Success Is The Best Mask of Poor Performance

Tomorrow, Apple releases its newest products and operating systems. New features. New capabilities. New designs. New ways of doing things that most of us didn't even realize we needed until someone showed them to us.

My son Carver is a software engineer at Apple, so I have a slightly different perspective on these releases. Last month, while I was in Austin for the Texas Association of Broadcasters convention, I had a chance to spend some time with him. As a self-professed tech geek—and a curious dad—I'm always fascinated by his work. Because of Apple's confidentiality requirements, there's not much he's allowed to tell me.

But I asked anyway. “What are you working on today?” His answer stopped me. “Something that will be released three years from now.” Three years.

Think about that.

The products Apple sells today work incredibly well. Millions of people use them every day. New products and software are about to be released. While we're waiting to see what's new tomorrow, engineers like Carver are already thinking about what's next three years from now.

That got me thinking about us.

What if sellers and leaders approached their careers the same way? Most of us spend enormous amounts of time trying to succeed today. Make this month's goal. Close this quarter. Hit this year's budget. Solve today's problem. All are necessary. But how much time do we spend thinking about the salesperson or leader we'll need to become in three, five or ten years?

One thing I've always said is, “Success is the best mask of poor performance.”

Failure gets our attention. When something isn't working, we analyze it. We ask questions. We change things. We look for help.

Failure forces questions. Success removes the urgency to ask them. When the numbers are good, customers are happy and goals are being met, why change? Because today's results are a lagging indicator. They tell you how well the decisions you've already made are working. They don't necessarily tell you whether you're prepared for what's coming next.

Carver’s answer smacked me in the face. Apple isn’t waiting for today's products to fail before developing tomorrow’s. Neither should we.

Customers are changing. Technology is changing. Media is changing. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people research, communicate, solve problems and make decisions.

And somewhere, somebody is already building what's next. The question is: Are you?

This doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate success. Please do. Enjoy it. Be proud of it. You've earned it. I'm certainly not trying to take away the joy of your current success. Just don't let that joy diminish your curiosity or your drive to improve.

Today's products work. They're already building tomorrow's. In software development, nobody expects today's version to be the final one. It gets tested, improved and updated. New capabilities are added and bugs are fixed. Then another version comes along.

Maybe we should approach our own development the same way. You're successful today. Fantastic.

What's in development?

What are you learning today that will make you more valuable three years from now?

• What new skills are you developing?
• What assumptions are you challenging?
• What technology are you experimenting with?
• What are you learning about the customer of tomorrow?
• What are you doing today that your future self will thank you for?

Don't wait until your current operating system stops working before you start building the next one. My son builds software that we may not see for three years.

His dad keeps realizing he needs an upgrade, too. Maybe we all do, because none of us are a finished product. We're simply the latest release.

Celebrate your success. You've earned it. Just don't hide behind it. Keep asking. Keep learning. Keep experimenting. Keep building.

The most dangerous time to stop getting better isn't when you're failing.
It's when everything seems to be working.

Think Big. Make Big Things Happen.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on X, YouTube and LinkedIn.