Marcus Trescothick was a talented but somewhat unusual cricketer.
There’s an interesting little story from his early days that has a useful lesson for us all. The young Marcus was making waves with his batting displays and people were beginning to rave about the precocious talent, predicting a bright future for the cricketer. And his coach knew that for Marcus to realize his potential and go all the way, it was important for him not only to continue to improve his technique, but also to be mentally strong. The story goes that in one of his early competitive games, when Marcus hit a hundred, there was much celebration. Marcus was delighted. A dream had come true. And he continued to bat well and looked set for a double century—when suddenly, his coach declared the innings and left Trescothick short of his double hundred.
The coach later explained why he had done that. He did not want his ward to feel he had achieved everything too soon. He wanted Marcus to stay hungry. He knew that it wouldn’t help Marcus’s development if he felt he had done it all, been there, done that—too soon.
The hunger remained. Trescothick continued to score big and forced his way into the England team. He also learned to value every opportunity—and never took anything for granted.
Stay hungry. Make sure there’s always another peak to climb, a new milestone to reach and a new challenge to overcome. This ensures that we keep getting better, and continue to develop and make progress. Too often, a mistake young people make is to think they’ve arrived. The top-of-the-world feeling only means that every step from thereon is downhill. And that’s no good.
Good leaders ensure they continue to stretch and challenge themselves and the high achievers who work with them. They keep raising the bar relentlessly.
Some years ago, the NASA folks discovered they had a problem. Several astronauts who had returned after making successful trips to the moon were plagued with psychological problems. They were struggling to cope with retirement, with post-‘voyage to the moon’ blues. They needed professional help. If you’ve been to the moon and back, what else can excite you? What’s the next goal, the next challenge? Without it, the astronauts were listless and lost!
Make sure you have something new to look forward to at all times. Even as they are approaching the top of a mountain, good leaders ensure there’s another mountain waiting to be climbed.
There’s great advice in an off-the-cuff remark made by Claudio Gonzalez, the president of Kimberly Clark Mexico. He is the man who spearheaded the growth of Kimberly Clark’s business in that country, and has seen it scale new heights even after he relinquished operational leadership. When asked if he was happy with the progress being made by the company, his response was brief but revealing: ‘Happy, but not satisfied.’
That’s a good mantra to have. Be happy to have been able to climb one mountain. But never be satisfied—so you keep looking for newer mountains to climb.
Time to ask yourself the question: ‘What’s next?’
Make sure there’s always another peak to climb, a new milestone to reach and a new challenge to overcome.
Good leaders ensure they continue to stretch and challenge themselves and the high achievers who work with them. They keep raising the bar relentlessly.