The Peril of Under-Claiming Success: Jerry V. on Why Big Wins Fade

In a recent LinkedIn post, Jerry V. discusses a common pitfall in professional development: the tendency to under-claim significant achievements, particularly as one progresses in their career. He highlights how major successes can become devalued, leading to a lack of tangible evidence when it matters most.

Jerry V. opens by recounting a significant professional achievement – closing the largest deal in company history at $2.1 million. However, he immediately pivots to a critical observation about how such monumental wins are often treated.

“Know what you do with wins like that? Nothing. Not nothing as in celebrate quietly. Nothing as in file it under ‘doing my job’ and move on to the next quarter like it never happened.”

This initial anecdote sets the stage for Jerry V.’s central argument: the habituation to success can lead to a dangerous form of professional amnesia. He categorizes the typical responses to achievements based on career stage. Early in a career, he notes, there’s a tendency to over-claim, where every task is framed as a major accomplishment. Conversely, mid-career professionals often fall into the trap of under-claiming.

The Habituation of Success

Jerry V. elaborates on the psychological shift that occurs over years of professional experience. He suggests that after approximately fifteen years in a field, individuals often stop actively counting their wins, not necessarily out of humility, but due to a process he terms “habituation.” As the performance bar is continually raised and met, clearing it ceases to be a noteworthy event.

“The bar moved so many times that clearing it stopped registering.”

This normalization of high performance, while indicative of sustained capability, creates a significant problem when professional evaluation, opportunities, or even threats arise. Jerry V. points out the irony that the actual achievements are real, but their documented existence is not.

The Evidence Gap

The core of Jerry V.’s concern lies in the practical consequences of this under-claiming. He poses a scenario where individuals are faced with critical junctures such as promotion discussions, recruitment calls, or the unfortunate circumstance of a layoff.

“When the promotion conversation comes, or the recruiter calls, or the layoff email lands, you reach for your evidence and find you never wrote any of it down. The wins happened. The record doesn’t exist.”

According to Jerry V., the distinction between a win that is merely remembered and one that is documented is profound. While the deal itself was real, its impact is diminished if it cannot be articulated as a compelling narrative. He contrasts a win existing “as a story he can tell” versus “a memory that dies in a CRM.”

A Call for Reflection

Jerry V. concludes his post with a direct question to his audience, prompting self-reflection on their own professional experiences. He asks:

“What did you clear this year that you filed under ‘just doing my job’?”

This closing thought underscores his message: while competence and consistent high performance are valuable, failing to acknowledge and document these successes can leave professionals vulnerable. It suggests that a conscious effort to track and articulate achievements, even those that feel routine, is crucial for career progression and security. Jerry V. encourages professionals to move beyond mere habituation and ensure their significant contributions are recognized, both by themselves and by others.