Consistency Is How Trust Compounds

Before we get into it today, let me start with a quick anecdote.

A GM of a very successful professional basketball team once told me something that made me pause. It was simple. Obvious even, but I hadn’t fully thought about it that way before.

He said that when selecting and signing players, he would often pay more for Player A than Player B, even though Player B was clearly more skilled and, on paper, the better player.

Naturally, I asked why.

He told me it was because with Player A, he could go to sleep at night with his phone off.

No worrying about off-the-court issues.
No worrying about inconsistency.
No worrying about surprises, both on or off the floor.

Player B might outshoot him, outplay him, outperform him statistically, but Player A showed up early. Every day. Never missed the bus. Never cut corners on effort, and even on his worst nights, he never short-changed the team.

That reliability was worth more to him, and to the organization, than raw upside.

That’s the part of high-level performance that doesn’t always get talked about.

We glorify talent.
We celebrate flashes of genius.
We build highlight reels around potential.

However, behind closed doors, decision-makers are betting on something else entirely: predictability.

Trust moves faster than talent because trust reduces risk.
Reducing risk is how people keep their jobs.

Here’s the OGM takeaway:

Consistency, in and of itself, is a skill.

Not the boring kind.
Not the “do the same thing forever” kind.

The kind that requires discipline, energy, a lot of effort, and intentionality.  You have to want to be consistent.

Being consistently on time.
Consistently prepared.
Consistently giving effort, even when you don’t feel like it.

That takes work. It has to be practiced, sharpened, and refined. Just like any other skill, it compounds.

You see this outside of sports too.

Think about the coworker who isn’t the smartest in the room, but always delivers when they say they will. Or the friend who may not have the perfect advice, but you know they’ll answer the phone every time you call.

Over time, those people get more responsibility. They get more trust.  They get more opportunities.  Not because they’re the most brilliant, but because they’re the most dependable.

Talent might open the door, but the trust you build while you’re in the room often decides how long you stay there.

So as you push through this new year and beyond, don’t aim to be impressive every once in a while.  Aim to be reliable every day.

Consistency doesn’t just translate.
It compounds, and success comes with it.