Effort is a strategy, not a virtue.

principle — attributed to Don Welsh

Welsh calls his own intelligence average and credits one sentence for every job he has won: I'll outwork you. In industries built on relationships and reputation, effort compounds like interest. The executive who visits two hundred members in person will always know more than the one reading two hundred reports. Effort is not the consolation prize for the less talented; it is the strategy that beats talent over a long enough horizon.

For leaders whose competitive edge is not raw brilliance. The move is to design the calendar so that effort is visible and cumulative — face-to-face visits, phone calls returned same day, showing up when it is inconvenient.

effort, relationships, competitive-advantage, work-ethic