The Five Secrets to WorkLuck

When I left my long-time corporate leadership role to launch my own business, our team gave me a lovely set of candles, each with an inspirational word on it. I keep these in my office, rotating different ones to the front when I need its message most. So, on stressful days, “peace” is there to greet me; on stretch days, “success” might rotate to the front. Lately, I keep moving “luck” ahead of the rest. The right people keep calling. Interesting words keep finding their way from my head to my mouth. Opportunities pop up from surprise places. “How’d ya get so lucky?” colleagues ask. The old answer was “hard work,” which is still true, but I’m finding that that’s not enough. So, candle magic aside, here are my five secrets for creating workluck that can work for you, too. 1. Be Crazy Curious How often have you heard someone in your office, when faced with a detailed explanation, say “hey, dude, TMI (too much information) – I don’t wanna know.” But the reality is that knowing more – just a little more – can open up the lucky strikes you’re looking for. How many times do we cut off possibilities and luck because we stop being curious about the answers (or we think they’ll be a waste of time?) If you want more workluck, try getting crazy curious to resolve your next business challenge. Ask curiosity questions like: • What’s the real truth why this is a problem for us? • What’s getting in our way of making any changes? • What assumptions are we making about this issue? Are they all really true? Getting crazy curious opens up the new lanes of luck you haven’t traveled down yet – and who knows where they’ll take you? 2. Work Heads-Up Can the workluck fairies find you? Or is your door closed, your head down in your Blackberry, your headphones on in the airport? When I looked at the luck popping up, I realized it didn’t grow out of the piles on my desk. It came when I worked heads-up. Looking at people, building relationships, making connections. Offering a greeting, sharing an idea or starting a conversation has created lots o’luck for me without a lot of o’effort. 3. Trust Your Excitement I registered for a three-day conference only because author Dan Pink (Drive, A Whole New Mind) was speaking. I’m a huge fan, and I believe in the advice “when the legends come to town, go!” (Of course, I used this excuse to go see U2 and Bon Jovi last year, too.) As the conference came closer, I realized I’d committed (and paid for) three full days of events just because I wanted that one hour of Pink-ness. I debated cancelling (“he’ll come to town again, I’m sure.”) I debated only attending the day he spoke (“Yes, I’ve paid for it all, but hey, I’m busy.”) But then I listened to my excitement – and the luck followed. I was excited about seeing Dan live, and trusting that excitement created several other lucky outcomes – great inspiration from management guru Gary Hamel (Leading the Revolution) who sparked new ideas for my own revolution – generating business, a chance to catch up with buddies Mark and Glen, and even a random encounter leading to a new client! All in all, workluck abounded. 4. Bring Your Superpowers to Work How can you expect workluck to strike if you’re not bringing your amazing self to the table each day? You have a unique set of talents, skills, resources, energies and knowledge that your work – and your world – need right now! Knowing and using your superpowers gives you clarity, confidence, and control over your day – and that makes you lucky. Using them also makes everything more fun, too – and who doesn’t need more fun? 5. Live in Your Own Clover I often ask my clients struggling with a workplace situation to tell me what they’d do if they had a magic wand. (Try it – it’s fun!) Amazingly, many of the “magic wand moments” people share are not terribly radical or scandalous – they’re actually things that could truly be asked, done, achieved. We all seem to be looking for that magic four-leaf clover, the one that will instantly change our experiences. But what if it’s already sitting in your office right now? Our grandparents used the term “to live in clover” meaning to be carefree, at ease, comfortable, prosperous. What would it take to be living in your own clover, exactly where you are? Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so lucky – I get to roll around in my work here and I get to connect with you!