“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.” – Henry Ward Beecher
The key to excellence in life is to consistently exceed expectations. According to John Maxwell, most people (80%) live below expectations. 15-18% meet expectations, while only 2% of this world consistently lives above expectations. These people receive the greatest fulfillment in life. How do we begin to live a life that begins to exceed expectations? We can resolve to be among the 2% who live above expectations by being intentional, focused, and consistent on a daily basis.
It begins with demanding a higher expectation from ourselves. We expect more from ourselves than others expect from us. We set our own expectations higher than anyone will set us. We make commitments to ourselves that we must intentionally work on fulfilling.
In business, the key to exceeding expectations is to over deliver value to your customers. As a result, customers are very satisfied and can refer additional business to you, leading to increased profits. A question to always ask – How can I add more value to my customers when delivering the service? Another key is to understand your customer’s best expectations. When you get the answer to that, look for one other value you can add and you will have exceeded your customer’s expectations. You can exceed expectations in price, quality or service and possibly all three — but you must understand what it really means to exceed expectations before you can actually do it.
As an employee, you can exceed expectations by working harder and smarter than the rest of the people. Again, the key is in asking what the normal expectation is and intentionally looking for several ways to increase that expectation. It could mean coming in to work thirty minutes before work officially starts. Average people go to work on time. Another way to exceed expectation is to daily do something for somebody that is not part of your job description.
The benefits of intentionally living above expectations include being perceived as a leader in your sphere, increased revenue for business owners, recognition and promotion for employees.
Through understanding what is expected of you, determination to put in the effort to do more than is required will lead to expectations being exceeded.
Question: How do you consistently exceed expectations?
Great quote to live by though we often do the opposite. I strive to consistently stretch myself and accept no excuses from myself. I have learnt to “fail forward” i.e. to learn from every failure and course-correct or redirect.
I maintain a particular barber because after cutting my hair, (which every average Barber can do) he will massage my neck and shoulder and charge only for the hair cut. This is an example of exceeding customer expectations.
Excellent piece❤️ Pretty much sums up my life. After my Cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, people thought my life was basically over on many levels. Doctors didn’t think I could have more kids. People asked me to slow down with regard to business and career. Of course, they were all well meaning. Rather, I exceed expectations by popping out two beautiful kids effortlessly, started a business which is doing six figures currently scheduled for seven figures in 2017. Recorded and album, planned and executed the birthday party of the century and became a strong advocate of cancer awareness and Moringa plant. Expectations highly exceeded. How do I do it on a daily basis? I have a strong sense of my identity of being the daughter of a supreme being. Now think about it if my father is King what can’t I do. That is where my strength lies. Oprah said it perfectly as she always does, she says its ‘Knowing who you are and whose you are.” Once you’ve got that taken care of them the sky is the limit.?
Excellent piece❤️ Pretty much sums up my life. After my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, people thought my life was basically over on many levels. Doctors didn’t think I could have more kids. People asked me to slow down with regard to business and career. Of course, they were all well-meaning. Rather, I exceed expectations by popping out two beautiful kids effortlessly, started a business which is doing six figures currently scheduled for seven figures in 2017. Recorded an album, planned and executed the birthday of the century and became a strong advocate of cancer awareness and the Moringa plant. Expectations highly exceeded. How do I do it on a daily basis? I have a strong sense of my identity. I am the daughter of a supreme being. Now think about it if my father is King what can’t I do. That is where my strength lies. Oprah said it perfectly as she always does, she says its ‘Knowing who you are and whose you are.” Once you’ve got that taken care of them the sky is the limit.?
Thanks Ify!! Yours is an amazing testimony!! I love Oprah’s quote as you stated – Knowing who you are and whose you are!!!
I interesting write up and Ify’s piece had summed it up. Great testimony. Praise God for that. We should be focused and disciplined in order to achieve and exceed our expectations. This has been a challenge from a Business Owners’ s perspectives. We just have to keep on striving. The ultimate determinant is God Almighty who is our All in All. We should do our very best and He will bless it for us.