One of my favorite sayings is, "People rise to the level of standards and expectations but slide to the level of acceptance." Many of you may remember that from my Raise the Bar speech. 

There is an incredible opportunity when we close the gap between what we expect and what we accept. This is true in your company, team, and yourself. I saw it multiple times last week with different clients. 

One client's team had a disappointing Saturday. When she looked at the execution of the team, she could see that they weren't at the level that she expected of them. Sunday morning, she pulled the team together. Reset the expectations. She reminded them how good they were. The team then stepped up and had a fantastic Sunday. They knocked it out of the park. The closing of that gap between what is accepted and expected went straight into that store's register. Ding ding ding.

I had a coaching client who was struggling with a difficult situation. As we discussed the issue, it became clear that he knew what he needed to do. He hadn't done it because it would be hard and uncomfortable. He saw that he had been accepting something less of himself. He then raised the expectations of himself. He did what he had to do. It turned out far better than he thought it would.

One of the reasons I can improve a company's performance so fast is because I focus on closing that performance gap. It really isn't any more complicated than that. What is expected? What is being done? Close that gap. There's almost always a performance gap because we employ people. There's a natural drift.

Most owners and executives think they must make significant changes to grow their businesses. Big changes cost big money. Often, all they need to do is to close that gap. Once they close the gap and keep it there, it makes sense to look at other strategies. 

So let me ask, how big is your opportunity gap?