Way to Extinction (an excerpt from the book "Called to Excel")

by Rene “Rex” Resurreccion

It is said that dinosaurs became extinct because they failed to adjust and that superior creatures took over their place. The same thing could happen to people and companies who fail to adjust to the challenges before them. No one can truly relax from being excellent; otherwise he or she may become “extinct.”

The present and the future belongs to believers and practitioners of excellence; not to the “dinosaurs.” The excellent employee is flexible. He is willing to change when required. Learning for him is an unending process. Confucius said, “As water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances.” Part of professional excellence is willingness to change and learn new things.

Take the following quiz. Here are ten questions to ask yourself:

1. Do you say on Monday morning, “Oh, no! It's Monday again!”?

2. Do you say on Friday evening, “Thank God, it's Friday. Bakasyon na naman.” (It's vacation time again)?

3. When the phone rings, is your immediate reaction, “Ay buwisit! Istorbo naman iyan!” (How irritating! What a disturbance!)?

4. Do your officemates find you difficult to deal with (mahirap pakibagayan)?

5. Do you habitually come late to office or for appointments?

6. Do you often fail to submit work or reports on their deadlines?

7. Do you say negative things about your company, boss or fellow employees?

8. Do you fail to give VIP treatment to office visitors or clients who might need help that someone else (who is not around) is supposed to give?

9. Do you ignore the office dress code or do you dress in an unprofessional sloppy manner?

10. Do you tend to break your promise to customers, clients or officemates, or take your commitments lightly?

To score, count the number of No responses.

To interpret, use the following guide:

10 No: You are flying like an eagle. You are the top in your class. You are a high potential person (HPP), the “jackpot,” world-class employee.

7-9 No: You are flying with a flock of geese . You fly high but with great effort. You need to keep on benchmarking with the best in the industry. You are a sure candidate for promotion.

4-6 No: You have the ibong maya (sparrow) mindset. You are not taken seriously by others. You are vulnerable to the onslaught of competition. You may be called the “classic mediocre” employee.

1-3 No: You have the chicken mindset. You desperately need to overhaul your entire life philosophy and behavior if you want to stay in the running.

0 No: You have the worm mindset. You might just want to consider putting up your own sari-sari store to spare your poor company unnecessary pain. Your company may be suffering in silence by considering you a “pain in the neck.” You are probably not fit for employment.

Read more of these motivating insights from Rene “Rex” Resurreccion's book, Called to Excel: Developing a Passion for Excellence in Your Workplace. He is the owner and president of Passion for Perfection, a company that implements human resource development programs and produces business and development games.