The Seven Cs of Success

Success is a journey, not a destination, or so it’s been said. You may take a few detours, hit some roadblocks, and arrive at a different place than you’d planned. I’m still on my journey, and I’m offering you my map for smooth sailing, traveling the Seven Cs of success.

Success is the difference between working hard and hardly working

Long ago the people of a very successful civilization thought they had all the answers to success. The king called the wisest people in the kingdom together and said, “I want you to put down all the reasons why we are successful. Place them in writing so future generations will be able to read it and duplicate our success.”

They worked for approximately two years and came back with the answer, and it consisted of nine volumes.

The ruler looked at it and said, “This is impressive, but it’s too large.” He then challenged them to simplify their findings. They worked another year and narrowed it down to one book. The king said, “This is better, but it is still too lengthy. Refine it.”

They worked another year, and finally reported back with their results, now contained on one page. The king said, “You have done a great job, but it is still too long. Please reduce our formula for success to the lowest common denominator.”

They worked another year and pared it down to one paragraph. The king said, “That’s an improvement, but it is still far too complicated. Keep working until everyone understands why we are so successful.”

Six months later they came back with their formula confined to one sentence. The king looked at it and said it was perfect. If all future generations understood this, they would be in a position to conquer anything.

The sentence read, “There ain’t no free lunch.”

No one can take anything for granted. You must continue to work at everything you do to get better, to grow, and to maximize your skills and potential. Do not, however, confuse growth with making your work more complicated.

Stanley Marcus was a giant in retailing, having built the famous Neiman-Marcus chain. He was a good friend whom I admired and respected greatly. He has always had a remarkable ability to inspire growth in his employees.

One of his favorite stories follows:

“I once visited the bridge of a naval vessel where the brass gleamed like gold. I asked the captain how often they had to shine the brass.

“‘Every day,’ he told me. ‘The minute you stop polishing it, it starts to tarnish.’

“This incident,” said Marcus, “can be correlated to people. None of us is made of gold; we’re all made of brass, but we can look like gold if we work hard at polishing ourselves as the sailor polishes the brass on his ship. We can be better than we are if we will make the effort.

“That may sound trite,” said Marcus, “but it must have made an impression on many people, because almost every week some member of our staff comes up to me and says, ‘I’m sure polishing my brass today.’”

I would submit that any employee who is willing to work to improve his or her skills is worth his or her weight in gold. The best merchandise in the world wouldn’t sell at Neiman-Marcus were it not for the people who work there. The fastest ship in the Navy is in dry dock without a hard-working crew. The most sophisticated computers in the world can only do so much without human programming. It’s the effort expended that makes a company successful.

I’ve heard it said that there are four main bones in every organization:

• The wish-bones. Wishing someone else would do something.
• The jaw-bones. Doing all the talking but very little else.
• The knuckle-bones. Those who knock everything.
• The back-bones. Those who carry the brunt of the load and do most of the work.

Thomas Edison was definitely in the back-bone category. The story goes that one evening the famous inventor came home from a long day at work, and his wife said to him, “You’ve worked long enough without a rest. You must go on a vacation.”

“But where on earth would I go?” asked Edison.

“Just decide where you would rather be than anywhere else on earth,” suggested his wife.

“Very well,” said Edison, “I’ll go tomorrow.”

The next morning he was back at work in his laboratory.

Make like a pencil and get the lead out

A young boy asked his mother what he should do in order to be a success when he grew up. The mother thought for a moment, and then told her son to bring her a pencil. Puzzled, the boy found a pencil and gave it to her.

“If you want to do good,” she said, “you have to be just like this pencil.”

“What does that mean?” her son asked.

“First,” she said, “you’ll be able to do a lot of things, but not on your own. You have to allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.

“Second, you’ll have to go through a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.

“Third, you’ll be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

“Fourth, no matter what you look like on the outside, the most important part will always be what’s inside.

“And fifth,” the mother finished, “you have to press hard in order to make a mark.”

Great advice. His mother touched on five important topics: teamwork, being able to accept criticism, correcting mistakes, self-confidence, and working hard. Let’s take them one at a time.

Teamwork. As I like to say, even Batman had Robin. You can’t do it all alone. My definition of teamwork is a collection of diverse individuals who respect each other and are committed to each other’s successes. Teamwork sometimes requires people to play roles that aren’t as glamorous as they’d like.

For example, I once asked a symphony conductor which instrument is the most difficult to play. Without missing a beat, the conductor replied: “Second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists. But finding someone who can play second fiddle with enthusiasm is a real problem. When we have no second violin, we have no harmony.” And you just can’t be successful without harmony or teamwork.

Criticism. Giving and taking criticism is no easy task, but it is necessary if you want to become better. If you ignore the problem and hope it goes away, you are not going to improve. Every office I’ve ever worked in or done business with has been made better because of suggestions or criticisms of the people who spend their working hours there. No one ever choked to death swallowing his or her own pride! Admit you aren’t perfect. Remember that the goal of honest criticism is to make you better than you were before.

Mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. What’s important is that you learn from them. President Ronald Reagan said: “What should happen when you make a mistake is this: You take your knocks, you learn your lessons, and then you move on.”

The greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid to make one. In fact, you often need to increase your failures to become more successful. Mistakes don’t make you a failure. How you respond to a mistake determines just how smart you really are.

It’s important to remember that the person who made a mistake isn’t the only one who can learn from that experience. Talk about mistakes, so they are not repeated by others.

Self-confidence. When I’m interviewing potential employees, one of the traits that I look for is confidence. Confidence doesn’t come naturally to most people. Even the most successful people have struggled with it in their careers. The good news is that you can develop confidence, just like any muscle or character trait, if you’re willing to work at it. My advice: track your success, practice being assertive, accept that failure is not the end of the world, step out of your comfort zone, set goals, keep improving your skills, and above all else, don’t compare yourself to others.

Work hard. Success comes before work only in the dictionary. Many people look for a magic formula to turn things around, but there is no magic formula. Sure, natural talent can make a big difference. But show me a natural .300 hitter in the major leagues, and I’ll show you someone who bangs the ball until his hands bleed trying to keep that hitting stroke honed. Ask any surgeon about how much sleep she got for the 8 to 10 years it took her to get through medical school, internship, and residency. It takes iron determination and lots of hard, hard work.

Sam Walton’s rules for success

Sam Walton, the legendary founder of Walmart, had 10 rules for running a successful business. They are simple and straightforward, but guess what? I would bet the farm that a great many businesses don’t follow them—and they’d be better off if they did.

Read these (my comments follow) and see how they might fit into your business plan. Take note that even in a tough economy, Walmart is prospering.

1. Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anyone does. Passion is at the top of the list of the skills you need to excel. When you have passion, you speak with conviction, act with authority, and present with zeal. If you don’t have an intense, burning desire for what you are doing, there’s no way you’ll be able to work the long, hard hours it takes to become successful.
2. Share profits with your employees. If you treat them as partners, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will perform beyond your wildest dreams. Employees are the life-blood of any good company. Many companies seem to have fancy incentive programs for the big wheels, but smart companies have bonuses and profit-sharing all the way down the line.
3. Motivate your partners. Money and ownership are not enough. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Competition makes you better and stronger. You should not only welcome stiff competition, but you should actively seek it. You’ll never realize your full potential unless you’re challenged. Similarly, if you don’t set goals to determine where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? You must stay focused on your goals above all else. Truly dedicated individuals won’t let anything interfere with attaining their goals.
4. Communicate everything you possibly can to your employees. The more they know, the more they will understand. Information is power, but it must be used to empower your workforce. You will be amazed how a few snippets of information can transform a business into a powerhouse.
5. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. In addition to point #2, find ways to let your employees know that you value their contributions. Invite your customers to share their stories of great service and post them for all to see. Catch people doing a good job and let them know you notice. It keeps everyone motivated and does wonders for retention. Remember that your successes result from a group effort.
6. Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Maintain a positive tone, even when things don’t go as planned. Although a failure may not be funny at the time, there’s always a lesson to be learned. Often, the lesson learned is humility.
7. Listen to everyone in your company, and figure out ways to get them talking. Many people think that communication means getting others to do what you want them to do. For them, good listening means, “I talk, you listen.” These people have forgotten the basic truth about being a good listener: Listening is a two-way process. Yes, you need to be heard. You also need to hear the other person’s ideas, questions, and objections. If you talk at people instead of with them, they’re not buying in—they’re caving in.
8. Exceed your customers’ expectations. There’s one thing no business has enough of: customers. Take care of the customers you have and they’ll take care of you by coming back—and bringing their friends. On the flip side, disappoint customers, and they’ll disappoint you—and then disappear.
9. Control your expenses better than your competition does. Walmart tries to help its customers follow this rule. If you aren’t already watching pennies, start now.
10. Swim upstream. If everyone else is doing it one way, there is a good chance you can find your niche by going in the opposite direction. Following the crowd leaves you with very little room to maneuver.

Become “the most likely to succeed”

Were you voted “most likely to succeed” back in high school?

That moniker had mixed implications. A recent survey reported in the Wall Street Journal showed that about one-third of the respondents described the award as a “burden,” creating pressure to live up to expectations. I suppose that could create some uncomfortable moments at the high school reunion.

But about 40 percent who received that designation found themselves more motivated to live up to the title. They are probably the folks you call “the boss.”

And then there are the rest of us. We didn’t necessarily have more brains, more talent, more money, or more opportunities. But we knew what we wanted and we had the desire to get there.

Success comes in many forms and means different things to different people. In the working world, it is often defined as landing the perfect job, achieving a targeted income level, occupying a corner office, or owning a business.

However you measure it, success is sweet. And it doesn’t happen overnight.

Bumps in the road—and there will be plenty of bumps—can derail a successful career and lead down a path of negativity. Discouragement, disappointments, even occasional failures, are not the end of the road. Reroute your thinking. Zero in on your achievements. Take a success inventory. Focus on these five categories:

1. Education. List the classes you have completed, the degrees you have earned, professional certifications, and specialized training.
2. Professional positions. Include every major job you’ve ever had, and identify the responsibilities and authority you held. Don’t forget those entry-level positions that probably taught you lessons you will never forget.
3. Projects. Start with the job-related projects that have been successful because of your contributions. Then move on to volunteer projects that worked with your involvement. You should also make note of community events, church activities, and hobbies that you are proud of.
4. Accomplishments. This category is for career achievements such as awards, promotions, significant praise from supervisors, letters of commendation, or recognition that represents your importance to your organization, community, family, or self.
5. Potential. What are you prepared to do with all that successful experience? Is throwing in the towel an option anymore?

Now make your list work for you. You did it before, and you can certainly do it again. Instead of being overwhelmed by failure, be inspired by success.

Rethink your strategy if necessary. Surround yourself with positive people who can provide the encouragement that will help you realize what is possible.

Re-evaluate your goals. Are they realistic, achievable, specific, and measurable? All those components are necessary if you want to measure your success. How else will you know you have succeeded?

Focus on improvement, not perfection. You can always do more, achieve more, get more. Track your progress so you can see how much closer you have come to reaching your goals and ultimate success.

Be proactive. Create your own opportunities by working on what you can control instead of what’s beyond your reach. Before you know it, more will be within your reach.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Put your ideas out there and give them a chance to succeed. Learn from your mistakes. The annals of business history are full of stories of how splendid successes resulted from colossal failures. Make history repeat itself!

A man walking down a narrow, twisting road spotted a guru sitting on the grass in meditation. He approached the guru and asked, “Excuse me, master, is this the road to success?”

The old man nodded silently and pointed in the direction the traveler was headed. The traveler thanked the guru and went on his way.

An hour later, the traveler returned, bleeding, exhausted, and angry.

“Why did you tell me that was the road to success?” he asked the guru. “I walked that way, and right away I fell into a ditch so deep it took me almost an hour to climb out. Why did you tell me to go that way? Was that some kind of joke?”

The guru stared at him. After a long pause, he started to speak. “That is the road to success. It lies just beyond the ditch.”

For long-term success, give up these detrimental traits

Success isn’t always about dominating the landscape. Sometimes, to be successful, you have to be prepared to give up some counterproductive behaviors that are holding you back—and you may not even realize you’re guilty.

Old habits are hard to break. And if you don’t even realize that you are practicing some of these behaviors, you may not see a problem. But if others perceive you as a difficult coworker, it’s time to take another look at what you are doing.

Be brutally honest with yourself or ask a trusted associate; see whether any of these traits describe you. If the answer is yes, an attitude adjustment may be in order:

• The need to be right. Concentrate on getting results, not on proving your own intelligence and accuracy. Be open about your mistakes. Don’t worry about who gets the credit for victory. Help others succeed, and you’ll share in the glory.
• Speaking first. You don’t have to dominate every meeting and conversation. Ask for others’ ideas and opinions. Give them the opportunity to share their thoughts, and they’ll become more comfortable communicating with you.
• Making every decision. Ask others what they would do, and be willing to accept that there may be more than one way to accomplish a task. Don’t insist that everyone do things your way.
• Control. You can’t stay on top of every task and decision. Identify what you really need to handle, and delegate responsibility for tasks that others can do just as well. Accept that some things are beyond your control so you can concentrate on the influence you have.
• Inflexibility. If you find yourself balking at new ideas, or resisting change with “but we’ve always done it this way,” it’s time for an attitude adjustment. Different situations demand different solutions. And it’s better to be part of the solution than part of the problem.
• Disloyalty. Bad-mouthing your company, coworkers, products, or services never improves any situation. Disagreement is not disloyalty. It’s natural to have differences of opinion. But it is not professional to disparage another in an attempt to make yourself look better. Criticism must be constructive, not destructive.
• Dishonesty. Just tell the truth. Honor confidential conversations. If you prefer not to answer a question, say so, but don’t lie or evade questions. Trust is the most important word in business, in my opinion.
• Tunnel vision. Projects that require cooperation among departments should not provoke competition, but teamwork. But if each department sees its contribution as the most important, rather than focusing on the big picture, the big picture will be way out of focus.
• No sense of humor. It’s important to take your work seriously, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at work. In fact, I’m a big fan of enjoying your job and making work enjoyable for those around you. As long as the language is appropriate, that is, not offensive, demeaning, or vulgar, a dose of humor can bring people together and make situations more comfortable.
• Poor listening skills. There is a difference between hearing and listening. Pay attention to what’s being said, and ask questions if you are unclear about the message. Avoid interrupting, evading eye contact, rushing the speaker, and letting your attention wander. You can win more friends with your ears than with your mouth.
• Disorganization. A messy workspace does not demonstrate how busy you are. Clutter gets in the way of clear thinking. If you can’t find what you need the moment you need it, you need to get organized.
• Lack of accountability. Blaming mistakes or poor results on others, refusing to take responsibility for obvious errors, making excuses instead of finding solutions—it can’t always be someone else’s fault.
• Poor time management. First things first. Setting priorities and meeting deadlines is fundamental to the success of an organization. If one of the key players operates on a different schedule, the whole project suffers. Wasting time is wasting money.
• Impulsiveness. Learn to think before you speak or act. You can’t un-say words, and apologies often ring hollow. Count to 10, count to 100, count to whatever it takes to prevent rash and regrettable actions.
• Vulgarity. Watch your language. Even as more and more four-letter words creep into everyday use, they have no place in a respectable business.