Are You Good If Others Are Bad?

Last week just before conducting an audit for Continual Improvement Culture (CIC) in one of the companies in Western India, I asked the audience to self-assess and give a score for CIC at their workplace.

Few participants gave a score of 10%. Few others rated themselves on higher side with a score of 40% although they had just begun attempting the CIC initiative.

I proposed claps for those who rated themselves on lower side. Why? Because their score wasn't to underestimate themselves but it intended to show further scope for improvement.

A headline in Loksatta newspaper reminded me of this incidence. The news reported a minister (in a conference on Change) challenging Gujarat state touted as being ahead of Maharashtra.

How do you think progress of an individual or an entity be measured? What should be the measures of performance to decide who's ahead of whom?

Is it the result or the means to it or a combination of both? The means inter alia may include attitude, continuity and consistency of approach to help achieve the desired results.

If it was results alone then it's the Hare that would always get declared as winner. If it was the latter then it's the Tortoise that would always get declared as winner.

Actually it should be a combination of both. In addition it should include the rate of efforts applied while trying for enhanced rate of improvement. Outcome sometimes may be failures (to learn from) rather than expected improvements per-se though.

If you think this approach to measurement is right then the challenge reported in above headline seems confusing.

If the claim therein were to be right then:
1/ The rate of improvement of infrastructure in Maharashtra should have outpaced the rate of urbanization that of 50% as quoted by one of the economists during the same conference.
2/ The industry scions wouldn't have 'complained' of poor infrastructure and poor assistance by government as reported in the same conference.

Anyway, the point of contention is: isn't it in your own interest to compete with your ownself than with others. Its not necessary to show others down to show ownself up.

If at all one wishes to compare with others it should be with an intention to stretch own benchmarks. It should be to find out how far and how fast one needs to go in comparison and by what approach.

In short, it's good to think and take positive steps rather than otherwise.

It's good to aim at 'sky' as your template of destination. It's better than looking down upon other's garden to show your's to be better and bigger.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow
How To Make A Difference 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?
That's how some business partnerships work
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan
Customer or Custo-Mer? 
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul
Less With More And More Gets Sore
Should one care for value? 
ABCD of India Shining
Beware Of Political-Presentations
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings