10,000 hours. If you are looking to be not just good, but elite, in what you do, this is a key.
I first saw this figure in Bo Sanchez's article about fulfilling your purpose. I thought it was just some random big number until yesterday. I was browsing the Phil Star when I saw Bill Velasco's column titled: Secret of success: 10,000 hours. In that column, he outlined the study that showed how elite athletes, musicians, even criminals logged more than 10,000 hours in order to become world-class in their field.
One thing that stood out for me:
GOOD = 8,000 hours
ELITE = 10,000 hours or more.
You can read Bill Velasco's article here.
I've always wondered what makes great men great. I knew it wasn't just luck or sheer talent that pushes them. I've read stuff about how Michael Jordan used to practice hours and hours everyday to be that great. Kobe too.
But 10,000 hours...That's a big price to pay. That's like practicing 3 hours per day for 3,333 days (9.1 years). Consistently. Even on Sundays. Wow, no wonder I never got close to good at playing the guitar.
This was really a big answer for me. It tells me, there's a price to pay to shine. And that price is TIME. Time you put into whatever you do. And it tells me, I got to have a 10 year plan (or a 9.1 year plan) to be elite and if I want to be world-class at anything, I have to start now.
Putting it together, Bo says you have to:
1. Do What You Like
2. Do What You're Good At (or Excel In).
And do it for 10,000 hours.
Time to go to work!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The Strength of Franchising
Franchising is considered to be one of the best business inventions of the century. I have to agree. This year alone, Suds grew by leaps and bounds not by our effort but because of the efforts of many capable minds.
During the franchise system development, we were forced to stare at our systems and to project it so that both franchisor and franchisees will win. After all, starting up a business with hard-earned money is no laughing matter. Our consultants, especially Jojo, made sure that we understood what we were doing. I made a joke to Charm that with the work Jojo made us do, he ought to have been the one paying us! (just kidding bro, you were invaluable). Jojo made us work hard but in the end, we were happy with what we got... which was just the beginning of our job with Dee.
We asked Dee to help us clean and streamline our training materials and manuals. We never realized just how much work it takes to make a training manual. Kung wala si Dee, pupulitin kami sa kangkungan, literally. She had the ability to put the process into paper. Dee, her husband Richard and myself used to work with Intel. Looking at the body of work someone like Dee can generate, I now know how big time companies stay on top.
That's not to mention our franchisees John and Daniel who wasted no time in making Suds their own. It was touching but only up to the point where they see where we need improvement and that's when we go to work again. Thanks to them, we see how we can really make Suds grow. Their ideas are sometimes like ours, other times so far out I start to wonder how it would be if we have more than 10 franchisees?
But that's why I am so thankful. We could never have grown up so fast if these guys weren't there. If this continues, I think Suds will grow even more by next year.
All in all, I have to agree that the strength of franchising is in the relationships we form. I definitely feel that now that more capable people care about this business, God's blessings are pouring out. Though there may be more work ahead for all of us, it feels much lighter now that the load is shared.
During the franchise system development, we were forced to stare at our systems and to project it so that both franchisor and franchisees will win. After all, starting up a business with hard-earned money is no laughing matter. Our consultants, especially Jojo, made sure that we understood what we were doing. I made a joke to Charm that with the work Jojo made us do, he ought to have been the one paying us! (just kidding bro, you were invaluable). Jojo made us work hard but in the end, we were happy with what we got... which was just the beginning of our job with Dee.
We asked Dee to help us clean and streamline our training materials and manuals. We never realized just how much work it takes to make a training manual. Kung wala si Dee, pupulitin kami sa kangkungan, literally. She had the ability to put the process into paper. Dee, her husband Richard and myself used to work with Intel. Looking at the body of work someone like Dee can generate, I now know how big time companies stay on top.
That's not to mention our franchisees John and Daniel who wasted no time in making Suds their own. It was touching but only up to the point where they see where we need improvement and that's when we go to work again. Thanks to them, we see how we can really make Suds grow. Their ideas are sometimes like ours, other times so far out I start to wonder how it would be if we have more than 10 franchisees?
But that's why I am so thankful. We could never have grown up so fast if these guys weren't there. If this continues, I think Suds will grow even more by next year.
All in all, I have to agree that the strength of franchising is in the relationships we form. I definitely feel that now that more capable people care about this business, God's blessings are pouring out. Though there may be more work ahead for all of us, it feels much lighter now that the load is shared.
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