The Secret Foundation Of Long-Term Success
“I know you’re getting a lot of emails about Black Friday, but this one is different . . . “Do you know how many emails I got yesterday?
Do you know how many of them started with a sentence like this?
A lot.People judge books by their cover, Instagram feed, or email subject line.Most people who even read the news are strictly headline readers.It doesn’t matter whether you have users, clients, patients, or employees—it’s your job to stand out.
It’s your job to build trust.
All of these relationships culminate into the foundation for our long-term successes.Trust becomes your reputation and brand.
2 Minute Action
Remember/recall something specific about someone’s in your life, today.When is their birthday? How is their mother doing? Doesn’t their son have a big hockey game this weekend?Being specific is a thousand times more powerful than being general.
You Think You're Output Is High, But This Will Change Your Mind
I was talking to an old friend recently, who was explaining all of the things they did inside his organization.I run this . . .I manage that . . .I monitor these . . .He went on and on about all of his responsibilities. This list was impressive.After he had talked for a while, he noticed that I hadn't said anything back.He asked: "So, I should be getting paid more, right?"Ugh. Tough question to ask a friend who genuinely wants to help.Instead of rolling over and responding with an easy "of course," I redirected his attention."It's obvious that you've got a lot going on, but do you know how much value your work has to the business?"I said.He replied, "what do you mean?"I recast it, "I mean do you know how many clients, happy customers, or how much money your work outputs for the business? I don't know what your metrics are, but do you know how you're being graded?"Silence.
Moral of the story:
Before you go off on a rant or claiming that you're busy all the time and can't get a break and work without recognition, give yourself a quick reality check.What are your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?What are your sales goals?What are the axes on which your boss will grade your performance in your annual review?If you can't point to clear data, don't expect to move the needle on your projects or get a pay raise.
2 Minute Action:
If you work for an organization in which you want to rise, ask your supervisor how you're being graded and (in VERY specific terms) what you need to do to get to the next level.If you're working on your own projects and want to increase your output, you need to define what metrics are important at the stage you're in.Take 2 minutes to get the first draft down.
What To Do When You Don’t Have Enough Time
I was talking to a friend yesterday about my projects.He caught me saying: “I’m spending this much time here, that much time there, and now I have no time left to do any of this other stuff that I want to do.”
Yep. I said I didn’t have enough time.
Ouch.That’s one of those “excuses” that’s not a good reason you can’t do something.You’ve heard me talk about this a lot.And it came out of MY mouth!!It was time to face the truth.“It’s not that I don’t have time, it’s that I haven’t been prioritizing the right stuff.”
Now here’s where it gets good:
Instead of just saying that I’d prioritize one project or that I’d just make the time, I got specific.I said I will commit to 15 minutes per day of working only on my priority project. It will be right after I write my blog post, so I know I’ll have the time. You, friend, are my accountabilibuddy and you have permission to annoy the hell out of me if I don’t follow through.
What’s so special about being specific about all this?
1. I committed to a friend who will hold me accountable for the output. He’s watching.2. Being specific about how much time and when I’ll work on this project sets expectations and makes it feasible with an aggressive schedule. (People who are specific about when and where have a 91% of following through.*)3. I attached this task to an existing habit. This means it’s less likely I’ll forget or that I drop the ball by trying to create a habit from scratch.
2 Minute Action:
Whats something you’ve been meaning to get done recently?Jot down the 1, 2, and 3 for this.1. Who will hold you accountable?2. What small amount of time can you commit to progress?3. When will this happen and can you attach this to an existing habit?
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*In 2015, Fast Company published the results of a study on the effects of specificity on action.1 Researchers asked a control group to exercise once during the next week—29% of participants did. Researchers asked a second group to do the same, except this time they provided the group with detailed information about why exercising is necessary (e.g., “You’ll die if you don’t”)—39% exercised. Researchers asked a third group to commit to exercising at a specific time, on a specific date, at a specific location—91% exercised.