Over the years in sales management I have noticed a marked change with some sales reps; they have gone from utter frustration with their sales results to being extremely excited about the product that they are selling and their sales careers. Those reps with successes are consistently working hard, performing the same model behaviors every day, and taking advantage of the ‘compound effect.’ In contrast, the struggling reps often remove themselves from the process, are not working as hard, giving the impression they are not as hungry for success– which only leads to more failure.
I was recently reminded of a parable I heard as a preschooler that is a great example of the ‘compound effect.’ It is “The Story of The Two Frogs”: Two frogs were leaping and playing around a farm where they came across a pail of milk. They decided to jump in for a swim, and quickly realized the fresh and creamy milk they were swimming in was delicious. When they were done drinking and swimming, they decided to jump out of the pail and head home. To their astonishment, the sides of the pail were too steep and slippery to get out. They continued struggling to find a way out of the pail when one of the frogs said, “This is hopeless; we will never get out of here! I can’t swim anymore! I give up!” To the distress of the other frog, his friend soon disappeared and drowned.
The other frog decided he wouldn’t give up as easily; he continued struggling, swimming, and flailing in the pail with faith he would get out if he kept trying. But eventually he became so exhausted, he had to quit. Surprisingly when he stopped, he didn’t sink. All of his struggling turned the milk into solid butter, meaning he could just hop out. So, he did just that and made his way home, all the while thankful he survived.
This childhood parable illustrates that if we keep ourselves in the process by working hard to consistently do those simple things (model behaviors), we will get results. We may not see them at first, but over time our efforts will compound and we will reap the fruits of our labor.
Most importantly: work hard, and never, ever, give up!
Sean,
Great post. This story reminds me of the concept of “self efficacy” I studied in my organizational psychology last summer. Self efficacy an underlying concept in motivation theories. It’s defined as the confidence an individual has in their ability to complete his/her task or goals.
I love this quote from Henry Ford, which says it another way: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”
Thanks Lisa!!!