The Hustler’s Playbook: Hustlers Are Self Starters

I once had a conversation with a leader. I mentioned to him how much I admired the accomplishments of one of his people, and he said, “Not a self-starter.” He didn’t say anything else. What had once been his top performer had become one of his worst performers. This once top performer’s inability to motivate himself had caused him to sink like a stone to the very bottom of the ranking.

Here is the crux of what a hustler is: the hustler is the consummate self-starter.

You never have to motivate the hustler. They’re already motivated. They motivate themselves. The hustler wants results more than you could ever want those results for them.

The non-hustler, lacking the burning desire for some result, wants, needs, and expects someone else to motivate them.

You don’t have to badger or remind the hustler of what they need to be doing. They’re way ahead of you. They’ve started taking action long before you came along and prompted them.

The non-hustler only does what is necessary when badgered or reminded. These non-hustlers are the reason so many people in leadership believe you have to inspect what you expect. But those same leaders know they never have to worry about their true hustlers.

You never have to threaten the hustler to do anything either. They work without any external threat or motivation. The only thing that threatens a hustler is the fear that they aren’t doing enough and that they aren’t doing it fast enough.

Many non-hustlers only work under duress. Until they feel some threat, they won’t take the actions necessary to producing results. Their inability to self-start, to catch themselves on fire, means that someone else has to persuade, influence, or coerce them into taking action, something that is never true of the hustler.