No.9: Doing just enough

Doing just enough is not enough.

The problem with just enough is that everybody with the basic requirement is expected to do just enough, and most times, they can.

So, when you do just enough at work, you are an average, easily replaceable worker. You are like furniture in a house…adorning the house at the moment, but easily replaceable with another. And if the furniture is taken out of the house, the house still stands, available for another set of furniture.

However, when you go above and beyond expectation, as an employee, you become a pillar in the business. And you know what happens to the integrity of a house if any of the pillars is removed. Also imagine how fast you will progress up the corporate ladder in your organization, not even mentioning how sought after you would be in the industry.

In your marital life, the spouse that goes above and beyond the expectation of the partner is a spouse that literally has the “keys to the kingdom”, and whose emotional credit is very high. A home where both partners go above and beyond expectation has a very slim chance of breaking up.

Same theory applies to your health and relationships with colleagues, religious and social body, and extended family members. When you go above and beyond expectation, you will be sought after by all, but if you don’t, you will absolutely regret it in your career and life.