Achieving Maximum Results

As an entrepreneur, I can tell you I spend a lot of time pouding my head against a wall. The path to success is not always clear. Seth Godin offers a unique perspective on achieving maximum results from your efforts.

He compares efforts to achieve your Local Max vs. your Big Max. Local Max comes fairly quickly in any pursuit; whereas it may take a lot longer to achieve your Big Max. What is interesting is that your results may temporarily decline before you reach your Big Max.

According to Seth:

"Local Max isn't actually that great when you realize that Big Max is not particularly far away. The problem is that to get to Big Max, you need to go through step C, which is a horrible and scary place to be."

You have to see the illustration to understand what he means. Step C is that point when things look most dismal, before you really break out.

The same paradigm can be used for sales. Sales professionals often get frustrated because they are following a strategy or sales process that is not working according to their expectations. It could be they have just not reached their Big Max yet. Of course, who's to say you're not simply following a failed strategy. That's the conundrum.