Most of us want to get better at something, maybe alot of things. I want to be a better golfer, parent, husband, eater, consultant, and speaker. There are probably a few other things I need to work on but that list is good for now. You probably have some things on your list too.

The problem for most people is that they SAY they want to get better but then they really do not do anything about it. Or they attempt to do something but their own efforts are misguided or uninformed and they do not get better.

The average amateur handicap has not dropped in golf in 50 years! In other words, for all the new technology, the new courses, and the inspiration of Tiger Woods when you add it all – up the average golfer hasn’t gotten any better. I know some golfers and most of them want to play better. Golf Magazine knows alot of golfers and they asked them about this. The primary reason for lack of improvement is simple, people dont take lessons. In fact, 88% of those surveyed indicated they had not taken a lesson in the past 12 months. Pretty tough to get better if you dont seek advice on how to improve.

Golf Magazine then ran a test of 318 golfers who took lessons. The average decrease in handicap was 35%. The average decrease in handicap for the USGA database was .01%. In other words, the mass of golfers stayed the same, those taking lessons got better.

I think you could run similar numbers for just about any endeavor. We see solid results when we conduct productivity consulting. Attendees in our leadership programs and coaching programs report being more effective at work. The point is clear. If you to get better at something, you may need to get some help to do it. This isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. In fact, it is a sign of maturity and desire. Tiger Woods still has a coach…

What do you want to get better at? What active steps are you taking to get better?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 1:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.