Can You Be Too Hungry? The Problem With "Now" Thinking - It is Simple, Not Easy.

This has been a very interesting week and the recurring issue has arrived from three different sources.  Some time ago I read a management and leadership book that said to hire PHD's meaning Poor-Hungry-Desperate.  I have since tossed the book so my apologies for the lack of reference.

Rick Pitino in his book Success is a Choice talks about having a similar problem and I like his solution better.  He says to hire Poor-Hungry-Driven.  The subtle difference in the last word is everything, and I think I have a good way to explain it if you haven't read the book.

The Desperate Person is worried about "right now"

The Driven Person is worried about "getting there"

For example, this week DJ Berg, the GM of my Keller-Williams office talked about the problem with Real Estate Agents who need the listing or need the sale.  The customer can sense the fear and desperation, they know the salesperson is acting in self interest, not the customers best interest.

The Driven Person wants to make the right sale and get a customer for life.  The Desperate Person wants to make "this" sale and get a paycheck.

The Desperate Person wants a paycheck today.

The Driven Person wants a new house.

I see it all the time, people take a job they shouldn't take just to get a paycheck.  They hate it, and in a week, a month or even after a really painful year they are back job hunting.  Most of us have done this once or twice in our lives.  When I graduated college, I was headed to Pilot Training for the Air Force but due to some bad decisions I was short on money.  I took a horrible job to fill the gap.

The Driven Person knows what they want and where they are going.  They won't take a job that won't get them there.  This doesn't mean they won't leave in six months or a year, it just means they took the job to build their foundation and move on, not get a paycheck for the week.

The Desperate Person will go to work, see the first small reward and quit.

The Driven Person will go to work, see the first small reward and multiply it.

A client of mine claims it is ADD or ADHD or something like that.  We sit down, look at an area of his business and make a change.  As the change begins to reap benefits, he'll stop and move on to something else and they go back to what they were doing.  When I ask he'll say, "Yes we made a little more money, but not enough."

Just 2% improvement compounded year over year can be the difference between a sustainable business and a closed business.  My job as his coach is to keep going back until that 2% growth is self replicating and then move on. He says it isn't a challenge.  I keep saying "This is simple, not easy".

When my online e-zine started 5 years ago, it had one reader, me.  When this blog started it had one reader, me.  Today they are both making a small input to my cash flow, and the readership is growing very steadily.  Most people would give up after 5 years, instead I read every comment and adjust to what the readers want to know without "selling out".  I still control the content.

The Desperate Person is worried about himself

The Driven Person is worried about his customer, friend or family.

This is where a coach comes in.  A Driven person can lose focus on the task at hand because there is an outside person they feel they need to take care of.  Driven people can become so focused on their customers they let their health decline.  I have seen this in small companies and big companies.

The Desperate Person is scared to fail.

The Driven Person overcomes failure.

Herein lies the reason for all psychology as far as I am concerned.  When desperate people fail, things get worse for them.  They need help, but won't seek it, in fact many times they avoid it, trying to do it all on their own.  I was there, my wife being diagnosed with cancer woke me up.  Not everyone is that lucky.  I get to say lucky because she is cancer free now.

At our office meeting this week, DJ also talked about the "Red Book" and "Blue Book".  He talked about the myth of a business on Auto-Pilot.  Here I had to speak up, a well run business is exactly like flying an airplane on autopilot.  Storms happen enroute, so you change course for a while, and then when it is clear, turn back to your destination.

Sometimes parts fail and you have to stop short of your destination and repair the parts.  Business is no different.  The desperate person will see the storm and turn back, or when the part fails, they will land and stop.  The Driven person, drives on.

Be Hungry, Be Driven