Several times I have been asked about my views of the difference between success and significance, and it made me recall a person I had dialoged with a few years ago about the same topic. Most parents raise their kids for success (the common elements are fame, power, wealth or special ability/beauty) instead of raising them for significance (what I see as humility, gratitude, generosity, selfless/servant). Generally, great people can have both significance and success, but success alone seldom results in significance. Interestingly, I can only think of a few “famous” great significant people (Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, Ghandi, etc.) but personally know many non-famous people who are great an significant, having all 4 of the significant characteristics.
I thought of this when I read a book recently by Bernard Roth, called “The Achievement Habit”. While I suppose achievement could focus on either success or significance, in my mind, normally achievement focuses on what you do whereas greatness focuses on who you are. It also made me think of a quote I heard from a good friend a few months ago: “Where you are is the result of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be”. I liked the focus on the who you are versus what you do. That’s also a key difference between leadership and management, both being necessary skills.
by Bob Rockwell
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