In my last post, I discussed why good is the enemy of great. Many of you will question why being great really matters. Why do you have to be great at something when being good pays the bills?

If you are in business for yourself, the most important reason to be great is referrals. Imagine that you are a web designer for a paragraph. When you are a good web designer, if someone asks one of your customers who their web designer is, they might give them your name. If you are a great web designer, then the day the page goes they will tell everyone they know how great you are as a web designer.

When you are great, you will find many doors open to you that were not open when you were just good. Where a good consultant will have to struggle through many layers of purchasing, legal, and the person requesting a proposal; a great consultant will be asked to whom the check should be made.

When you are great at what you do, barriers to doing business are removed. Where many providers will have to jump through hoops, a great provider will be requested by name and given the ability to start working immediately. Being great saves you time in attracting clients and negotiating, so that you can focus on doing the great work you were hired to do. Being great saves you and your customers time, energy, and unnecessary paperwork.

Ask yourself, what do you want to do? Do you really want to spend your day on the phone with a junior purchasing agent haggling over two hundred dollars, or do you want to be doing the work you love to be paid to do?

That is why being great matters.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Good is the Enemy of Great
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes
3. Are You Raising Yourself Up by Pushing Others Down?
4. That is Not How This Business Works
5. The Cake is a Lie