Persistence Pays

You’ve heard the saying….

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight
in the dog.” – Mark Twain.

That Mark Twain saying, may seem kind of cliché… but think of it that
you are hearing it for the first time; It’s pretty powerful.

The quality of ‘fierceness’ (the fight) is really not what comes to my
mind when I hear that saying — For me it’s the ‘burning desire’ and
‘persistence’ of the small dog that impress me the most.

I hear regularly that we have our staff reduced, budgets cut and
additional space added…

…yes many are having tough times now. Things are not working out as
they planned, and some don’t feel they can achieve success.

People throw the word ‘success’ around as if it defines a certain
level of achievement. A certain HCAHPS score, Press Ganey rating, NRC
Picker Score.
Success can be small improvements and victories that you already make everyday.

For example…

If you are updating routines, writing down your your target results
and desired outcomes is your first step. A small but important step.

As you sit down to craft that new routine, you feel excited about the
possibilities of success.

You gather the excitement of this simple activity and you begin to
feel more positive.

When you finish updating your job routines and assignments, you feel
elated enough — one more task completed — but don’t feel successful…

…Why? Most often, success to us is that 99%tile, perfect score, no
complaints and other stuff.

But, if we think about success in ‘small increments’, more like little
victories — it’s less overwhelming, and it’s more fun that way.

Consider every small improvement that you make in your work a huge
victory. Do more of these small improvements and be persistent.

Persistence is key to feeling successful.

There are many qualities that help us in our work, but if I were to
pick one personal quality that stands out, it would have to be
‘Persistence’.

To your Persistent Success,

John