Success Distilled
Unless you are in the education industry where it is normal
to be rewarded for all your hard work in the classroom with
many weeks of holiday time, then like me you will not have had
much time to think about what makes for a successful project
outcome. I mean, what were the precise elements that enabled
a project, business or mission to SUCCEED. You could also,
if you were brave enough, care to examine why something
important to you FAILED!
successful outcome.
Leadership: Without good leadership,
projects flounder and the team can wilt
or disengage. Great leadership means
creating a compelling and inspirational
picture of the future…whatever happens.
Get this right and people will follow you.
Strategy: Is a plan for obtaining a major
result, goal or ambition. But continue to
check and be prepared to change the
plan, as it may already be out of date! As
President Eisenhower stated: “A plan is
futile, but planning is indispensible.”
Innovation: There really is no need to be
a rocket scientist or the one to design a
flying car but do try to be entrepreneurial
or at the very least put your own spin on
things. Try to do things a little differently
to how everyone else does it, as this might
turn out to be your unique competitive
advantage.
DoodlingJim.com
Communication: Many disagreements
start due to a lack of communication or
because of an inappropriate or untimely
comment. However, most issues can be
resolved with an honest, frank and timely
one-to-one discussion. Don’t forget to
listen too.
In between the in-laws coming over for
Christmas and going on a little family
excursion to the West Country, I did indeed
make time to sit alone in my home office
and contemplate this very delicate issue.
You see, if you’d read my piece in the last
issue on page 95, you would have noted
that a Type 5 personality – an Explorer,
finds it very difficult indeed to look their
failures square in the face. What we
Type 5s prefer to do is look for the next
challenge, adventure or problem to solve.
So in a rather painful but gallant effort to
further human research and development,
I did indeed allocate some quality time to
analysing why some of my businesses
failed (and went bust) and why some
succeeded (and made lots of money). I
looked at the early stages of my career in
the military and carefully examined why
one military engagement worked well and
another didn’t (the Secrets Act prevents
me from elaborating!) And also why one
particular adventurous expedition in Africa
was riddled with stress, difficulty and
96
unhappiness while another not but one
year later was care-free, smooth running
and delightful in every way.
What I discovered after many hours of
contemplation was eight specific factors
encompassing human interaction, personal
attitude and psychological adaption.
When most if not all of these factors came
together in a smooth and seamless way
then the project outcome would inevitably
be successful. When one or more
elements were missing or indeed applied
badly, then the mission or project had been
at best a struggle and more often than not
a failure.
A brief explanation and reasoning for each
of these factors are set out below:
Motivation: With a strong Vision (this is
the What?) and Purpose (which is the
Why?) will give you energy, courage
and powers of commitment to see your
business, project or mission through to a
Determination: With 80 billion brain cells
each, we are more intelligent, capable
and stronger than we sometimes allow
ourselves to think. We are surrounded
by people telling us not to do this or
that. All we must do is make sure we are
motivated, have a decent strategy and not
to give up too easily.
Team spirit: Having a great team spirit
is a wonderful thing and leads to
high performing teams, which in turn
leads to better results. However, it doesn’t
happen overnight, especially when a team
member leaves or another joins. It takes
time, development of trust and a bit of
practise too.
Resilience: Life can throw spanners in the
works. It’s called Sod’s Law. Being resilient
is our psychological ability to adapt to
stress and adversity. We need to build
up our tolerance levels with increasingly
difficult challenges with a positive attitude
and outlook.
By Neil Laughton
www.laughton.co