8.20 Shane Parrish: Outcomes Over Ego

“I don’t care who gets the credit. I care about creating the best possible work.” - Shane Parrish

Would you rather be right or get it right? Have you ever known you were wrong, but your ego prevented you from admitting it?

When I was an assistant college basketball coach, my success was tied to the 18-year-olds I helped evaluate, recruit, sign, and develop.

If I was the guy who signed and developed an All-American, it could help me move into a bigger and better opportunity, so we would fight to sign our kid.

The challenge was there were a limited number of scholarships you can offer, so if you miss on a kid, you are stuck with that bad decision for an entire year.

This forces you to put outcomes over ego, because the last thing you want is to have a bad year because you signed a kid who wasn’t good enough and stuck with him just so you could be right.

Author Shane Parrish says we can make better decisions that lead to more success when we put outcomes over egos.

He said, “One big mistake people repeatedly make is focusing on proving themselves right, instead of focusing on achieving the best outcome.… When this happens, it’s not about the best outcome, it’s about protecting your ego.”

He also says, “The more I give up trying to be right, the better the outcomes get for everyone. I don’t care who gets the credit. I care about creating the best possible work.”

Instead of focusing all your energy on having the best idea, focus on helping your team get the best idea.

Question of the Day: How can you put outcomes over ego?