Author Mike Perry distills the Midwestern work ethic into two simple actions: show up when you say you will, and ask "what can I do next?" when a task is done. In a professional world where this level of reliability is rare, these basic habits become a significant competitive advantage.
Related Insights
To be seen as a strategic executor, consistently apply a simple three-step process: 1) Say what you're going to do. 2) Do the work. 3) Say you did it, celebrating the outcome and reminding stakeholders of the original commitment. This loop builds trust and reinforces your strategic capability.
To accelerate your career, focus on developing 'agency'. This means moving beyond assigned tasks to proactively solve unspoken, systemic problems. Instead of chasing high-visibility projects, look for the unaddressed issues that keep leaders up at night. Solving these demonstrates true ownership and strategic value.
Employees who strictly adhere to their job description are likely to remain in the same role for years. Going above and beyond, such as cleaning a boss's station to simply be in their orbit, builds a reputation and relationships that lead to unexpected opportunities.
Growing up in the Midwest instills humility and strong relationship-building skills, assets in venture capital. However, this can translate into a lack of aggression and pushiness, a potential handicap in the hyper-competitive Silicon Valley environment where it can lead to missed opportunities early on.
Senior leaders now value candidates who ask excellent questions and are eager to solve problems over those who act like they know everything. This represents a significant shift from valuing 'knowers' to valuing 'learners' in the workplace.
To gain a competitive edge, especially during critical periods, salespeople should adopt a blue-collar mentality. This means coming in early, staying late, confronting adversity directly, and always making one more call. It's an unwavering commitment to outworking everyone else through disciplined, daily effort.
Motivation is a fleeting emotion, making it a poor foundation for long-term success. True excellence comes from building habits based on discipline and consistency, which are conscious choices that allow for progress even when motivation is absent.
Even if you cannot change the broader company culture, you can define and control your own personal culture. This includes your work ethic, your mission, and the colleagues you collaborate with, allowing you to thrive professionally despite a negative environment.
The well-intentioned question "How can I help?" puts the burden on the receiver to delegate. A far more valuable trait is proactively identifying needs and simply taking action—a "just do" mentality. This demonstrates a deeper understanding of team goals and removes cognitive load from leaders.
In many sales organizations, the performance bar is surprisingly low. Reps can stand out and become top performers simply by consistently showing up and executing the minimum required activities, as many of their peers fail to do even that.
