68: Pursuit Of Excellence Series - Look outside, be intensely curious
Feb 24, 2021
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Explore the importance of an external orientation in pursuing excellence, drawing inspiration from Stephen King. Learn about the benefits of engaging in a broader professional community. Discover how seeking inspiration outside your organization can lead to excellence in your field.
External orientation is crucial for pursuing excellence, as it exposes individuals to diverse perspectives and standards of excellence.
Voracious reading is vital for attaining excellence, as it helps individuals discern exemplary work from areas needing improvement.
Deep dives
Importance of Voracious Reading for Excellence
Voracious reading is essential for attaining excellence, as it exposes individuals to external perspectives and standards of excellence. By immersing oneself in a wide range of literature, one can discern between exemplary work and areas for improvement. This external orientation goes beyond organizational boundaries and requires a genuine curiosity to seek out the best in the field. External orientation and voracious reading facilitate a deep understanding of excellence, enabling individuals to set higher standards and drive achievement.
Significance of External Orientation in Pursuit of Excellence
External orientation plays a crucial role in the pursuit of excellence by expanding one's worldview beyond internal organizational matters. It involves actively seeking out external influences, such as attending industry conferences and engaging with diverse perspectives. Fostering external orientation allows individuals to grasp what excellence entails in their field and empowers them to make informed decisions to improve their work. By connecting with external sources of excellence, individuals can enhance their own standards and drive positive transformations within their organizations.
Steps Towards Achieving External Orientation and Pursuing Excellence
To cultivate external orientation and pursue excellence, individuals should prioritize activities that broaden their external perspective and challenge their current standards. This includes dedicating time to voracious reading, engaging with industry experts, and identifying areas for improvement based on external benchmarks. Surrounding oneself with individuals who excel in different aspects of their field and learning from their expertise can further enhance external orientation. By actively joining the dots between external influences and internal goals, individuals can expand their pursuit of excellence and drive meaningful progress in their work.
An external orientation is essential to truly pursue excellence, because it is only by going beyond what is familiar to you that you will discover what excellence means in your field. Otherwise what you call excellence may actually turn out to be mediocracy.