Tag Archives: Tips for Professionals

Professionals

10 Behaviors of Smart People

Image source: Paramount Pictures

 

“Stupid is as stupid does.” The great irony of Forrest Gump was how insightful his simplistic sayings really were. In case you don’t know, Gump’s line means you are what you do. In other words, it doesn’t matter how intelligent you think you are or are supposed to be, if you consistently do dumb things, you’re still dumb.

Smarts are ridiculously important and we’ll tell you why. Smart people make smart decisions and that’s the most important factor in how things turn out for you.

One of the smartest choices you’ll ever make is to seek out smart people in your work relationships. Just to be clear, we don’t mean those who think they’re smart but do dumb things. We mean the real deal. Since people don’t have smart meters built into their foreheads, here’s how to tell if someone’s smart, starting with the obvious:

They make smart decisions.

Smart people know their actions have consequences. They also know that they have to earn business results one decision at a time. In other words, a few smart calls won’t make you omnipotent. Consistently making good decisions takes discipline and focus.

They learn from their mistakes.

From our first steps to our last, we learn everything in life by trial and error. We all make mistakes because that’s how we learn. Smart people learn from theirs. After all, if you don’t face reality and judge yourself honestly, you’ll never do better next time.

They don’t have all the answers.

There’s an old saying, “Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.” It’s a funny line but if you say it in earnest, that’s pretty annoying. Smart people don’t need to constantly reinforce the fact by acting like know-it-alls. They’re smart enough to know how much they don’t know.

They surround themselves with smart people.

No man is an island. Individuals may be smart but small teams do the best work. Steve Jobs may have been a control freak, but he made sure the eight or nine people on his leadership team were the most talented he could find and taught them to do the same with their teams. That’s smart.

They are resourceful.

Since human intelligence is an evolutionary advantage — we didn’t evolve an enormous neocortex for no reason – intelligent people are generally more adaptable and creative in the way they make use of their surroundings to achieve results.

They can reason.

Even when presented with irrefutable evidence that they’re wrong, many people will consistently hold their ground as if their life depended on it. Without critical thinking, logical reasoning, causality, and the scientific method, we’d still be living in the dark ages.

They don’t follow fads.

We live in the golden age of fads and pseudoscience. Frankly, nothing speaks louder to the dumbing down of society that was portrayed so accurately in Mike Judge’s futuristic spoof Idiocracy. Urban Dictionary calls it a “movie that was originally a comedy, but became a documentary.” Truth.

They don’t live beyond their means.

We all stretch ourselves somewhat when we’re young. But once you’ve achieved something you don’t want to lose, it’s not very bright to squander it needlessly by living beyond your means.

They’re often their own worst enemy.

As developed as our frontal lobes are, everyone has at least one emotional blind spot that haunts them. Oftentimes that’s just the flipside of whatever it is that makes them smart to begin with. Like yin and yang, they need each other to coexist.

As entrepreneurs, they’re not always successful.

When it comes to business success, intelligence is necessary but not sufficient. We’re not talking about shysters who sucker people or someone who made a fortune off a single smart trade. To found and run a successful business over the long haul, you’ve got to be smart. Period.

Professionals

The 8 Signs of a Bad Leader

It’s an interesting conundrum. Say you’re a manager, a senior-level executive, or a human resources employee; your job is to be a leader, yes, but also to pick out leaders, to select who will be promoted, given extra responsibility, head up a project or team. How do you know who will make a great leader in a given circumstance?

There are loads of articles floating around about attributes that make great leaders great, but what makes a poor leader? We can all pick them out after the fact (hindsight is 20/20 after all), but what traits set these people apart even before they assume a leadership role?

Any one or more of the following traits would be a red flag that a person might not be ready for a leadership position:

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]1. Lack of empathy.

Lack of empathy is a key indicator of a poor leader. If the person cannot seem to put him or herself in another person’s shoes and see things from a different perspective, they will never be a truly great leader.

2. Fear of change.

Hey, change is scary for everyone, especially when it involves loads of money and/or people’s jobs. But leaders who cannot embrace change are destined to be left behind.

3. Too willing to compromise.

The ability to find a win/win situation is a gift for a leader, but anyone who is too quick to compromise his or her ideas or ideals is not going to be a benefit to the team. It’s a fine balance between understanding when to give in and when to stand your ground.

4. Too bossy.

It’s a common misconception that bossy people make good bosses. Actually, the opposite is true. Someone who simply orders others around is unlikely to engender any loyalty or make subordinates feel empowered. True leaders have followers who want to be led by them.

5. Wishy-washy.

Leaders must make decisions, and so if a person always seems to vacillate on choices big and small — from who should handle a certain client to where to go for lunch — they will probably have difficulty in a leadership position. It indicates a lack of self-confidence.

6. Poor judge of character.

A person who has a blind spot when it comes to friends and coworkers, making excuses or being unable to see another’s true character, won’t surround himself with the kinds of people who will help him rise to the top.

7. Out of balance.

Someone who is the first into the office every day and the last to leave might seem like a great candidate for promotion, but ask yourself if they have any balance in their lives. A lack of balance can be a precursor to burnout, and can also signal that they may have unreasonable expectations of the rest of the team.

8. Lack of humility.

The person who acts as though they can do it all — and are the only one who can do it right — is unlikely to rise to be a great leader, because they’ll be too busy doing everyone else’s job. Micro-managers need not apply.[/box]

This is not to say that having one of these characteristics automatically bars anyone from assuming a leadership position. In fact, I believe people can learn to overcome any of these bad habits and become a better leader.

But if someone exhibits more than one trait on this list, it’s a good bet that they’re not ready to lead at this time. If you are in a position to help them grow, take the time to constructively point this out to them, and give them the opportunity to improve. You’ll be modeling how a great leader really works.

 

 

Professionals

5 Ways You Can Look Like a Millionaire

Saying you would dress better if you made more money is a sad excuse to be sloppy, says image consultant Sylvie di Giusto, who has consulted with executives and corporations like McKinsey and BMW through her company, Executive Image Consulting.

You can gain an air of confidence and stature typically associated with the wealthy regardless of how much money you make.

With the help of Di Giusto, along with inspiration from business author, Vicky Oliver, a guide was created to help you look and act like a millionaire, even if you’re not.

Professionals

10 Behaviors of Genuine People

Whether you’re building a business, a network, or friendships, you always want to look for people who are genuine. After all, nobody wants to work or hang out with a phony. On the flipside, that goes for you, as well. Bet you never considered that.

In case you’re wondering, genuine means actual, real, sincere, honest. Genuine people are more or less the same on the inside as their behavior is on the outside. Unfortunately, it’s a tough quality to discern. The problem is that all human interactions are relative. They’re all a function of how we perceive each other through our own subjective lenses.

Being genuine is also a rare quality. In a world full of phony fads, media hype, virtual personas, positive thinkers, and personal brands – where everyone wants what they don’t have, nobody’s content to be who they are, and, more importantly, nobody’s willing to admit to any of that – it’s becoming more and more rare all the time.

To help you identify this rare breed — in yourself, as well — this is how genuine people behave.

They don’t seek attention. They don’t need constant reinforcement of their own ego. Where attention seekers have a hole that constantly needs to be filled, genuine people are already filled with self-confidence and self-awareness.

They’re not concerned with being liked. The need to be liked is born of insecurity and narcissism. It creates a need to manipulate your own and other’s emotions. Confident and authentic people are simply themselves. If you like them, fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

They can tell when others are full of it. Perhaps naive folks can be easily fooled, but genuine people are not naive. They’re grounded in reality and that gives them a baseline from which they can tell when things don’t add up. There’s a big difference.

They are comfortable in their own skin. In his late 70s, actor Leonard Nimoy said he was closer than ever to being as comfortable with himself as Spock appeared to be. Most of us struggle with that. As Henry David Thoreau observed, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

They do what they say and say what they mean. They don’t tend to overreach or exaggerate. They meet their commitments. And they don’t parse their words or sugarcoat the truth. If you need to hear it, they’ll tell you … even if it’s tough for them to say and for you to hear.

They don’t need a lot of stuff. When you’re comfortable with whom you are, you don’t need a lot of external stuff to be happy. You know where to find happiness – inside yourself, your loved ones, and your work. You find happiness in the simple things.

They’re not thin-skinned. They don’t take themselves too seriously so they don’t take offense when none is intended.

They’re not overly modest or boastful. Since they’re confident of their strengths, they don’t need to brag about them. Likewise, they don’t exhibit false modesty. Humility is a positive trait but it’s even better to just be straightforward.

They’re consistent. You might describe genuine people as being weighty, solid, or substantial. Since they know themselves well and are in touch with their genuine emotions, they’re more or less predictable … in a good way.

They practice what they preach. They’re not likely to advise people to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. After all, genuine people know they’re no better than anyone else so it’s not in their nature to be self-righteous.

All those seemingly different behaviors have the same thing at their core: self-awareness that’s consistent with reality. Genuine people see themselves as others would if they were objective observers. There’s not a lot of processing, manipulating, or controlling going on between what’s in their head and what people see and hear.

Once you get to know them, genuine people turn out to be more or less consistent with the way they initially hold themselves out to be. What you see is what you get. It’s sad that, in today’s world, such a positive quality is at risk of becoming endangered. Not only is it harder to find in others, it’s becoming harder to be genuine ourselves.

Professionals

7 Life Rules That Will Position You for Greater Success

Your standards of work, ethics, personal development and responsibility set your course in life and business. Follow the seven tips below and remember to think as big as you can, expect nothing less than the best, have courage and most importantly, be kind.

1. Collaborate with others.

At its core, success is about relationships. Involve customers and colleagues in the creation and direction of your business pursuits. With them, set standards for the work that needs to be accomplished in each person’s area of responsibility. Make these standards challenging but achievable. The result will be the high-level productivity and service you aim to perform.

You can only go so far in business alone. You need others for your own success, empowerment and completeness. In business, choose your aims and equip your team to get your business where it needs to go, rewarding the team members along the way.

2. Never neglect.

Personal power and complacency cannot co-exist in the pursuit of success. Dedicate time and energy wherever necessary to ensure that no important areas of focus, personal or professional, are neglected.

Complete tasks and assignments and work hard to overcome obstacles, focusing on what you can gain, learn and improve upon to make life and business flow more effortlessly. Make lists of things which need to be done with expectations for performance and dates of completion. Focus your efforts on what is most important for the bigger picture, not on what is urgent. Urgency creates an irrational mind. Let those elements settle while you focus on what you can control.

3. Choose possibilities, not problems.

With personal power you possess the deep belief there are available solutions for problems. When you approach challenges from a solutions-focused perspective it engages the creative process of examining and architecting alternate routes in lieu of staying stuck in false beliefs of why things cannot be done.

If you cannot find a solution, open your thoughts to others, seek their ideas and suggestions. Solution-focused minds reward and inspire each other. When solutions are the focus you learn to fail and adapt, moving away from the fixing and failing approach.

4. Self-check.

To grow in personal power use the motivational mindset of consistently monitoring, evaluating and adjusting your own work, attitude and beliefs to stay clear of complacency so you may continue meeting your higher standards.

One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated in reaching your higher standards is to write things down and define your direction. Describe what superior performance would be in light of your chosen aims, and then describe what complacent performance would be and actions steps to stay away from lower level habits.

Personal power means you set performance standards somewhere between complacency and superiority.

5. Manage your time.

The power of now. To uphold your personal power examine where you spend most of your time. Do you get the most important tasks out of the way first or do you typically get through the small, tedious things which seem more urgent? Getting caught in the small, urgent tasks pull you from the more important aims requiring your attention. Focus on what is most important and work from there.

When it comes to relationships, be on time or early to all events, business and professional, as this gives your commitments the feeling of importance. When you can make another feel significant, this is power. How you are with time says much about your commitment and character as a person and leader.

When you respect your time and that of others, you and everyone around you, will work to much higher standards.

6. Accept responsibility.

Whatever happens in your life or career the best path to the development of your personal power is to accept responsibility for the outcomes, both positive and negative, which are the result of your efforts. If you make a mistake, see it as a self-created learning experience and figure out what needs to shift for you and your efforts to be more effective. Taking responsibility allows you to be flexible and change your approach.

Power is understanding mistakes gift you with more than they take. It is from mistakes all new directions arise.

Powerful leadership is not about ego. It is about humility and a willingness to learn. Inspire in others the willingness to accept personal responsibility for the outcomes of their work. To instill this you must first demonstrate these behaviors publicly, powerfully and consistently yourself.

Elevating another person to live at a higher level of existence is the gift your personal power inspires.

7. Be kind.

There is no greater a value to offer as a human being than the simple power of kindness. Kindness does not mean you are a “yes” person or a pushover. Kindness which is success generated is the kindness that can deliver good and bad news with grace. Kindness that is geared toward higher standards is the kindness which gives feedback rather than criticism. Kindness that inspires hard work is the kindness that sees possibilities not problems.

Be kind. Be good to yourself and the people you work with and for. Create the emotional environment around you to be infectious, contagious and advantageous to all who are blessed to be a part of it. Kindness will take you further in success than any other human attribute.

To have and to lead from personal power means you embrace your inalienable right to think for yourself, to speak your mind, to pursue happiness, success and financial gain, to seek inner awareness and a sense of peace, and to do so without having to conform to anyone else’s small standards including your own. Empower yourself by being yourself. Take advantage of what it means to have opportunity, to organize your pursuits, to be kind in your leadership and to strive for that beautiful and attainable sense of personal freedom.

In your freedom lies your power.

Professionals

6 Steps to Starting a Business From Zero

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

Once you have figured out what you want to do, here are some important things to keep in mind while starting your business from zero:

1. Research your market.

Knowing what the competition knows won’t cut it. Go deep. Dive in to your market and study it like an expert.

Search Google for keywords that are related to your industry. Don’t get discouraged if the market seems flooded. You can use this to your advantage. It means that it is working for those people and you can make it work for you. There is money there.

2. Set a tangible financial goal.

Set new goals every six months and always stretch your initial mark. Work backwards and figure out what you need to do each day to get to where you want to be. Set a goal that is a stretch for you and look at the steps you need to take every day to accomplish that goal.

3. When you create a website, make the content shareable.

It’s great to reference some the leaders in your space, but when you are developing your own brand, it’s important to create unique content on a single hub. A site that your readers and viewers can reference back to, for more of your incredible content.

4. Build a list.

Email is best form of currency online and building an email list is one of the most important tools in building a business. As you develop your shareable site, begin building a list of emails of the people that visit your site. Then continue to provide them with value. This will translate into buyers for the future launch of your product or service.

Adding in an opt-in form on your website and having a place to store your emails are the first two steps to building your email list. Free resources like HelloBar.com and AppSumo.com allow you to collect email information on your website. To store email addresses, try the program Aweber, which even offers a free 30-day trial.

5. Launch a product or service you can sell.

If you have a financial goal that you’ve set out for the next six months, then you have to sell something. Take the time to figure out the biggest challenges your audience is facing and build your relationship with them. Then create something that solves their problem. This is easier said than done, but it’s critical. Your leads come from your list; you convert them to customers, follow up and build a relationship.

6.  Start NOW and improve as you go.

A lot of people waste time thinking about making things perfect before they launch their business: the logo, the website, the copy — everything. This is a waste of time. Sell your product before you make it by offering a pre-order. Focus on getting sales and attracting leads. Successful companies launch all the time and they aren’t perfect.

Think of Facebook and all the changes and improvements it has made. Start with a small product and always be improving.  Launch online you can sell over and over and not have to trade time for dollars.

The most important thing is to enjoy the process and know that you don’t have to make it perfect. Start today. If not now, when?

Professionals

Mark Zuckerberg: I Would Only Hire Someone to Work For Me If I Would Work For Them

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When it comes to onboarding new employees with whom he’ll work directly, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bears in mind a single guiding principle that he says has never steered him wrong.

“I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person,” Zuckerberg told an audience gathered in Barcelona yesterday for the fourth installment of ‘Q&A with Mark,’ an ongoing series of town hall-style discussions.

While employers generally have more work to do than staffers to get it done, Zuckerberg says business owners should resist the urge to settle for lesser candidates in the name of manpower. “Over the long term,” he said, “you’re only going to be better if you get someone really good.”

Sherly Sandberg is the perfect example of the kind of employee that, in an alternate universe, Zuckerberg says he would be happy to serve. Rather than mentors outside of the company, he said, the most influential figures in his life are the colleagues he sees on a day-to-day basis. “Sheryl would be at the top of that list,” he noted, adding that she is largely responsible for the fact that 2 million businesses advertise on Facebook today.

If selecting candidates is one thing, attracting them is another. The key to wooing top talent, Zuckerberg said, is “just being upfront about what you stand for.” Facebook, for instance, is bullish on its mission to connect the world — which he acknowledges isn’t a value or priority shared by everyone.

And finally, Zuckerberg had some wisdom to share in the realm of delegation. His management style, he says, is fairly flexible. “[Employees] need the ability to fully exercise all their creativity and all their capacity, or else they’re not going to be having the biggest impact that they can have on the world, and they’re going to want to go do something else.”

At the same time, Zuckerberg has always striven to keep a streamlined team and to do as much work as possible himself. Facebook serves over a billion people, for instance, but counts a team of fewer than 10,000. “My first move when I was building Facebook wasn’t to hire a team of engineers to go build a product,” he explained. “I generally each step along the way have tried to do as much as I can myself.”

[button color=”blue” size=”small” link=”http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243660″ target=”blank” ]Source[/button]

 

Professionals

Starting A Business? You Need These 3 Basics

The decision to start a business is exciting, but don’t get caught up in the fairy tale. If you want your business to succeed for the long-term, have these three essential elements in place.

1. Enough capital for six months. The time it takes to turn a profit will vary between industries and individual businesses, but the rule of thumb remains the same: have enough cash in the bank to survive for six months or more before you launch. Developing a realistic personal and business budget can help you survive the first few months, and sticking to this budget will be crucial to success.

Develop a list of potential expenses early on so that you have a good idea of what monthly bills plus extraneous expenditures will add up to and how this spending will affect your bottom line. Know that you may not receive a paycheck for months or even years after launch, so a hefty cash reserve will ameliorate the growing pains of starting a business.

2. Marketing and sales strategies for early-adopters. Coming up with an outstanding product or service is great, but your business will likely fail without those crucial first few customers. Develop a marketing plan with an allotted marketing budget that will get your product or service in front of key early-adopting clients. From the start, prepare ways to engage with and nurture clients to develop a loyal base.

Next, build your sales infrastructure: think about sales contracts, proposals, product listings or anything that a client will see when he or she wants to purchase from your company.

3. Endurance. I tell people this all the time: one of the hardest parts about being an entrepreneur is having the stamina to keep up with the daily demands of running your business. A lot of people mistakenly think that it will be a walk in the park.

Sure, there are major benefits such as working for yourself, having a flexible schedule and enjoying the successes of your hard work. But each benefit comes at the cost of putting your own capital and reputation on the line.

Before starting your own business, make sure you can mentally and physically ensure the journey. Be prepared to work long days, do things that are outside of your comfort zone, make personal sacrifices, work hard for what you believe in and dedicate yourself fully to the businesses success. If you aren’t in it 100 percent, the business won’t achieve its full potential.

Professionals

8 Steps to Make Things Happen Now in Your Business

Successful people dream, plan and envision what they want in life and business just like anyone else.

The difference between the highly successful and the moderately so, though, is that the former do all they can today to ensure a prosperous tomorrow.

To prevail, be willing to take 100 percent responsibility for your personal and business development and create balance so there’s nothing your future self will regret not having tried.

1. Shape your destiny

Don’t let other people define your purpose. You’re the engineer in charge of designing your business life.

When you become clear about who you are and what you want, you will have seized two of the most important guideposts along your career path.

Many fear assuming responsibility for shaping their destiny and shrink from it. This is one reason why not everyone achieves success at the highest levels.

People in business may go against you and judge you. To succeed, see this as beneficial. These counterforce’s force you to stand up for your beliefs.

2. Embrace change

Many people have poor work habits and not all have the will or fortitude to create healthier and more productive ones.

To look back on your life with pride, start changing unproductive habits now.

Be willing to be in a constant state of change as the unexpected unfolds in business. Change isn’t easy, but to be effective, you must embrace it.

Aim to be the most resilient version of yourself and expect exceptional results. Don’t wait for change to happen. Make it happen.

3. Keep moving

To be highly successful, view disappointments as “business-refinement opportunities.” With the wisdom acquired from letdowns, learn what you need to do to step up to the plate again and take another swing with clearer direction.

Quitting is the easiest way to avoid feeling bad or taking responsibility for frustrations in business. But to be successful and avoid future regret, don’t entertain blame or play the victim. Trust that whatever was lost will be replaced by something good or better and power on.

4. Lead authentically

Don’t waste energy trying to satisfy other people’s perceptions. Just be you.

When you are inauthentic and fake a role of success, you may fail. You will talk too much, be impatient and react negatively in high-pressure situations.

Pursue success not the need to impress. To be highly effective in business, communicate sensitively, directly and intelligently so others can hear you. Learn to listen intently so you can respond intelligently. You will learn more by listening than speaking.

5. Act now

To be successful, act now. Be fluid, risk taking, intuitive and prepared. The more prepared and knowledgeable you are about your business, the less fear you will have about making decisions. If you’re unsure in your knowledge or afraid to lose, you cannot succeed at the highest levels.

Having faith in yourself is integral to taking charge. Many develop different excuses for not taking action. To be successful in business, never assume you have more time than you do. Make every day count.

6. Keep a positive attitude

Just one person’s negative attitude has the power to reverberate throughout a business like an infection. Don’t be tolerant of negative attitudes: your own or others’.

Choose team members, employees and bosses wisely so you won’t later regret about not having safeguarded your business from toxic attitudes.

Select personal relationships wisely as well, as those will undoubtedly spill into your business life, influencing your attitude and focus.

7. Expect uncertainty

Business is fluid, so anticipate uncertainty at every turn. Make yourself adaptable to changing circumstances to secure existing opportunities and be open to new ones you might have missed by remaining rigid.

It’s wasteful to struggle with what you cannot control: Identify such areas in your business, accept them and tap other resources to find fresh ways to proceed.

For your success to blossom, be willing to consistently reinterpret your ideas, thoughts, plans and goals. Embrace not always knowing what will happen next.

8. Be healthy

It’s easy to get caught up in a fast-paced life and forget to care for the machine you live in. To be successful at the highest levels, don’t underestimate the value of good nutrition, exercise and rest. Your brain is the greatest computer you have and directly affected by what you ingest, exercise and the restorative powers of sleep.

When you care for your health, you are supplied with the necessary energy and focus for building your wealth, personally and professionally.

In conclusion, know that you alone are responsible for your success. Don’t expect others to build your business for you. Otherwise someone will take over and take you under. There’s no room in the house of success for complacency or remaining stuck too long.

If you spend too much time dreaming, planning or making others responsible but not leading your own way, you won’t arrive at the heights of business expansion desired. Don’t settle for average. Run a highly successful business.

High-achieving businesspeople are well-rounded focused individuals who care for their personal life ensuring it’s healthy so as to immerse themselves in their business and design it for prosperity.

These people are doers. They do not wait behind ideas they hope will materialize. They see what they want and are the architects of their business goals and ventures. They live without regret not putting off for tomorrow what can be done today.

Professionals

10 Behaviors You Never See in Successful People

When you spend decades working with executives and business leaders, you really can’t help but observe what works and doesn’t work over the long haul. One thing that’s been noticed it that it’s not intrinsic characteristics or personal habits that determine whether you’re successful or not. It’s your behavior.

What is meant by “behavior?” It’s how you react under long-term stress. Whether you meet your commitments or not. How you interact with others. Your attitude toward customers. How hard you’re willing to work to do the job right. Whether you’re focused and disciplined or scattered and distracted. That sort of thing.

Now, there have been some pretty dysfunctional founders and CEOs who did well for themselves for a time. But sooner or later, usually when the pressure is on and things aren’t going so well, they exhibit self-destructive behavior that bites them where it hurts most. Sadly, they often take their businesses down with them.

If you want to make it big over the long-term, you might want to take a good, hard look in the mirror and see if any of these career-limiting behaviors describe you.

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Naivety

Granted, we all start out sort of wide-eyed and gullible, but the sooner you convert that to savvy and skeptical, the better your chances of coming out on top. The reason is simple: suckers and fools don’t win. Learn to question everything you read and hear and always consider the source.

Panic

High-pressure situations are common in the business world. Things almost never go according to plan and oftentimes they go terribly wrong. It comes with the territory. If you can’t override your adrenaline response and remain calm in a crisis, you’re sort of screwed.

Fanaticism

Passion is a big success driver, but when you cross that line and become over-the-top fanatical, that works against you. I’ve seen it time and again. It leads to a skewed perception of reality, flawed reasoning, and bad decision-making.

Laziness

Those who are driven to achieve great things also know one fundamental truth: It takes hard work over the long haul. That’s why they’re always so focused and disciplined. Most people are slackers. That’s why most people don’t achieve great things. Simple as that.

Quick-fix mentality

Steve Jobs said, “Half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance” and if you’re not passionate about what you do, you won’t stick with it. Too many people want instant gratification these days. That’s not going to cut it.

Acting out

Whatever feelings you have trouble dealing with – jealousy, shame, inferiority, entitlement – transferring them to people you work with and acting out in anger won’t just make you and everyone around you miserable, it’ll kill your career, too.

Selfishness

If you act like the world revolves around you, you’d better have the talent to back it up. Even so, being overly self-centered will diminish your effectiveness. Business isn’t about you; it’s about business. It’s about your customers’ experience with your products. Remember who serves whom in the relationship.

Living in the past or future

Granted, we can learn from the past, but dwelling on it is self-destructive. Likewise, you can plan for and dream about the future, but if your actions aren’t focused on the present, you’ll never achieve your plans or your dreams.

Lighthearted indifference

You hear phrases like “whatever works,” “it’s all good,” and “no worries” a lot lately but you’ll rarely hear them from highly accomplished people. They may be a lot of things but apathetic is not one of them.

Oversensitivity

If you’re so thin-skinned that any criticism makes you crazy and every little thing offends you, you’re going to have a rough go of it in the real business world. There’s a good reason why business leaders usually have a good sense of humor and humility. It’s sort of a requirement. Don’t take yourself so seriously.[/box]