Second Place

The Giller Prize winner, Margaret Atwood, said in an interview recently on The Globe and Mail that “Second place does not leave you with the expectation that you are always going to win.”

I like to think that placing second can help you to focus more and work harder to be in first place. In 2007, I wrote my first proposal as an entrepreneur and a consultant for a project in Ethiopia. When the all the competitors’ bids for the project were opened and the proposals evaluated I was awarded the second highest score for the technical proposals. This meant that I had the second best technical proposal. I was good but not outstanding and memorable.

While I was disappointed with the outcome I learned some important lessons finishing second. In the Olympic Games athletes that finishes second receives a silver medal. In business there is no silver medals for second places but the persons who prepared the second best proposal gain valuable experience.

Being successful all the time can easily morph into being contented and overconfident. However as M. Scott Peck said “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” Second place can leave us feeling unhappy and uncomfortable but the first lesson about finishing second is that you can never become too comfortable and contented. If your desire is to succeed or to be in first place then you have to continuously look for every opportunity to improve your skills.

The second lesson you learn from finishing second is that you cannot become overly confident. Just as it is important to always search for opportunities to improve yourself, you should also acknowledge that there are others whose performances are much more outstanding and memorable than your performance. When you are in second place you should aim for your next performance to be outstanding and memorable. In 2009, I had an outstanding and memorable performance working on a project in Yerevan, Armenia. The client was extremely satisfied with my willingness to train and transfer knowledge to the local staff.

The most important lesson you learn from finishing second is the importance of setting your goals, hard work and persistence. Since my second place in 2007, I have had other second places. However, I have also had many successful proposals and as such I have had the opportunity to work in more than 20 different countries. Remember when you are in second place you can always improve. Focus on your strengths and work assiduously to improve your weaknesses. Hard work and persistence ultimately pays off.

Tell me about the times you finished second place. What lessons did you learned?

Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor.  He can be contacted by email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog  http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter @mackynacky. Connect with me on www.youtube.com, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.