Being the Best of the Best
Posted on June 18th, 2012
On one of our morning runs last week, Stella was telling me about her son and how he wins at everything. He’s a high school golf champion, he always wins when they play Scrabble, and even though he doesn’t run regularly, he did run three miles with his marathoner parents and beat them too.
“It must be great to win at everything,” Stella said. “I’d usually hate someone like that, but he is my son.”
It got me to thinking how hard it must be to always win. Imagine being Bill Gates. One day, you’re ticked off about something and venting to a friend. “Well you know, Bill,” the friend might reply, “there’s always someone else who’s — [big pause] — oh yeah, sorry, I guess there’s not.”
I mean what does Gates do when he’s feeling blue? Call the Sultan of Brunei to commiserate?
My friend Adam Goldstein is the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. In his limited spare time he’s a competitive runner and much faster that a 52-year-old workaholic has any right to be. But maybe that’s because he’s also the hardest training guy I know. I see Adam when I pull up to the track at 5:30 on Tuesday mornings and his coach has already put him through a grueling regimen of laps and exercises.
Last weekend was the big race Adam was training for, so I sent him a text asking how he did.
“Mercifully 2:29. First time under 2:30 since 1977. (But a) 48-year old from Cayman ran the 800 in 2:17 so still a long way to go. Thanks for asking.”
2:17? I couldn’t have gone that fast if I was on a motorcycle. Truth be told, I couldn’t have run the race in 2:29 — or 2:45 — if I had hired my buddy to run it for me. 2:29 is awesome. But it’s not the best.
But here’s the problem with being the best: best according to whom? Does winning the race make you the best? How about all the other races? Which ones count and which ones don’t?
Rolling Stone magazine just printed a cover story about the 100 best guitar players of all time. The best according to them? Jimi Hendrix. Number two? Eric Clapton. Three? Jimmy Page. Four? Keith Richards.
Now granted, they’re all great players. And the judges, a who’s who panel of musicians and music journalists, were no slouches either. But c’mon. Who’s to say which of these players is really the best? Most influential, maybe. But best? That’s not possible, especially considering that the list didn’t even include guys like Stevie Vai, Robben Ford, Django Reinhardt, and Jorma Kaukonen. Not to mention all the astoundingly talented players who are strumming away in obscurity.
There’s another problem with being the best. How long are you the best for? While I’m writing this, the French Open has been delayed for rain so we don’t yet know if Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic is “the best.” But where is Roger Federer? It wasn’t too long ago that he was the winner of every single tournament out there and now he doesn’t even make it to the finals. Of course someone younger and better comes along eventually, but Rolling Stone said Hendrix was still the best and last time I checked, he’s still dead. Federer hasn’t stopped playing and winning. Certainly he deserves the same respect of being called “the best.”
There’s an old line about success in Hollywood. First they ask, “Who the hell is Frank Smith?” Then it’s, “Get me Frank Smith.” Before too long it’s “Get me a young Frank Smith.” Then, “Get me anyone BUT Frank Smith.” And finally, “Who the hell is Frank Smith?”
Clearly the title “The Best” is both ephemeral and fleeting. And in business, being the best brand is just as temporary a title. Remember when the word “Blockbuster” meant a great movie? Just a few years ago, Blockbuster was a huge brand, arguably the best video retailer around. Today, Blockbuster means a great movie again. And Netflix, which hastened Blockbuster’s demise, isn’t the powerhouse it once was either.
So perhaps the way to be the best brand is to simply be you. Or as Oscar Wilde pointed out, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
15 thoughts on “Being the Best of the Best”
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By Bruce Turkel
What an insightful article. In the year 2012 the cycle of being on top as the best is quicker than ever. You have to master a niche segment and be the best at fundamentals. I think many of the “best” products might not be the most advanced, but the.most consistent. The reason tiger woods has faded as the number 1 golfer in the world is consistency.
Thanks, Mitch. As we all adjust to the faster and faster brave new world, this might just be another thing we have to figure out.
Thanks for another excellent blog Bruce. My mantra to to be the best me that I can be, and to compete with myself daily. For the people that I care about the most, I am the best and that in itself is a blessing. I strive to give my “all” because they are the best to me as well:) Have a great week.
Not only is being “best” fleeting, it is, as you pointed out, subjective. Perhaps if we could just focus on being our true and authentic selves, the notion of “best” might fade away allowing space to do more, create more, give more and laugh more. I’m for that. Thanks Bruce!
“In his writings, a wise Italian
says that the best is the enemy of the good” ~Voltaire
As the Pareto Principle states, it takes 20% of the effort to achieve 80% of the results. The remaining 20% of results will require 80% of the effort. At some point there is a diminishing return, where greater effort yields negligible improvement. Being the best not only means delivering outstanding results, but also knowing when to stop. So even though Bill Gates is mentioned here, we all suffered through generations of software updates and the infamous “blue screen of death.” Even the first few generations of Apple hardware is sub-standard compared to later versions. There is a point where they stop and ship.
great rumination on “best” and good comments. I once worked for a company that chose “be the best” for its tag line. But was it? Best at what? Size-wise and reputation-wise it was generally up there with the top competitors in the field. But best? absolutely meaningless. I keep thinking of that poem about the ruins in the desert where the king had declared himself the best and was now just a pile of rubble. I think folks may spend too much time trying to be called “the best” instead of BEING their best selves.
One of my favorites, Rebecca:
“I met a traveller from an antique land who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Shelly really knew his way around a sonnet, eh? http://turkeltalks.com/branding-through-blogging/
Such a wise, thoughtful and uplifting piece, Bruce — thank you for putting the time and effort into that. I must say, sub-2:30 for a middle aged man is tremendous. To your more general point, appreciating one’s own success is all about proportionality. Now in my late 50s, I have learned to be genuinely pleased — actually, even ebuliantly happy — with a 5-mile run at a 9 minute-per-mile pace. It’s all a matter of being ‘the best you can be’ — and accepting the real-world limitations that we all find ourselves in. By the way, I know this is a bit obnoxious to say, but as a college cross country coach I can’t help but point out that the finishing time of 2:29:91 must be incorrect — I suspect it was actually 2:29.51. (Since anything above 2:29:59 would have moved into the 2:30++ range). (My apologies for this silly pickiness!!) — Josh
I must agree with your concerns about the example of the best guitarists. The Best list in any category is subjective. Further, on any objective measure, there are limitations. Few sports teams that win the end of season playoffs have an undefeated record before getting there. (The only one I can remember was the 73 Dolphins.)
But, the concept of being the best you can be is an element of human aspiration. My mother had a little poem that we memorized as kids:
Good, better, best.
Never let it rest.
Until your good is better and your better best.
Call me. I’m available. And I can run a 2:29.
The Best “Me” Every Day
I really enjoyed this Bruce. I’m good friends with Bob Berkowitz and was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma four years ago. I went through a stem cell transplant (using my own stem cells), three years ago. It only lasted 5 months, so I opted for trying Chemo; it took me through another 3 years before rearing it’s ugly head. After 3 more hospital stays of heavy chemo treatments, it was finally beaten down to a level which was low enough to go through another stem cell transplant using my sisters stem cells, who was a perfect match. I’m at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa (one of the best facilities in the country). I’m 35 days into my transplant, and so far I’m doing well. It takes at least a year or more before you can be considered “out of the woods”. Each day I get up and try to be “THE BEST ME” that I can possibly be.Thanks for your bit of inspiration.
Thank you, Tom. Your comment made this whole blogging exercise worthwhile.
I am Tom Slingerland’s sister, his stem cell transplant donor. He asked me to post his story for him today and he is busy at the hospital. Tom is an absolutely phenomenal guy. He is a strong fighter and I fought as hard as I could to follow instructions and protect him from possible infection or any harm while I was in Tampa. He deserves the very best of everything. Mary Jo Slingerland
Thank you, Mary Jo.