It is counter intuitive to say this because we often talk about the fact that people get better at things the more they do it. Experience. Repetition. The 10,000 hour rule. Learning from mistakes, etc.,

But sometimes people actually get worse at what they do with time. In the world of film for instance, everyone agrees that M. Night Shyamalan movies have gotten progressively worse. After the unbelievable opening film of his career – The Sixth Sense – things starting going south and never got back on track (some think he actually makes movies now in order to sink certain production companies on purpose!)

Most would also agree that The Hobbit trilogy is an awful effort by Peter Jackson following the brilliance of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Godfather part 3. Cameron Crowe’s movement from great films like Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous to flops like We Bought a Zoo, and the recent Aloha. We could explore different examples in the music industry, art world, business, and politics. But often we get worse with time.

But why? I imagine there is a Master’s thesis of work to do here. But here are some thoughts:

Arrogance – You have some success and you think you can re-duplicate it and don’t pay attention to details and feedback.

Luck – Some people were just never that good at their particular discipline but got lucky. That’s the ‘one hit wonder’ syndrome.

Bad Habits – Like driving, with time we pick up bad habits or short cuts that make a thing easier but prove deadly in regard to quality.

Entourage – You get some success and surround yourself with “yes” people who just stroke your ego, and want to hang on your coat tails rather than pushing you to think better and deeper. In ministry and leadership I see this – people isolate themselves from reality and lose touch completely.

Money – Often sequels, and projects and business decisions are done for purely monetary reasons, and people are not bringing their best stuff to the table. There is brand recognition from past work, and people ride that. Unfortunately they ride into the ground. Sometimes living in denial the whole way down.

Sustainability – It’s hard to be sustainably good at something. Disney created some of the greatest animated films of all time in the 1930, 40’s and 50’s and then it pretty well stopped making good movies until the 1990’s. It’s hard to hit a home run every time keep success going in life.

So, what do we do?
– We stay humble
– Surround ourselves with truth-tellers who won’t let us live in denial
– Never be intimidated to surround people better than us
– Work everyday like it’s our last
– Never do stuff purely for money, infuse it with heart
– Work in a way that allows our good work to be stretched out over time and given over to others who can carry it on

Yes, Disney didn’t have a ton of great films for a long time. Until, what is called the ‘Disney Renaissance.’ The era from 1989 to 1999 “during which it experienced a creative resurgence in producing successful animated films, which restored public and critical interest in The Walt Disney Company as a whole. During this decade, the studio produced and released The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), etc., which were both artistic and box-office successes. The 2000’s for Disney Animation were again not very inspiring. But recently, it has again seen a renaissance with films like Tangled, and Frozen – now the highest grossing animation film of all time.

Even when we find ourselves in scenarios where we are getting worse as time goes on, there is always hope. Everyday is another opportunity to turn it all around.