Poor Performance Strategy

I graduated college with a 4.0 grade point average, and one of the most important things I learned was that sometimes, performing poorly can give you a competitive advantage.


Take the case of my final course in grad school. I tanked it - on purpose. I came screaming in toward graduation with a 4.0 like a fighter pilot landing on an aircraft carrier. Then I decided to wave off, and give myself I a 3.9 instead. A few strategically flubbed assignments did the trick quite well, and I gracefully landed with a B.

That sounds crazy right? Would it surprise you to hear that I had very good reason for doing so, and that looking back, I'm certain that it was the right decision?

Human psychology is a very interesting and delicate thing. I've found from experience that if you tell people your GPA is 3.9, they think "Wow! He was a good student; he must be sharp." By contrast, when people hear that your graduating GPA was 4.0, they think "Wow! That school must have been really easy."

Which statement would you rather be associated with?

So, in the world of resumes as in the world of politics, sometimes you just have to tell them what you know they want to hear. To avoid lying, sometimes you have to do things just so you can truthfully tell people what you know they want to be told.