In life, we often compare ourselves to those around us, thinking we are doing pretty well. But what if we are only comparing ourselves to a small group, like the best player in a neighbourhood football game? When we step into a bigger arena, like the Premier League, we might find out we are nowhere near as good as we thought. The same is true for many professions, including quantity surveying.

Think about how fast people can type. The average person can type around 41 words per minute on a keyboard. But the fastest typists can hit up to 300 words per minute. The difference is massive! The same goes for how we perform in our jobs. A 10/10 quantity surveyor is like that fastest keyboard typist—operating at a level that seems almost unbelievable to most people.

But how do we know what a 10/10 quantity surveyor looks like?

​We can easily see what a 10/10 body looks like or what extreme wealth looks like (net worth). These are things we can measure and compare. However, recognising a 10/10 performer in the workplace is more challenging because their skills are often subtle and invisible to the untrained eye.

Most of us compare ourselves to the people in our immediate surroundings. If you’re the best quantity surveyor in your small company, you might rate yourself as a 10/10. But when you compare yourself to the best in the world, you might realise you’re more like a 3/10. This is the difference between local and global standards.

​I will give you an example in my life. When I played table tennis with my local club, I was the best and thought I was a 10/10. Then I played at university, and I was beaten so badly that I realised I wasn’t even close to being the best. The same thing can happen in our jobs. We might think we’re doing great until we see what real excellence looks like.

A 10/10 quantity surveyor can see details that others miss. They can shape projects to achieve the best possible outcome. They’re influential and impactful, not just once, but repeatedly across different projects. Their judgment and decision-making are spot on every time.

​This is like the difference between a world-class football manager and an average one. The difference isn’t just a little bit better; it’s like a Michelin 1-star restaurant compared to a 3-star one. The gap is huge—more like 1000% better, not just 33%.

The problem is that many of us compare ourselves to the wrong people. To truly improve, we need to compare ourselves to the best, the 10/10 performers. This is how we can raise the standards in any industry, including construction. We need to know what excellence looks like so we can strive to reach it.

That’s why I’ve developed the Peak Performance model. This model uses a scale from 1 to 10 to show the different levels of performance.

By understanding these differences, we can all aim to improve, recognising that there are many levels to the game. With the right focus and activities, anyone can move closer to being a 10/10 in their field.