I’m told by my clients and I know this about myself, that I “hit” more than I “hug.” In others words, I point out mistakes and areas for improvement at a greater rate than I hand out compliments and “atta boy’s.” Let me go on record stating that I do NOT enjoy hitting any of my clients nor do I enjoy being hit myself. If excellence is the target, painstakingly reviewing mistakes will be the process. Let me illustrate.
Bill Robertie is a chess master, poker player extraordinaire, and a world champion at Backgammon. He’s a rare bird indeed. He made a living in the early 1970’s playing chess and stumbled into Backgammon and poker along the way. Isn’t it funny how often we stumble…
Into happiness. Yes it is and yes we sure seem to. Moving on.
Rarely does an individual master one domain, much less three. He is worth a study. Here’s his magic formula for improving. Here’s his signature habit. You will see this signature habit, if you choose to study high performers, all the time. There is a melody line to the magic. Here it is.
He studies his mistakes.
He focuses on his mistakes. He consciously considers his errors. He painstakingly reviews what happens after he plays a chess match, a poker hand, or a backgammon game. He mostly wins, so he’s not reviewing his mistakes that, necessarily, cost him money. He’s reviewing his mistakes that are in the way of his mastery. He doesn’t hide his mistakes. He doesn’t hope they magically go away. He doesn’t get bummed and overwhelmed looking at the negative.
Nope. Not at all.
In fact, quite to the contrary, he gains energy where most lose it. He gains energy studying what went wrong and what could be improved and then he ACTS upon what he’s learned. This is simply the way performance gains are habituated. Few are willing. Masters practice fixing tiny mistake after tiny mistake regardless the outcome. Masters are practically obsessed with getting better. Most folks can’t face the facts and not lose hope. Masters can. Masters do. Masters embrace, cultivate, and carefully investigate their mistakes. AND, with an intense squint in their eye, masters lean in and do it again. Magic.
Robertie is a master in the making. Robertie is practicing. He is practicing with a purpose. His purpose is not to simply win more games. His purpose is to learn from his mistakes and improve. This is the master skill that every CEO and leader alike, must embrace if they are to travel the road toward high performance with a team that can’t wait for the next practice.
Excellence simply requires such a price.
Next time we’re together building each other, get ready to study our mistakes and get ready to get after it. Get ready to focus on small, seemingly insignificant nuances to your performance in work and life. Get ready to rinse and repeat until it’s squeaky clean. Get ready to get tired reviewing something that you thought was “good to go.” Get ready to retrace your steps and focus on some mistakes. Get ready to hear “good work,” from your builder followed by the figurative “blow of the whistle,” an intense squint in my eyes, and the command of good…
Now let’s do it again.
Remember, excellence is our target and…
I believe in YOU.
BUILT TO LEAD 
It’s interesting how Robertsie’sbook touches everyone differently. By the way, it is not so rare that someone masters chess, backgammon and poker. Many of today’s poker pros do or did