Success Made Simple: What are the things that successful people do differently?  How can you simplify your life to simplify your success?

Success Made Simple

There are many things that successful people do.  Here are some of those things.

Success Made Simple: Act Once.

Some projects need extra effort and attention.  Sometimes completing those projects is frustrating, boring, or even annoying. It is easy to take up a distraction.

When you stop to talk with a co-worker or sneak in a little social media time, you lose your focus.  Returning to the task takes time to refocus and find the spot where you left off.

Act once by ignoring distractions and completing a task

Success Made Simple: Own Your Mistakes.

Mistakes happen.

Blaming other people may make you feel better.  But it does nothing to correct the problems from your mistakes.

You don’t always have to admit to others that you made a mistake.  However, you do need to be honest with yourself and own your mistakes.  With a little self-honesty, you can make huge strides in self-improvement.

Success Made Simple: Assess and Adjust.

Owning your mistakes is just one of the steps in assessing and adjusting your behavior.

Every day things happen that can thwart your plans.  Successful people don’t focus on the frustrations.  They focus on solutions. Immediately, they assess and adjust.

A simple way to assess and adjust is to ask some simple questions.

What is the new situation?

How practical is it to continue with the current plan?

What adjustments will lead to have a successful day?

Success Made Simple: Take Leadership.

Some people think about how great it would be if things changed or if projects got off the ground.  However, that is as far as many people ever get.

Successful people don’t wonder how things can change or how projects can get started.

They take leadership and make changes.

Success Made Simple: Organize.

Successful people have a place for everything. They keep the correct things in those places.  Saws and hammers go above the workbench.  Paper clips go in the top right drawer of their desk.

Successful people don’t waste time looking for the things they use once or twice a year.  They know where to find those things when they need them.  When the job is done, they return those things to the correct place.

Powerful Teams: Leaders use different methods to create powerful teams and reduce turnover. Here are some simple steps that any leader can use.

How Leaders Create Powerful Teams and Reduce Turnover.

Leaders use different methods to create powerful teams and reduce turnover.  Here are some methods that simply work.

Keep an open door with your team members.

It is one thing to ask your team members to respect your time.  It is quite another to block them off just because you can’t be bothered.

Encourage your team members to give you feedback and updates.   Set up a list of things that they must tell you about no matter what.

Give directions that can’t be misunderstood.

Tell the people what you want them to do.  Then ask them to tell you what they understand about what you have told them.

Having your team members do work that does not achieve your goals, only to have to do it again, frustrates them.

Giving them clear direction helps them be more successful and feel engaged and successful.

Text and Email with a Purpose.

Before you send a text or an email, write down the purpose of the message.

Make the purpose of the text or email the first sentence in your communications.
Use Critiques to Increase Competence.

Finding fault just discourages your team.  Take a minute to ensure that they understand what you expect them to do.

Criticism creates stress.  Helpful, clear direction creates engagement and increases competence.

Give Progress Updates and Interim Encouragement.

Check the progress your team is making on projects.  Update the team members with changes and corrections as work progresses.  Encourage team members to continue the good work they are doing.

Delegate, but don’t abdicate.

Empower team members to make decisions.  State clearly how much authority that they have and how you expect them to use that authority.

However, don’t just assume that they will do everything the way you expect.  Check in them frequently to encourage them and to keep them focused.

Use Emotional Intelligence as a Tool for Success.

Emotional Intelligence is the process of responding with intelligence and giving direction based on the best interest of the business.  It is easy to let your ego take over and run roughshod over your team members.

Sometimes you must be firm.  However, angry outbursts don’t work effectively with every team member.

Carefully gauge how you respond emotionally based on the conditions and based on the emotional intelligence of the team member.

What is the one thing a leader must do? There are all kinds of opinions on what leaders must do.  But what is there is one thing that all successful leaders have in common.

Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell

Successful Leaders: What is the one thing a leader must do?

There are countless articles on leadership. These articles seem to miss one critical point.  This point is on the things that leaders do.

Many articles define leadership.  These articles ask the question between a leader and a manager.  The answer to that question seems simple.  Leadership is a trait.  Management is a job function.  Manager is a job title.  However, some leaders who have no title at all inspire people to follow.

Common Views on What Leaders Do

Some leaders are inspirational teachers.  Other leaders are practical teachers.  There are leaders who micromanage.  Some leaders delegate.  They leave all the decisions on how to do things to the people who are doing them.

Each one of these practices is important.  But none of them is essential to the one thing that makes leaders successful.

Successful Leaders State the Mission

A successful leader states the mission.

Build the bridge.  Create the product.  Design the ship.  Write the plan.  Seize the city.    Whatever mission a group has, someone first must state the mission.  Making that statement is the job of the leader.

From the mission statement, all the work can follow.  How to build the bridge, create the product, design the ship, and seize the city all follow the mission statement.

If teams do not know the mission, how can they become successful at accomplishing the mission?

Missionaries

Some people wonder at the incredible power of the teachings of Christ.  No matter what your feelings about religion, the spread of Christ’s teachings is one of the most influential events in the history of the world.

How did this event happen?  Through missionaries, that is, people charged with fulfilling the mission.  The Book of Acts has instructions from Christ to go out to nations across the world and teach people what he had said.

The Leaders of the American Revolution

The foundation of the United States began with a mission statement.

June 11, 1776, the attendees of the Second Continental Congress appointed five people to write the mission statement for the birth of a new nation.  Thomas Jefferson authored the document.  When finished, the Second Continental approved the mission statement titled it “The Declaration of Independence.” 

Successful Leaders: Know Your Role

In a leadership role, you may have many responsibilities.  Remember that your most important responsibility is to state the mission.