Along my journey in the promotional products industry, I’ve been fortunate to have some truly excellent bosses. In fact, when I look back and take stock, I’ve had more than great bosses, I’ve been lucky enough to have bosses who were also mentors:
* One taught me the value of not only asking for help, but offering it as well
* Another showed me how to maintain resolve when making difficult, but right decisions
* And yet another coached me how to create mystery and magic during presentations to delight clients
* Finally, I’ve had a boss who treated me like a partner and pushed me to continually be the best leader I could be
Honestly, I’ve never really had a bad boss. That is, until now. In fact, I have the worst boss anyone could ever have. He continually demands excellence and has little tolerance for mistakes. He holds me accountable for deadlines that sometimes cross the border of unrealistic. He is the harshest of critics and does not accept excuses. He micromanages even the smallest detail of every project and is constantly pushing me to my absolute breaking point.
If you haven’t guessed it, the bad boss is me – and I’m glad that I have this alter ego because it pushes me to accept nothing less than my best in all that I do. When I want to stop, my personal boss presses me forward. When I start to doubt my work, he encourages me by asking me to go farther. All in all, my boss forces me to inject all of my passion and energy into each project.
My boss has not only helped me get the most out of my abilities, but the confidence to share my thoughts and ideas.
In reality, each of us needs to be our own worst boss – both exacting and demanding our greatest work. If you don’t insist on excellence from yourself and your work, who will?
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, immediate past president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), vice president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.