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Performance: An Open Call I Choose Not to Answer

ShaVaughn Elle
5 min readOct 10, 2021

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photo credit: Anna Tarazevich from Pexels

I recall my dad, the Marine, saying: “piss poor planning, promotes piss poor performance.” Heard variations of this phrase in college and later from my former manager at my first job post-undergrad.

People drilled down performance in various ways. Embedded it into my psyche as the top-tier skill necessary for success. I had to not only perform but also prepare to do it, or how else was I to get ahead?

This stuck with me, and I spent a good portion of my adult years focused on performance. Even demanded it at a high level from teammates and colleagues across my career.

Because that’s what the workforce requires — output.
The real currency of capitalism is the ability to do.

This equation finds favor with employers and measures individual livelihood. If I can’t perform, I don’t make money; also, the more I perform, coupled with the rate at which I perform, determines the growth and expansion of resources which includes income.

This piece; however, is less about capitalism and more about the inner workings of an overworked human.

I return to the phrase, discipline beats talent.

A person’s natural abilities rarely survive on their own. It is the mastery of…

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ShaVaughn Elle
ShaVaughn Elle

Written by ShaVaughn Elle

Penning what inspires me to inspire others.

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