Recently I watched a documentary about a style of music simply known as Yacht Rock. What’s interesting is that the genre didn’t really have a label until almost 20 years after the music was popular. Based on the movie, Yacht Rock was born with a band from the 70’s known as Steely Dan. While you may not be familiar with the band, you’ve most definitely heard some of their music in doctors’ offices and elevators around the world. Yacht Rock is a soft rock with a Jazz infusion that crowded FM radio airwaves in the 70’s and early 80’s.
Here’s a few bands that fall into the category of Yacht Rock … The Doobie Brothers & Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, and many others that tried to sound like them. One band however is the King of them all…Toto. Trust me when I say, even if you do not know this band you will some of their songs. These gentlemen not only took this style of music to another level, they were so talented that they played as studio musicians on almost every other artists albums during this era. They were so good you can even find them all playing on Michael Jackson’s seminal album “Thriller”
What made them so good was their ability to adapt their playing style to whatever the songs needed, their attention to detail and finally the willingness to work extremely hard on an idea or a song until it was a good as it could possibly be.
Toto had a string of hit songs as well, but it was their 4th record that really cemented them into pop culture and icons of Yacht Rock.
They had finished recording the album, but still had some studio time left so they just started working up an idea. As it started to become a song, no one in the band was very excited about it. But their commitment to the final product and willingness to keep working on any idea until it was the absolute best it could possibly be never wavered. Put quite simply this band refused to ever do anything half-way or just “phone in” the effort.
It was the 10th song placed on the record and according to the band an afterthought and a song that they felt no one would ever really want to hear.
That song was “Africa” and it became the bands only #1 hit single. Recently the song was re-recorded by Weezer, and has now taken on a life of it’s own on social media.
So how does this relate to you and your business?
First off, as a leader are you willing to adapt and adjust your style to the style of your teams and those around you? Can you provide exactly what is needed in those critical moments that will determine if a project is successful? Are you willing to compromise your own personal taste and opinions for the better of the project?
We all know that is much easier said then done.
Second, think about a time when you showed up for a presentation, an appointment, a team meeting, or a potential new client and it didn’t really seem to go the way you planned.
How easy would it be to just go through the motions, or as I like to say “phone in” your effort. How hard was it in that moment to suspend your own judgment about what you thought the outcome would be and just give the best possible effort?
Something I’ve learned on almost 40 years of giving presentations to audiences large and small, is that you never know who is out there and how they could impact you future or your business. Much of the success I’ve experienced has come directly from those times that I thought maybe weren’t worth the time or the effort, yet I put the effort in anyway.
High performers simply refuse to give anything but their best in any situation. Even if they aren’t 100% sold on benefits of the situation, the product or the idea, they always give their best. Every presentation, piece of work, messaging, appointments, conversations, whatever it may be, those that achieve at the highest levels give their best efforts each and every time, because you just never know what the end result might be. That one idea that you didn’t really think would amount to anything, or that one presentation that you felt was a waste of time can sometimes become your biggest hit.
This week I would ask you:
How do you adapt your style to provide what is needed to your clients, your team or your organization?
When have you “phoned it in” over the past few months because you didn’t believe you would get the outcome you desired?
What else might cause you to give anything but your best effort?
How does that impact your final product?
Are you willing to put your best work forward, even when you are uncertain of the outcome?
Being a high performer isn’t just some of the time, it’s each and every time.
Cheers you to and your continued success- and putting forth your best
One Quarter Turn at a Time
Thoughts for the week:
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort. –Unknown
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary -Unknown
Only you know when you give your best effort. You also know when you don’t. -Gary McAbee
Looking forward to our next connection
Coach Tim
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