What successful people do differently

What are the reasons that some people (and companies) reach their goals, while others never seem to fulfill their potential? Playing to your natural strengths and talents is one of the major keys to success (doing the things that come naturally and easy to you – the things that you really enjoy and find fulfilling). In addition, successful people achieve their goals not only because of who they are, but more often because of “what they do.” Here is our take on what successful people (and companies) really do: Be specific. When you set a goal, make it obvious exactly what you want to achieve and by when. Just expressing an outcome (e.g. sell 100 widgets this quarter) is not as powerful as expressing your goal as a specific, tangible project that will achieve the desired outcome when successfully implemented. Champagne test. Goals and projects should be expressed in a way that it is obvious what the finish line is that you intend to hit by the due date. For long term projects – what is the desired milestone that you want to reach by the end of this quarter? Is it clear to everyone at which point they can pop the champagne cork this quarter to celebrate achieving that specific milestone? Balance optimism with realism. Set yourself up to succeed. S… happens. Fires need fighting. Set realistic goals and due dates that take into account that you will also need deal with any fires that come up along the way - yet still achieve your milestones. Don’t underestimate the difficulties and challenges you will face along the way. Your colleagues are counting on you. Only make promises that you know you will be able to keep. Make time for strategic execution. “Business as usual” must keep happening in the meantime. You still need to create opportunities, make sales, deliver products and services, and collect money – the stuff you do every day to pay the bills. But then you also need to make time (I suggest dedicating half a day every week) to take specific meaningful actions that will move your strategic priorities forward. Knife and Fork it. What 1 action can you “complete” by the end of the week that is going to move your progress forward another step? Be specific. It needs to be a binary (yes/no) action that is within your control that you can check off and be held accountable for saying, “Yes, I completed that action this week.” Measure progress. You must track exactly how far you have come and know exactly how far you have left to go. Measure your progress every week. Are you on schedule? Or do you need help? Are you behind schedule and in danger of missing your due date? Be honest and confront the brutal facts. Don’t wait until the near the due date to signal that you are running behind. Man up! (or the female equivalent). Show that you have the grit to do what it takes, to overcome the obstacles and get it done. The more you exercise your courage muscle, the stronger it becomes. There are things we have to do that we don’t particularly enjoy doing in order to achieve success – but you have to “eat your veggies” before you get to have any dessert. Celebrate achievement. You do pop the cork when projects are implemented or goals are reached don’t you? Make sure you praise and appropriately recognize achievement. Put away "the whip" and enjoy those moments of success!