In your normal business day, do you spend more time looking for ways to do the minimum or the maximum?
Take these examples:
| What is the minimum I need to do to justify invoicing a client this amount? | What is the maximum I could give this client within the project budget and still be happy with the outcome myself? |
| What’s the minimum I need to do to keep my boss off my back? | What can I do to amaze my boss? |
| What can I get away with? | What more could I do? |
| What can I do to avoid complaints? | What can I do to win more praise? |
| How can I lower the bar to make it easier to jump over? | What’s the highest bar I can jump over if I put my mind to it? |
| What’s the most I can get out of this client? | What’s the most I can give to this client? |
| What can I do to get people to notice my product? | What can I do to get people to rave about my product? |
| What is the least I can pay my staff that will keep them from leaving? | What more can I do for my staff to make their jobs more fulfilling? |
| What is the minimum I need to do? | What is the maximum I could do? |
Of the people in the left and right columns, who do you think is going to:
- get the promotion?
- win repeat business from their clients?
- find new customers through positive word of mouth?
- sell more product?
- have the most engaged staff?
- WIN?
It’s not rocket science. If you aren’t getting the results you want, next time you notice yourself asking “what is the minimum I need to do?”, stop and take a moment to think about the possibilities if you asked “what is the maximum I could do?”
