PAGE 2
CaseBarnettLaw.com 949-565-4886 TRUE ‘GRIT’ Discovering If you’ve ever been Perhaps most instructive is Duckworth’s equation (she was a math teacher, after all):
told you won’t succeed because you lack talent, bring a copy of “Grit” to your next meeting. While teaching high school math, author
Talent x effort = skill. Skill x effort = achievement.
“Effort counts twice” could be the battle cry of grit. Gritty people are willing to put in the extra effort to achieve their goals, and that’s what helps them reach their goals if they don’t have innate talent. While this provides a strong case that those born with grit will succeed, grit doesn’t factor luck and opportunity into the equation, something that Duckworth is transparent about in her book. She says those who aren’t born with grit can develop it in four simple steps. First, identify an interest that can blossom into a passion. Second, practice that passion, a lot. Third, develop the belief that your passion has purpose. While it’s not an overnight transformation, these guidelines can at least give us hope, which is the fourth step: Hold on to hope that you can succeed. Our biggest takeaway from “Grit”? Look at failures as milestones on the journey to success. Getting gritty means failing and learning from it. Any of us can get gritty if we’re willing to put in a little elbow grease. recent order, a bookshelf, was scheduled to be delivered on time, and they gave Murrell the opportunity to air his grievances about third-party couriers. During the panel discussion, Murrell mentioned that he’d never seen the movie “Lawrence of Arabia,” and the representative told him that Amazon had sent him a Blu-ray copy of the film, free of change. Also, $100 was added to Murrell’s Amazon account. This response may seem over the top for a YouTube joke, but Amazon’s model works. Last year, Jeff Bezos became the richest person in the world, surpassing Bill Gates. The key to Amazon’s success? Don’t wait for complaints. If a package is late, Amazon sends the client a new delivery date. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet includes a Mayday Button, which encourages customers to contact around-the-clock support the moment they feel frustrated. And, by reaching out after seeing Murrell’s complaints, Amazon is no longer the company that can’t deliver a DVD rack on time. Now, to Murrell, the other panelists, and the channel’s 1.5 million subscribers, Amazon is the company that makes things right. Who wouldn’t want to do business with a company that takes care of them?
Angela Duckworth noticed some of her highest-achieving students weren’t the ones with the highest IQs, while some of her “smartest” students weren’t doing all that well in class. “Why?” she wondered. She followed her curiosity to Penn State’s psychology program. There, she studied several demographics, including cadets at West Point, young teachers, and sales representatives. After numerous psychological studies, Duckworth discovered that “grit” was the common denominator in successful people. Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” People who display grit don’t start a project and abandon it a month later. They devote themselves to an overarching goal that drives everything they do. She explained that someone who practices grit goes through life like a marathon, not a sprint. What happens when an internet personality complains about your company? If you’re Amazon, you make sure the next time they talk about you, they’re singing your praises. ScreenJunkies News is a popular YouTube channel dedicated to media and pop culture. In early November of 2017, the channel streamed a panel discussion that focused on comments from Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, who said he wanted to pursue video content that would appeal to a broader audience. One of the panelists, Dan Murrell, quipped that he’d rather Bezos make sure the DVD racks he ordered from Amazon arrived on time. This off-the-cuff complaint garnered laughter from the other panelists. They chimed in with their own comments on Amazon’s delivery practices, and one panelist brought up third-party couriers’ inability to find Murrell’s leasing office. When the panel moved on to other topics, Murrell’s Amazon comments were seemingly forgotten — that is, until two days later when ScreenJunkies News streamed another video, during which Murrell shared his experience with a customer service representative who reached out to him.
What You Can Learn From the KING OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
After seeing the first video, the representative said they wanted to rectify the situation. They personally checked that Murrell’s most
“This publication is intended to educate the general public about personal injury and elder abuse. It is not intended to be legal advice. Every case is different.”
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker