I never realized how much meaning the story of the tortoise and the hare really had. I always knew the moral of the story ever since I heard it for the first time when I was a little kid. Lately I have come to see the story on other levels.
Everybody has a talent, something that he or she is really good at. With a lot of work, they can be really great at it. The problem is that when people realize that they are good at something, they stop putting in the effort to do it. They figure that they are already at the head of the class and they can get away without going the extra mile.
I see this with business associates, friends and sometime even myself. In the past, when a client asked me for something creative that I knew would only take me a few minutes, I would usually not put much thought into it and deliver a good product. The problem is that good just isn’t good enough. To keep a client happy, you need to exceed their expectations on a constant basis. Customer retention is all about building raving fans of your business. If a client sees that you are not putting in your best effort, he is likely to leave for someone who will.
The client will probably go to the Tortoise who will devote all of their time on this client’s needs and come up with a great product, better than the client’s previous experience.
Some people get to the top by being talented but the only way to stay there in the top position is to work hard and put in effort even where your natural talents lie. I went through high school watching Michael Jordan win championship after championship. He was naturally talented but he never gave a mediocre performance. Every game that he played was him, one of the most talented players of all time, giving his best effort and that is what made him a champion.
To stay ahead of the game and always be lucky, you need to always put in the effort, even when you can get the job done with no effort.