beBetter Blog

Good vs. Great

By Joey Havens

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At HORNE, we have chosen a journey to become a truly great firm, the Wise Firm. When thinking about your journey as a leader, I think it is helpful for us to pause and visualize the difference between Good and Great. There are vast differences in the benefits of moving from Good to Great, but it only takes small daily differences in effort to enjoy these significant benefits. Let’s stop and think of other words that might describe good: average, typical, ordinary, or acceptable. No one really wants to be just average, typical, or ordinary. Is that really acceptable? Ordinary and typical happen every day in our lives. We see it in service, products, attitudes, leadership and even at church! When you think of a favorite restaurant, do you describe it as good or great (fantastic, wonderful, awesome)? No one seems to get excited when I describe a restaurant as good, they usually ask for another option. Here are some stark contrasts between Good and Great, that might help us visualize why we want to make the choice of pursuing Great every day:

Good goes to work every day.
Great seeks its highest purpose every day.

Good gets the job done.
Great makes a difference.

Good takes care of the client.
Great “wows” the client.

Good needs motivating.
Great motivates others.

Good feels comfortable.
Great stretches for better.

Good avoids risks.
Great embraces risks.

Good is not in demand.
Great is in high demand.

Good makes it through the day.
Great can’t wait for tomorrow.

Which list best describes you? Every day we have a choice to make. What if we all decided Good just wasn’t good enough? What will happen when we all pursue greatness? There is something you can be Great at. Find it and do it! Will you choose to be Great today?

Clarity

Compassion