Inspiration | Career

How Do Others See You?

Stand out from the crowd

One of the world’s wealthiest and most successful businesspeople made a fascinating observation about how we show up in the world.

Let’s examine his view and its impact on every working person’s life!

Three types of people

How much effort do you put into your work? How would you even measure such a thing? Because each workplace and individual is unique, the best you can do is guess.

Andrew Carnegie, the American industrialist and philanthropist known as a captain of industry, became one of the wealthiest people of all time. He made what might be called an educated guess at how people use their energy and ability in their work. Since I could find no studies to support his statement, I suspect he was generalizing from personal observations.

His thoughts are interesting and provide a framework for understanding energy and ability (our capacity to work), the results they create, and how we are judged. His statement follows:

“The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.” Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919)

While it may be challenging to prove Carnegie’s assertions, they make sense in light of what others have noticed. Let’s take a closer look at his claims.

Those who are average

On a standard statistical distribution curve, about 68% of people will fall within one standard deviation of the mean. Let’s call this average with about two of every three people in the range. Of the remainder, about 16% fall below, with 16% above average.

According to Carnegie’s estimates, with 68% around average and 16% below average, about 84% of people use roughly 25% of their capacity at work! That means more than 8 out of 10 workers apply themselves at a fraction of their capabilities. Talk about a lot of room for improvement!

Interestingly, these statistical averages roughly align with the Pareto principle, a.k.a. the 80/20 rule. More on that in a bit.

What is your observation about colleagues and employees where you work? Having spent decades in the workplace, starting at the bottom and going to the top of a large multinational company, it sounds about right.

Those we take our hat off to

According to Carnegie, those who perform much better than average contribute about 50% of their capacity to their work. While this may not sound like much, their contribution is what makes most businesses viable!

While this group is a much smaller part of the workforce, around 16%, or two standard deviations above the mean and above, they are the high performers, even though they only apply half of their capacity! Every company wants this type of person working for them. They far outperform the average worker regardless of what they do. Why? Because they are contributing twice as much or more of their energy and abilities to their job!

There is a danger that those at the top of this group will work so hard that they burn themselves out. Few people can use their full capacity for long without experiencing fatigue. However, there are…

Those the world stands on its head for

Those who use anywhere near their capacity stand out from the crowd and stand heads and heels above everyone else! Few can maintain his level throughout their career, although some will for long stretches of time.

These folks operate three standard deviations above the mean, comprising only about 2% of the workforce. They are in an elite class of workers, to be sure. Again, statistically, This small number of very high performers makes sense.

Other factors to consider

While we can attempt to fit everyone into a statistical model, life doesn’t work that way. As human beings, we are subject to considerable variations throughout our lives. Yet, we can make general predictions regardless of the many variables.

As stated, very few can operate at 100 percent capacity indefinitely. At least no one I have ever known could! Most of us would burn out quickly if we attempted to do so for too long. Yet practically every one of us can increase our productivity because, in reality, most of us operate far below our capabilities.

This tells you it’s simple math to stand out, earn more, and create a better life for yourself and your family. Apply some of your unused capacity to contribute more and rise above the crowd.

When it comes to math, the Pareto principle has proven itself repeatedly. The principle states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Said another way, 20% of people produce 80% of the results!

Why not become one of these 20% who do more, achieve more, and live far better than the average person? Or you can shoot for becoming one of the 2% at the very top. You have the capacity to do much more than you realize. You must only learn to use your energy and abilities wisely. How can you do this? By working on yourself!

Reaching for the top

To reach the top, start working on becoming more effective and efficient. As the Father of Modern Management said long ago:

“Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing.” Peter Drucker (1909–2005)

When you learn to do things right and to do the right things, you can radically change your results. In doing so, you will stand heads and heels above most of your peers.

A few other things that will put you at the top are to work on your emotional intelligence, attitude, dependability, and follow-through. Many of us could stand to improve considerably in each of these areas! If you could only work on one thing, choose to work on your attitude.

By improving your attitude, you can change how you look at work and tap into more of your capacity. Observation and common sense tell us attitude is a primary differentiator in employee performance. The better your attitude toward the company, work, and life, the more capacity you use on the job.

Think about it. Would you rather have a less experienced employee with a great attitude or a more experienced person with a lousy attitude?

“Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.” Pat Riley (1945-present)

Final thoughts

While Carnegie’s assertions are subjective, they have a great deal of merit in helping us look at the reality of those of us in the workplace.

How much of your capacity do you contribute at work on an average day, week, month, or year? Be honest with yourself.

If you want more out of life, look no further than at yourself. You can rise above the crowd quickly by tapping into more of your capacity. You may or may not work harder, but you will certainly use your energy and ability better. Add a great attitude and more effort, and the sky is the limit!

“Great things only come with great effort.” Art Briles (1955-present)

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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