You just have to be a bit above average, that's all

The Bulletin (Issue 12)

Billy and Bobby are out hiking in the woods when they come across an angry grizzly bear. Bobby freezes, unsure what to do.
Billy unlaces his hiking boots, puts on his running shoes and starts stretching.
“What are you doing? You’ll never outrun the grizzly,” Bobby says.
Billy says: “I don’t need to outrun the grizzly, I just need to outrun you.”

The thing about average is, it’s just, well, average. It’s just the minimum amount of effort, expense and hassle to keep going. In business terms, it means following industry norms, offering the same services at the same level as everyone else. And that’s OK if you are happy with being just like everyone else in your line of work. For eikaiwa, average means teaching the same way as everyone else, using the same materials as everyone else, expecting the same income as everyone else. In short, having the same results, both good and bad, as everyone else.

But here’s the good news. Average is easy. And to be really successful doesn’t require you to be absolutely amazing — faster than a speeding grizzly — you just have to be a little above average, just a little better than the other guy or gal, and the results will likely be off the charts.

I don’t claim to be the world’s (or even Japan’s) best English teacher. Truth be told, I think I’m pretty average. But little by little I’ve been making small improvements every year, and after 16 years, these have added up so I can legitimately claim my eikaiwa is above average in lots of areas. At first, I didn’t know how to teach kids to read (the average eikaiwa teacher doesn’t know either). But I studied about phonics and figured out a course and textbook, and hey presto, my school is now better than average at teaching kids to read. Is it the best in the land? No, but it doesn’t have to be. Add in other areas where we have improved what we offer (we do an an annual speech day, day camps, our own textbooks, Halloween and Christmas parties, trips to England, a Shakespeare camp, an ice cream factory in the summer, work experience for junior high school kids, a weekly reading challenge) and the sum of what we do is significantly better than what our competition offers.

Here’s the takeaway: Do what’s expected of you, then add just a little more, and your business will thrive. For example, offer just a little higher salary than other schools offer, and you’ll have the pick of the available teachers. Offer even just a slightly friendlier environment, and students (and teachers) will be eager to sign up.

Your homework: (I know, I said I didn’t give homework): What can you do that’s just a little above average that will net you amazing results?