How many times has a customer or co-worker told you they're going to give something 110 percent? A 110 percent claim puts you in a vise.

Do we ever stop to think about what even 100 percent would look like?

Do you ever agree with anyone 100 percent?

Chances are, you're probably from 70-90 percent there most of the time. We reserve the last bit.

How about charity giving: 100 percent?

Charity donations or Church memberships tend to get to 10 percent as a ceiling. As for students and workers, self-made and self-employed tend to give more. For the rest, percentages vary, depending on upbringing, beliefs, etc.

Exercising, paying attention, being productive, learning, liking, listening, and so on. Which ones of these activities do you suppose you do 100 percent?

Are you ever 100 percent right… or wrong? Does it matter? How about 100 percent relaxed? Now does it matter?

The number 100 is intriguing. Its significance is often driven by context. We use it to keep score of a number of things. Does keeping score help?

We infrequently give 100 percent to anything. And that's fine. Life is a marathon, after all. Any successful long-distance athlete will tell you that it's as important to know when not to expend extraordinary effort as it is to do so when necessary.

So if you're promising a 110 percent effort, you either misunderstand the goal or your own abilities. And who wants to look frantic, anyway? Rather than bank on hyperbole, target a reasonable outcome. Deliver it.

The other party doesn't care how hard you work. What they want is results — 100 percent of the time.

[image courtesy of Wikipedia]

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