2. If you want to be the best in your
industry, you have to get rid of your
outdated management style.
You might not feel it day-to-day, but business management is
in a major transition. The old days of command-and-control
leadership are fading in favor of what might be better termed
a trust-and-track method, in which people are not just told
what to do, but why they are doing it. More formally, we're
moving from what was called "transactional" leadership to
"transformative" leadership. And there's no turning back.
3. Engagement Culture
Business owners certainly have a long way to go, especially
in more established companies where old practices die
hard. But you can see increasing evidence that by creating a
company with a clear purpose and values, you'll find your
employees connect themselves to something bigger, and that
increases productivity. In other words, a culture of
engagement leads to greater customer loyalty, and better
financial success.
Here's my list of "old school" practices you ought to chuck,
and "new school" practices to champion instead:
4. 1
OUT IN
Micro-management Empowerment
the need to control every the ability to give your
aspect of your company people some rope--even
rope to make mistakes
without blame.
5. 2
OUT IN
Management by walking Leadership
around the office by watching and listening,
it is no longer enough to be engaging in conversation,
visible. implementing the ideas
presented to you, and
distributing the results.
6. 3
OUT IN
Pretending you know Knowing your leadership
everything team members and trusting
You don't have all the them.
answers, so why try to Choose great people who
make people think you do? have the right skills and fit
the culture. And get out of
the way.
7. 4
OUT IN
No mistakes Learning from mistakes
or a "no tolerance policy" or being the first to admit an
some still think works. error.
8. 5
OUT IN
The balance sheet drives People drive the business
the business boosting customer loyalty,
and informs all other and profit.
decisions.
9. 6
OUT IN
Job competency is Recruit "A" players
sufficient. who will go the extra mile.
Do the job asked, and you'll They're out there.
survive.
10. 7
OUT IN
Invest in technology Invest in people.
to increase productivity
11. 8
OUT IN
Demand change Nurture change
be very specific about what your people can come up
you want and when with the best ideas and you
can give them credit for it.
12. 9
OUT IN
Fried food in the cafeteria. Wellness in the workplace.
13. 10
OUT IN
Incentives Rewards
pay employees more money being valued matters more
and they'll do more. than money.
So ask yourself which of these out-of-date
practices you're still using. There's no time like
now to try something new.
14. Jeff Haden
8 Things Remarkably Successful
People Do
The most successful people in
business work differently. See what
they do--and why it works.
I'm fortunate to know a number of
remarkably successful people. I've
described howthese people share
a set of specific perspectives and
beliefs.
They also share a number of
habits:
15. 1. They don't create back-up
plans.
Back-up plans can help you sleep easier at night. Back-up
plans can also create an easy out when times get tough.
You'll work a lot harder and a lot longer if your primary plan
simply has to work because there is no other option. Total
commitment--without a safety net--will spur you to work
harder than you ever imagined possible.
If somehow the worst does happen (and the "worst" is never
as bad as you think) trust that you will find a way to rebound.
As long as you keep working hard and keep learning from
your mistakes, you always will.
16. 2. They do the work...
You can be good with a little effort. You can be really good
with a little more effort.
But you can't be great--at anything--unless you put in an
incredible amount of focused effort.
Scratch the surface of any person with rare skills and you'll
find a person who has put thousands of hours of effort into
developing those skills.
There are no shortcuts. There are no overnight successes.
Everyone has heard about the 10,000 hours principle but no
one follows it... except remarkably successful people.
So start doing the work now. Time is wasting.
17. 3. ...and they work a lot more.
Forget the Sheryl Sandberg "I leave every day at
5:30" stories. I'm sure she does. But she's not you.
Every extremely successful entrepreneur I know (personally)
works more hours than the average person--a lot more. They
have long lists of things they want to get done. So they have
to put in lots of time.
Better yet, they want to put in lots of time.
If you don't embrace a workload others would consider crazy
then your goal doesn't mean that much to you--or it's not
particularly difficult to achieve. Either way you won't be
remarkably successful.
18. 4. They avoid the crowds.
Conventional wisdom yields conventional results. Joining the
crowd--no matter how trendy the crowd or "hot" the
opportunity--is a recipe for mediocrity.
Remarkably successful people habitually do what other
people won't do. They go where others won't go because
there's a lot less competition and a much greater chance for
success.
19. 5. They start at the end...
Average success is often based on setting average goals.
Decide what you really want: to be the best, the fastest, the
cheapest, the biggest, whatever. Aim for the ultimate. Decide
where you want to end up. That is your goal.
Then you can work backwards and lay out every step along
the way.
Never start small where goals are concerned. You'll make
better decisions--and find it much easier to work a lot harder-
-when your ultimate goal is ultimate success.
20. 6. ... and they don't stop there.
Achieving a goal--no matter how huge--isn't the finish line for
highly successful people. Achieving one huge goal just creates a
launching pad for achieving another huge goal.
Maybe you want to create a $100 million business; once you do
you can leverage your contacts and influence to create a
charitable foundation for a cause you believe in. Then your
business and humanitarian success can create a platform for
speaking, writing, and thought leadership. Then...
The process of becoming remarkably successful in one field will
give you the skills and network to be remarkably successful in
many other fields.
Remarkably successful people don't try to win just one race.
They expect and plan to win a number of subsequent races.
21. 7. They sell.
I once asked a number of business owners and CEOs to name the one
skill they felt contributed the most to their success. Each said the ability
to sell.
Keep in mind selling isn't manipulating, pressuring, or cajoling. Selling is
explaining the logic and benefits of a decision or position. Selling is
convincing other people to work with you. Selling is overcoming
objections and roadblocks.
Selling is the foundation of business and personal success: knowing
how to negotiate, to deal with "no," to maintain confidence and self-
esteem in the face of rejection, to communicate effectively with a wide
range of people, to build long-term relationships...
When you truly believe in your idea, or your company, or yourself then
you don't need to have a huge ego or a huge personality. You don't
need to "sell."
You just need to communicate.
22. 8. They are never too proud.
To admit they made a mistake. To say they are sorry. To have
big dreams. To admit they owe their success to others. To
poke fun at themselves. To ask for help.
To fail.
And to try again.
24. Be Happy
These minor changes in your daily routine will make a major
difference in your life and career.
Happiness is the only true measure of personal success.
Making other people happy is the highest expression of
success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if
you're not happy yourself.
With that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can
make to your daily routine that, if you're like most people, will
immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life:
25. 1. Start each day with
expectation.
If there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to
(or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise
from bed, make your first thought: "something wonderful is
going to happen today." Guess what? You're probably right.
26. 2. Take time to plan and
prioritize.
The most common source of stress is the perception that
you've got too much work to do. Rather than obsess about it,
pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you
closer to your highest goal and purpose in life. Then do that
first.
27. 3. Give a gift to everyone you
meet.
I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. Your gift
can be your smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a
gesture of politeness, even a friendly nod. And never pass
beggars without leaving them something. Peace of mind is
worth the spare change.
28. 4. Deflect partisan
conversations.
Arguments about politics and religion never have a "right"
answer but they definitely get people all riled up over things
they can't control. When such topics surface, bow out by
saying something like: "Thinking about that stuff makes my
head hurt."
29. 5. Assume people have good
intentions.
Since you can't read minds, you don't really know the "why"
behind the "what" that people do. Imputing evil motives to
other people's weird behaviors adds extra misery to life,
while assuming good intentions leaves you open to
reconciliation.
30. 6. Eat high quality food slowly.
Sometimes we can't avoid scarfing something quick to keep
us up and running. Even so, at least once a day try to eat
something really delicious, like a small chunk of fine cheese
or an imported chocolate. Focus on it; taste it; savor it.
31. 7. Let go of your results.
The big enemy of happiness is worry, which comes from
focusing on events that are outside your control. Once you've
taken action, there's usually nothing more you can do. Focus
on the job at hand rather than some weird fantasy of
what might happen.
32. 8. Turn off "background" TV.
Many households leave their TVs on as "background noise"
while they're doing other things. The entire point of broadcast
TV is to make you dissatisfied with your life so that you'll buy
more stuff. Why subliminally program yourself to be a
mindless consumer?
33. 9. End each day with gratitude.
Just before you go to bed, write down at least one wonderful
thing that happened. It might be something as small as a
making a child laugh or something as huge as a million dollar
deal. Whatever it is, be grateful for that day because it will
never come again.