and accomplishment. You think you’re good. You think you’re great. You think you’ve arrived. Let me tell you something. The minute you think you've arrived is the minute that everything crumbles. You never notice you’ve stagnated until it’s far too late. If there’s one person who knows how to keep improving, it’s Frank Shamrock. I stumbled across his philosophy in the summer of 2015 and it changed the way I think about leadership. You see, Frank Shamrock is a martial arts all-star, a legend. Consider this exchange: Presenter: “How many titles have you won?” Frank, humbly: “I think I won them all.” I think you get the picture. What the hell can Frank Shamrock teach you about leadership and personal growth? The short answer is: 'EVERYTHING'. Well, let me elaborate on this here. To succeed in martial arts, you must constantly adapt and respond to the latest developments. (Is business any different?) Shamrock does that through an elegant system he calls Plus, Minus and Equals. That’s it, no fancy words, no buzzwords. Plus. Minus. Equals. A beautiful tripling. Good things come in threes, I guess. But I digress.
“To become great, you need someone better you can learn from, someone lessor you can teach, & someone equal that can challenge you.” — Frank Shamrock, UFC Legend
To get better, you should seek and train with three types of people. Those who are better than you. Those who are worse than you. Those who are equal to you. The Plus, Minus and Equals system works so well because it gives you continuous feedback from every angle and stretches you in different ways.
“If you cannot see where you are going, ask someone who has been there before.” — J Loren Norris
Find someone with more experience to learn from, your PLUS. The most dangerous thing you can do is believe that you already know all there is to know about your topic. When you stop acting with a growth mindset, you begin to limit your progress. If you believe you have all the answers, you place a ceiling on how good you could actually become. Having a mentor or coach prevents you from falling into that trap. Your plus is a person who can punch holes in your game and help you take your performance to the next level. Think of yourself as a lifelong learner. Tiger Woods has a swing coach. Mike Trout has a hitting instructor. Robert De Niro has an acting coach. Even Warren Buffett has Charlie Munger to run deals by.
“No one learns as much about a subject as one who is forced to teach it.”— Peter Drucker
Find your MINUS, a person who is worse than you. When you teach something, you are forced to understand it better. The more you teach, the more refined your own skills become. There is always something to learn when you have to deconstruct an idea and reformulate it for someone else. You’re forced to consolidate your knowledge and think through an issue from multiple angles before you can teach it. Researchers have found that students who were enlisted to tutor others recall information more accurately and apply it more effectively. Teaching doesn't always have to be this formal. It can be simple advice you want to share, given from a point of care and concern, that helps others grow.
"Competition always spurs you to be the best version of yourselves.”
Finally, find your EQUALS, a person who is currently as experienced as you, that you can discuss, share ideas and learn from along the way. A person who will hold you accountable and motivate you to push on even in the face of great difficulty. A person you respect. As you may have noticed, your best work is not done alone. If you look at sporting achievement, you’ll notice that most records are broken at the highest levels of competition. Join an online community that is on your topic of interest. Try mastermind groups. Post your lessons and attract others that have the same interests. (I do it here) Surround yourself with quality individuals. You become who you hang out with. Jim Rohn’s often quoted phrase that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” makes sense, right? As we wind down a school year, spend some time this summer thinking about who will be your plus, who will be your minus, and, who will be your equal.
And then?
Stop thinking.
Stop pondering.
Go do.
PS. Like what you’re reading here? Well, you have three choices really.
1. Get more stories straight to your inbox. Subscribe in the page footer below.
3. When you are ready to level up, hire me.
Comments