The Winning Edge

 

Vocabulary

leap	edge (2)	work hard
ability	outcome	translate (2)
verge	area (2)	critical (2)
profit	field (2)	figure out
bit (3)	articulate	nonetheless
prize	quantum	impossible
concept	lucrative	by the same token
clinch	virtually	commission
magnify	charming	charismatic
vastly	miss (2)	on average
merely	principle	hardly working
identify	enhance	accomplish
role	obstacle	responsibility
barrier

 
 
 
 

The Winning Edge

One of the concepts of human performance is the “winning-edge.” This principle states that small differences in critical areas of your field can translate into enormous differences in outcomes.

What it means is that if you enhance your knowledge, ability, performance, productivity and quality — just a bit — it can magnify your winnings and profits.

In fact, you may be on the verge of a quantum leap forward in your business or career by learning and practicing something new and different from what you have done before.

A Horse Race

Here is an example. In a horse race, fourteen horses take part. When a horse comes in first — by a nose, as is usually the case — it wins ten times the prize money as the horse that comes in second, even though the difference is only a few centimeters in a photo finish.

Now does this mean that the winning horse is ten times faster? Is it twice as fast? Or fifty percent faster, or even ten percent faster?

No!

You know that is virtually impossible.

The first place horse is only a nose faster. And yet that nose translates into ten times the prize money.

100% of the Deal

By the same token, when a company wins a contract for a lucrative business deal in a competitive market, that company gets 100% of the sale … 100% of the profit … and the sales team gets 100% of the commission.

Is that company a hundred percent better than the company who loses the deal?

Does this mean that their product is 100% better than that of the competition, or 100% cheaper?

The fact is that the product may not even be as good. And it may cost even more than that of the competitor — but the sales team and company gets the contract nonetheless.

100% of the Commission

What about the salesperson who clinched the deal?

Is he or she 100% smarter, more knowledgeable, better dressed, more experienced, articulate, charming, charismatic, handsome or beautiful than the salesperson who missed it?

No!

You know that it’s impossible to be 100% smarter, better, more handsome, or anything, on average.

The person who gets closes the sale, is in most cases, not vastly better than the person who loses the sale.

The successful company and the successful salesperson is often only a tiny bit better than the competition.

But they have merely developed the “winning edge” — which translates into one hundred percent of the business.

And that makes all the difference.

Management

What about you and your organization?

Is the manager earning $250,000 per year ten times as smart as the manager earning $25,000? Ten times as experienced? Does he or she work ten times harder?

Of course not.

None of these are physically or mentally possible . . . and yet there are people in every business and industry earning many times more than others with the same average age, experience and intelligence.

Action Exercises

Do you ever imagine yourself earning ten times your current annual wage? If you’re earning $25,000, imagine for a moment that it’s possible for you to earn $250,000, a 1000% increase.

Here some things you can start doing to increase your earnings.

One, set a goal to double your earnings over the next two or three years —and then figure out how to accomplish that goal.

Two, identify the highest earning, most successful people in your field. Find out what it is that they are doing differently from others who aren’t doing as well. Copy and do what they do.

Three, identify the important things you do in every role and responsibility you have. Think about what you could do to improve in each area.

Four, select one specific area where you feel you are weak, or is an obstacle, block or barrier to doubling your earnings. Make a plan to become absolutely excellent in this area.

Questions

1. According the idea of the winning-edge, you always have to be far superior to your competitors to win. True or false?

2. What can you say about a horse race?

3. Describe a sales deal.

4. Is there a huge difference between top and bottom earners of a company?
What do most people think?

5. Does the text give recommendations? What should people do?
 
 
A. Is there a large, medium or small difference in pay between the top and bottom earners in your company or organization?

B. What’s the difference between the highest and lowest earning manager (or salesperson, engineer) of your company? Is the top earner ten times better, smarter, harder working?

C. How could you double, triple or quadruple your income?

D. Do employees have to be much or slightly better in their tasks, duties and responsibilities?

E. What might the situation be like in the future?