Was chatting with a friend of mine recently who was telling me how hard he was working to improve on his weaknesses. He said the task was difficult, but hopefully rewarding. I asked him why he was wasting time on weaknesses versus accentuating his strengths.
He looked at me dumbfounded.
Listen, like many, I worked on my weaknesses for years to little avail. Why? Because we hate doing things we’re not good at, so we avoid them. But my strengths – ah, I love my strengths. I’ll work on them till the cows come home.
When we love what we do, we do more and more, and soon we’re pretty good at it. The beautiful thing about being on a team is that, believe it or not, lots of people love doing the things you hate…and hate doing the things you love. It’s what makes us tick at 78Madison. So, quit diligently developing your weaknesses; instead, partner with someone that’s very UNLIKE you, share the work, share the wealth, and go home happy.
Perhaps if we appreciate each other’s strengths more, rather than being uber competitive, we’d all spend time working on what comes naturally?
A thought worth pondering.
Joe Bouch
CEO, 78Madison
78Madison is a full-service Orlando based advertising agency and marketing communications firm. Our offices are in Winter Springs, Florida.