Benchmark Yourself

How rapidly would your results improve if, starting today, you did what the highest performers do?

You can take a lot of the mystery out of personal growth simply by studying people who are great examples.  Find people that you would call “best in class”.  Carefully observe their behavior—watch what they do, how they go about their roles, and the fine points of their approach.  Then once you’ve sorted out how they do things differently from you, start copying their techniques.

Sounds straightforward?

It is a more direct way to go about building a better ‘you’.   But most people fail to do it in a deliberate, disciplined fashion.  Instead of analyzing the most successful individuals and adopting their moves, we grind along trying to get better at our own way of doing things.

Fast growth comes much easier when we rely on our role models to guide our actions.  Their methods can serve as a shortcut.  They offer visible proof of what’s possible and how to pull it off.

Why don’t we use this benchmarking exercise more often?

Maybe it’s because we believe the top performers are just blessed with more potential then we personally have to work with.  But those who set the standards—the high achievers—aren’t necessarily the brightest or the ones with pure talent.  Sometimes they’ve just developed a better formula—they do things differently, and it delivers much better results.  Sure having brainpower helps, and an innate ability gives an individual an advantage, however, we’ve all seen talented people outperformed by others who actually have less potential.

Begin practicing the moves of those you admire most and see what happens.  Keep analyzing how they operate.   Continue comparing it to the way you go about doing things.  If their performance really does represent “best practices”, it’s probably the result of several factors, including attitude, work habits as well as basic skills.  Watch their subtleties and weave them into your personal style.

Benchmarking is based upon imitating the best, but it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your individuality.  You’ll still have plenty of room for your own personality to show.  It will just shine through more powerfully than ever.