Rudolph’s Nose
“I am, as I’ve said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.”
Billy Joel
I’m more of an Elton John guy than Billy Joel, but that’s merely an opinion. What is a fact, that cannot be argued, is that Billy Joel has a track record of exceptional and extraordinary results. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he is the 6th all-time top selling artist in the U.S., beating out Michael Jackson and Elton John, both branded with arguably “more talent”.
Being competent means, merely adequate and capable, suitable to the task at hand to perform with sufficient skill. Holy Smokes, Batman! In today’s day and age, there is a pandemic of incompetence, and as Billy Joel pointed out, simple competence will rocket your results into the stratosphere.
Take a look around, companies, large and small, have promoted folks into positions of leadership that exemplify the Peter Principle, which states, “People tend to rise to their level of incompetence”. Instead of complaining about those who have found themselves above you in the food-chain, go to work on becoming adequate and capable, i.e. competent.
Take a quick inventory, do you spend any of your off-time working on becoming more skilled in your chosen field? Or are you too exhausted to do anything other than veg-out at the end of the day? What are the peak performers in your field doing to increase their levels of competence? Do they just veg-out? How competent are you? Do you have any weaker skills that could use some sharpening? (For example, I’m constantly working on my sales/marketing skills.)
What would happen to your competence level if you spent one hour everyday reading and studying about your chosen field? Some studies suggest you would become a national expert within 5 years. I tend to believe that, especially looking around at the sea of incompetence by which we are surrounded.
Under pressure, you can’t hide incompetence. The flip side is true as well, under pressure, your competence will shine out like Rudolph’s nose.
Boo yah!