Colleagues bragging about giving 110% have bothered me for a long time. It can’t be done. 100% is the full amount. You can’t give more than that. Try pouring 110% out of a gallon of milk, or handing someone 110% of the money in your wallet. What I think they are really saying is either “I do more than others” or “I gave more than was expected.”

My guess is they probably mean the former more, but it’s easier to admit to the latter. Instead of my usual snarky 110% soapbox stump speech, I’m going to experiment with dealing with this phrase more productively. When I hear it next, I’m going to respond with “You usually deliver more than what is expected?” If I can pull it off with an objective and reflexive tone, I’ll be curious to see how others answer.

Thinking through this topic has triggered me to explore how I can better deliver more than what is expected. I identified four broad ways to give more than what is expected:

TIME > finish the work faster than the delivery date.
QUALITY > deliver a higher quality than was expected.
QUANTITY > provide more than what was agreed to - bakers dozen.
COSTS > come in under budget.

The next step is to think through each project I’m working on and figure out a way to give a little extra on each of them.

Additional resources on going above and beyond:
4 Ways to Go Above and Beyond at Your Job by Katie Douthwaite Wolf
16 Ways to go Above and Beyond to Prove Your Worth in the Workplace by Shawn Mitchell
Leading the People Side of Business | Eps #21 Above and Beyond a podcast with Todd Averett and me