Posted 19 August 2014 | 0 Comments
There is no magic formula for success, but there are certain steps you can take to improve the chances of achieving your goals in work and in all areas of life.
We don’t profess to be experts… OK, we kinda do… but we have put together a few tips that we think will put you on the path to glory!
1. Be Courageous
It’s been said that ”courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear”, and it couldn’t be more true. A big decision, be it a career change, bold new business strategy or something more personal (like a drastic haircut) will be frightening. Change is scary but if you won’t take risks, you’ll never find out what you’re capable of achieving.
NOTE: ASG accepts no liability for poor hair choices that may arise as a result of reading this blog post. Courage is one thing, a bowl cut is quite another!
2. Manage Expectations
A simple but unbelievably effective tool for success is the management of expectations. This is perhaps the most important thing you can do to avoid disappointment from those around you and even from yourself but it is surprisingly ignored or mismanaged by the majority.
Say you’ve been offered the chance to tender for an exciting project with a new client; You want to impress and so you offer the world to make sure its you who lands the deal. Of course it makes sense to give all you can to secure a great bit of work, but what happens when you’ve promised more than you can give?
When you over-promise you will under-deliver every time. So, what’s the solution? Be realistic. It’s really that simple.
Be honest about your skills and resources, be clear about costs, timescales and potential obstacles. You might not win every time, but you will never be at risk of gaining a reputation as unreliable or worse, a liar. In most cases, the client will appreciate your honesty and when it comes to delivery you will have only made promises you know you can keep. You might even find yourself exceeding your own expectations, and that is a great position to be in!
3. Pick Your Battles
There is no question; you will face confrontation in some form throughout your life. It can come to you in so many ways. – arguing with your partner, falling out with neighbours or battling over costs with a new supplier to your business. The important thing is to maintain a level head, try not to lose your cool, and decide calmly whether it is truly in your best interests to put your foot firmly down.
NOTE: This translates to your personal life too. Stop to ask yourself whether it’s worth a full scale verbal assault on your housemates for drinking your milk. You might need their assistance at 3am when you have lost the ability to successfully operate your house keys.
4. Be Kind
The classic saying, “remember who you meet on the way up, you might just meet them on the way down”, is a solid rule and worth remembering. But it goes further than anticipating your own decline. Afterall, who really wants to believe their hard work will end up in anything other than progression? The key is simply to remind yourself that everyone is human, and everyone deserves to be treated courteously.
When you walk into a potential new workplace, be polite and friendly to everyone you meet. It’s not unusual for a hiring manager to discuss your attitude and demeanor with those who interact with you outside of the interview room and the last thing you want is a bad review from a disgruntled secretary!
Keep in mind that everyone has the potential to be a future client, employee, customer, friend or even boss. With that knowledge, a smile or greeting for those you meet throughout the day doesn’t seem so unnecessary, and guess what; its likely to be reciprocated.
5. Don’t Dwell On Failure
It happens to everyone, we can’t win every time, but allowing past mistakes to dictate your actions can really hold you back. A healthy dose of caution is good for every business; taking the time to think before you make a big decision is definitely a good thing, but allowing fear of failure to stop you making any changes will ultimately prevent you from reaching new heights.
Thomas Edison famously made 10,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb before he created one of the most beneficial and widely used inventions in human history. Even after so much difficulty, he didn’t see the 10,000 attempts as mistakes, stating only that he had found “10,000 ways that won’t work”. But what if he’d given up before he achieved his goal? Sometimes, to experience huge accomplishments, you need to move on from your mistakes and focus on what will happen when everything goes right.
Don’t struggle with your losses, allow yourself to learn from them. When it all goes wrong, find the lesson and move on.
6. Embrace New Ideas
So you have a plan, the way you’ve ‘always done it’ and it’s worked well so far. We love a good process, but rigidly sticking to your guns without listening when you’re approached with a new method won’t help anyone. If you’re open to new ideas and new ways of doing things you’ll always be ready to find a quicker, cheaper or more dynamic way of working.
Innovation should be your best friend. Not convinced? Consider this; we already had phones before the smartphone revolution, computers before tablets, fire before central heating and the option to call every insurer/credit card provider/mortgage lender around before price comparison websites swooped in with a speedy solution.
The next idea you listen to could be the one that sends your business straight to the top!
NOTE: Not all new idea’s are good ones. The biggest microchip in the world for example…