Last Tuesday I shared 16 Tip for Business Success from Bob Parsons, CEO and Founder of GoDaddy. Today I'm sharing my list, my keys to success.

1. Make a decision only when it's necessary. Every decision has a right time to be made. Don't rush decision making just because you want to check it off your to-do list. Something important might change between the time you want to make a decision and the time you must make a decision.
2. Be a good listener. Too many leaders (people) stop listening, which means they stop learning. I know you're smart, you wouldn't be Chief-of something-Officer if you weren't, but that doesn't make you infallible. Respect those around you by listening to what they have to say, then select your course of action.
3. Find your passion and pursue it with all your might. Life is more about happiness than your bank account. If you think it's all about the bank account, then you're shallow and probably not a very happy person. Life is short; get happy.
4. Find a career in a growing industry. In a growing industry when they have enough work for one and a half people they hire two people. The result is the quality of work increases, which brings more value to the customer, which makes them happy so they buy more...it's a virtuous cycle. Conversely, in a declining industry when they have enough work for one and a half people they hire one person and work him/her like a mule. If that person sticks around great, if not they bring in another mule. Don't be a mule.
5. Execution is where good ideas go to die. Good ideas are easy. Most of the people I know can rattle off a couple dozen good ideas in minutes. Execution is much harder and, therefore, more valuable. Focus on a few good ideas and learn to execute them well.
6. Nurture your relationships. Success requires other people - supporters, a team, employees, etc. If the relationship is intact you can navigate through rough waters. If you destroy the relationship people will go against their own self interest to undermine your efforts. Life is a journey so take some good people with you.
7. Take measured risks and have faith in yourself. Most of what you plan won't turn out exactly as you envisioned. That's ok. Accept curves in the road as normal and stop fretting over what might have been. Golf teaches us this point well; play the ball where it lies.
8. "There is no such thing as failure; there is only success and quitting." Eleanor Roosevelt said that when she was struggling against considerable odds to establish UNICEF. I think Mike Ditka said, "Until you give up you're always in the process of winning." Good counsel from two very successful people. Refuse to give up.
9. Live within your financial means. Money is not everything but you do need it to survive. A financial cushion can bring you peace of mind, safety and independence. I've never really worried about losing my job because, for most of my life, I've had a financial cushion to fall back on in emergencies.
10. Get over yourself. I know your Momma told you that you were great and I'm sure she's right. However, as a whole the world just doesn't care all that much and an ounce of humility, especially if you're talented, goes a lot farther than a gallon of hubris.
11. Give more and expect less. This is a good way to create balance in your life and avoid resentment. If you only give when you expect to get then you're being small, selfish and immature. Give freely and you will have deep relationships with good people. Be a taker and you will soon find yourself surrounded by takers, all trying to hustle the other. Does that sound like fun to you? It doesn't to me.
12. Avoid toxic people. Enough said.
13. Have (quiet) confidence in your self because if you don't no one else will.
14. Don't enjoy telling or be in a hurry to let someone else know they're wrong. If finding fault in someone else gives you joy then you need to understand why you feel that way. Do you think you're up just because they're down? That's twisted. If someone has a fault or is mistaken about something try to find a non-threatening way to help (coach) them. Who knows, you might find that you are the one in need of coaching...Oh, I get it, that's what you were afraid of in the first place.
15. Wag more; bark less. If you approach others with a kind and loving heart you can discuss anything. If you approach others with an angry or resentful heart then a simple "good morning" can be ill received.
16. If you have to prove you're always right, then you're always wrong. 

Steve

Are you unhappy in your job? You're not alone if you are. More than four out of five (84% to be exact) people surveyed by CareerBuilder.com are unhappy at work! That's an incredible number.

What’s causing all the angst? A growing number of people believe the reason is our culture’s preoccupation on weaknesses. Think about your last performance review, it was probably low on praise and high on finger pointing. Who treats teammates that way? Professional athletes sure as heck don’t and the people who have joined the Strengths Movement don’t either.

The goal of the Strengths Movement is to end the angst. Dr. Donald Clifton (1924-2003) of the Gallup Organization began studying human strengths over 40 years ago. To formalize the study the StrengthsFinder assessment tool was created. To date it has been translated into more than 20 languages, used in more than 100 countries, and competed by more than 3 million people. That data is the foundation of the Movement.

Several excellent books have been written around the StrengthFinder data and most of them provide a way for you to take the test online at no additional cost. Many bestsellers such as StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath, First Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, and Go Put Your Strengths to Work, also by Marcus Buckingham, have gained national acclaim and were featured in venues ranging from the Harvard Business Review to Oprah.

There are common threads in each book. Following are my thoughts on a few.

1. Too many resources are spent making us better generalists and not enough are spent identifying and building up our strengths. A fifth-grade math wiz may not be able to find a challenge equal to his potential, yet tutors and extra assignments are readily available to boost his English proficiency if the system rated him as Needs Improvement.
2. Focusing on our weaknesses does not build self-confidence, which is crucial to success at work and, some would say, in life. Successful people tend to have real confidence in at least one area of expertise. From that confidence-well they can draw the strength they need to succeed in other areas.
3. The reality is if you are not innately good with numbers you will not become a great statistician, period. As Tom Rath said so precisely in, Strengthsfinder 2.0, “You cannot be anything you want to be – but you can be a lot more of who you are.” Stated more positively, when we concentrate on developing our naturally steel-like talents and passions, our upside is far higher than when we ignore them and try to wedge our skills into some more conventional mushy-middle. Our great talents have leverage. Our average talents do not.
4. A plethora of leadership books list attributes as if once mastered we would, in effect, then become Winston Churchill or Mahatma Ghandi, for example. That seems odd. All great leaders have a grand vision, but most have far more differences than similarities. In the above example, the differences are dramatic; one is brash and aggressive while the other is polite and patient. The Movement’s focus is on accentuating the person on the inside and not the actor on the outside, no matter how good the actor.

I’ll never be Ernest Hemmingway, but now that I’m writing this blog twice each week, I’m going to go take that CareerBuilder.com test again. I may be able to bump the minority number up (those who are happy at work) to 17%.

Steve

Whether it’s the support of our family or the cooperation of our co-workers, most of us need other people to accomplish our goals. In fact, the more skilled we are at winning people to our cause, the more we can accomplish. Here’s a checklist of skills to hone to win with people.

• First and foremost, smile. It’s a simple and easy way to express your openness, desire to collaborate and reduce anxiety.
• Most people align their thinking and their feelings. Telling jokes, buying lunch, talking about sports or some other common interest, are activities designed to establish rapport and produce a relaxed emotional climate. Do whatever is appropriate for your setting to promote positive feelings and reduce stress.
• Reinforce the feeling elements with facts. Specifically, if facts are available and add to the conversation, present them and your sources early in the conversation. This reduces the likelihood that the conversation will turn into a battle of wills or personalities.
• Whenever possible, use practical examples or a clever phrase to drive home your most important points. "Bob is a talented person, but he shouldn't have yelled at his co-workers in yesterday's meeting. All he shared was his anger. What we needed was his thinking"
• Show your enthusiasm through your body language - lean forward, use your hands, or raise your eyebrows. Enthusiasm is
  contagious and it helps put other people in a positive mood. Besides, if you're not excited about what you're selling, how do expect to get your audience excited.
• Show respect for the other person through your words, tone of voice, and manner of listening. Let the other person know that their opinions, intelligence, and pressures are understood and important to you.
• Similarly, figure out how you can help them before asking them to help you.
• When the other person agrees with you, either move onto the next point or, if you’ve gotten the order, close the discussion and leave. Overstaying your welcome is impolite and overselling destroys confidence.
• Even if you do not get the answer you want, stay confident and make sure the other person knows you plan on going forward without their help. Sometimes people change their minds after they’ve had more time to consider your position or they may know someone else who can help you. If they think you abandoned your project, both those positive outcomes are eliminated as possibilities.
• Choose your words with care because they are the difference between success and failure.
• Always  speak and write in precise words, otherwise, your best words may not be available when you need them the most.
• Finally, make sure your words and deeds are aligned. People are watching...

Steve