Excellence Lives in Radical Candor
As leaders, what we get is exactly what we accept.
Reading the memoir of Lee Kuan Yew and hearing a story from one of his bodyguards from the early 1980s reminded me how true this principle is.
One day, while LKY was on his way to the office, he noticed a truck carrying sand in a nearby lane. Sand was spilling onto the road, creating a safety hazard for other drivers. Without hesitation, LKY instructed his bodyguard to relay a message to his superiors: identify the company, notify the relevant authorities, and ensure a fine was imposed.
The follow-up was swift—the fine was issued, the news spread to other trucking companies, and incidents like this almost completely disappeared from Singapore’s roads. LKY later explained: if we want a culture of compliance and excellence, leaders must speak up when they see an issue, and guide their teams to fix it.
It made me reflect—how often have we stayed silent when faced with average performance? The truth is simple: if you accept average, you will get average. Nothing less, nothing more.
What we accept is what we get.