Stack The Odds In Your Favor

I once heard the remark that Tom Hanks is so successful because he only does blockbuster movies. Jokes aside, it is true successful people have the habit of stacking the cards in their favor. They select the best people on their team and decline work from difficult clients where they can't succeed. In general they avoid high risk, low reward situations and do everything they can to stack the odds in their favor. And it is not bad advice for you to play it safe either.

Make Sure To Get The Buy-In

In the often neglected but all important political buy-in process to any initiative you need to secure approval from your superiors, agreement from your peers and acceptance from your direct reports. Without it your project will not go anywhere even if the assessment of the situation, analysis of the problem and the proposed solution were brilliant. Without buy-in the implementation will inevitably fail.

The Basics From Kindergarten

In reality almost everything we needed to know we learned in Kindergarten. For example, we learned the magic words "please" and "thank you", the center pieces of human interaction; courtesy and gratitude. Whatever progress you have made in life, it is likely done despite your neglect of some of the basics. If you want to increase your future success further, increase your genuine expression of courtesy and gratitude.

Recognition, Praise And Reward

I had a class mate in fourth grade who was a great footballer and also good at praising fellow members on the team when they contributed to the game. I am not surprised to report he is in a management position today, running a retail store. Recognize the members on your team, give them frequent praise and they will perform at an even higher level.

No, But And However

Never begin a sentence with the negative qualifiers "no", "but" or "however". These small words secretly signal to everyone, "I am right and you are wrong." You don't need to give advice where it is not asked for. Ask a question or use the more neutral qualifier "and" instead. "Don't you think we should ask each other more questions AND assert ourselves less?"

Encouragement And Support

Today it is the one year anniversary of the Bottleneck Blog. It is my hope that you have found a few great ideas to integrate into your daily life, that have been of value to your personal growth. I wanted to thank you for your encouragement and support along the way. To help each other on the journey is one of the reasons we live here together and the purpose of this blog. Remember to support your fellow travelers.

The Power Of The Pen

The person with the pen holds the power of influence. Before a meeting he or she is in charge of the agenda. After the meeting in writing the meeting minutes. In a negotiation drafting the terms of a new contract. It is a little bit of extra work but well worth the effort to write history. Remember the power of the pen.