By Goke Ilesanmi
Whether you are a business person, a young person starting out or a married couple, you aspire to lead a life that counts for something. To succeed in life, you need to create a vision for yourself for the long-term future because the clearer your vision, the faster you move towards it and the faster it moves towards you. This is so because a person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the roughest road. Apart from personal success, another type of success most cherished is organisational success.
Thought control
Ability to control your thought life is one the fundamentals of personal success. So, if you want to be successful, you must think until it hurts. Bill Newman, a distinguished Australian speaker says, “Your mind is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow…Don’t limit your potential…One of the greatest ways to develop your mind is through reading….” You need to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning, because continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.
Speed and dependability
Another thing you need to do to achieve success is to develop a reputation for speed and dependability. Speed and dependability are the language of the 21st century prosperity. This is because you need to do whatever you have in mind fast or discard procrastination and exhibit transparency in your dealings so that people will be easily attracted to you. To succeed, you need to be prepared to climb from peak to peak; practise self-discipline in all things; unlock your inborn creativity and get around the right people.
Cuddling challenges
To become a successful person, you need to be prepared take arms against a sea of troubles, and in so doing, end them. You need to pass the persistence test. As Brian Tracy, chairman of Brian Tracy International, a training and consulting firm based in Solana Beach, California, USA, puts it, “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel. It is the absolutely indispensable quality that goes hand in hand with all great success in life.”
Success is a series of right choices. Each day we stand at a fork in the road. When we say “Yes” to one activity, we say “No” to another. We must know what we want to achieve and then go for it with single-minded determination. The difference between average people and achievers is their perception of and response to challenges. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people’s ability to achieve and accomplish whatever goals they have set for themselves.
Corporate success sustenance
Beyond the issue of achieving personal success is the ability to create an atmosphere for the achievement and sustenance of organisational success. What brings corporate success? Is it better leaders? Better products? Better salespeople? What about better performance management systems? Any of the above may bring some level of improvement, but research reveals that sustained top performance can be tied to one thing: how well people communicate within a company.
Open communication
Achievement and sustenance of corporate success requires open and honest communication. Dan Bobinski, president and CEO of Leadership Development, Inc., and co-author of Living Toad Free: Overcoming Resistance to Motivation says more specifically, sustained success requires a culture in which open and honest discussion occurs around even the most difficult topics. It requires focusing on the issues, not playing political games. It also requires discussing or debating the potential consequences of all the solutions on the table, not making deals to get your personal favourite approved.
Impediments
In the corporate environment, success often becomes elusive because of leaders who fail to resolve conflict; aggressive personalities who wage their war of intimidation; and insecure leaders who concentrate on maintaining an artificially-inflated sense of self-worth instead of doing what is good for the company. If any of these conditions exists, logical dialogue may be replaced by all-out personality clashes or retreats accompanied by silent fuming. The despicable syndrome of official “political” positioning becomes manifest. In any case, the potential for sustenance of success will be jeopardised when open and objective dialogue is non-existent.
Passionate teams and example
A micro-manager or an overbearing leader creates an atmosphere of fear that discourages commitment and enthusiasm. However, an effective leader who motivates his or her people and addresses their challenges is easily able to build committed and loyal teams. This situation will naturally lead to sustenance of enduring corporate success. Bobinski says an example of this effective manager can be found in Kelly Palmer, general manager of the Red Lion hotel in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
One of three nominees for General Manager of the Year among the chain’s 54 properties, Kelly is quick to point out that it is her people who bring the success; she just hires them and works to keep them happy. “For the record, I know Kelly to be a solutions-oriented, secure individual. When problems arise as they inevitably do, Kelly doesn’t seek to place blame, she immediately solicits input on possible solutions,” submits Bobinski. Kelly has built a culture among her management team in which they are free to debate their opinions without the fear of retribution or personal attacks. In the end, when a solution is decided upon, regardless of one’s original opinion, everyone subscribes to it.
Last words
Kelly’s leadership quality that has endeared her to numerous subordinates and colleagues can be said to be a model for good leadership that brings about sustained success in the corporate environment. Based on research and examples lived out in companies worldwide, if your objective is sustained corporate success, personality issues have to be set aside and replaced with focused debate about solutions. But to achieve personal success, you need to control your thought; deploy speed and dependability; and cuddle challenges.
NOTE: The duration of the public speaking seminar has been greatly reduced as requested, in addition to other adjustments. You will find the programme on the right side at the upper part of my website. Click on the text and see details. I appreciate your suggestions and requests.
GOKE ILESANMI, Editor-in-Chief/CEO of https://www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng and Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is a Certified Public Speaker/Emcee, (Business) Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker, Career Management Coach, Renowned Book Reviewer, Corporate Leadership Expert and Editorial Consultant.
Tel: +234(0)8056030424; +234(0)8187499425
Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com; info@gokeilesanmi.com.ng
Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng