Nicholas Bate

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: Fifty: Kaizen

Kaizen: constant never ending improvement. Success in a competitive world means not just more but better. Not just better but different. Not just different but innovative. It's a world of constant, never-ending improvement. But with it, comes success.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: The Director's Cut Crib Sheet

1. Clarity: Ask the question of yourself and insist on an answer. Even if it takes a lifetime.
2. Resilience: The myth we are sold from kindergarten is that it will be easy. In fact it will be hard.
3. Focus: And how do you know what is important? We always do. We just need to slow down enough so that our heart and our gut and our mind (probably in that order) reminds us.
4. Decision: The real reason the tough decisions of our Life are so hard is that we are distracted by 'lesser' decisions we are delaying.
5. Action: A decison is not a decision until you take an action.
6. Learn Fast and Deep: If there were a list of strategies for failure, number one would probably be: failure to learn.
7. Back to Zero: what would I do differently if I started afresh? What would I do if I were starting over?
8. Eliminate Distractors: As a lawn become untidy with leaves, a child's playroom littered with Lego bricks and a kitchen with dirty coffee mugs so business life becomes cluttered with poor practices and non effective approaches. Eliminate them.
9. Now: There's now addiction: 'I've got to check my mail' and there's now action.
   
10. Knowledge: Read, grab every decent training course you can and learn. Get damned good at a few things. And then a lot of things.
11. The Forward View: The Forward View is a sweep through the schedule. Up mountain, down valley and across river-bed. It is surveying the terrain to ensure there are no surprises.
12. Jolt The Brain: And notice how the universe seems somehow larger, friendlier and full of possibilities.
13. Work Hard: It's not fashionable. It's certainly not cool. It's definitely not the exclusive way. But it works.
14. Start: But ultimately you have to start as that is the only way, the only way, to discover whether this is going to work
15. Wake Up (1): There's alarm-clock wake-up. That's OK. There's where's my first cup of coffee wake-up? That's just OK, too. But then there is that leap-out-of-bed-let's-change-the world-and-make-it-a-better-place-and-I'm-not-going-to -put-up-with-any-f**king-cr**py-meetings-today-and-I-am-going-to-remind-her-how-much-I-love-her-and-send her-flowers-stuff-the-expense-kind-of-wake-up.
16. Basics First: Woody Allen famously said: 80% of success is turning up. And if that seems too easy, too trite, observe your business day.
17. Write It Down: When you write it down you have to frame it, consider it and reduce it to its essence. The process takes your thinking to the next level.
18. Friends: Not Facebook friends. Not drinking friends. Certainly not demanding and/or judging friends. But those who are there for you.
19. Perspective: Shift perspective and insight will appear. Just don't mention paradigm shift; that really will stymie your breakthroughs.
20. Pace: Pace is key to success. Like the long-distance runner who knows when to use-and when to conserve-energy, adjusting your pace allows you to get exactly what you want.
21. The Long Game: Be willing to create base camp and climb from there. The long game: uniquely human.
22. Follow up: Once out into the world of commerce and family something eventually dawns: no task is ever complete
23. Switch Off: Data in, data out. But if there is too much data going in. If the data is going in continuously. If the data is coming from various untamed sources. Then it's tricky getting quality data out.
24. Getting Better All The time: Some get worse at what what they do. No longer such a good short-order chef. Some stagnate. Sort of not a bad accountant. Some get better.
25. Re-Boot: We'll stumble, trip and get dis-orientated before we get there. Yes: re-boot.
26. Move On: But most of the time: move on. The slate can be wiped clean. New images, colours and dreams can be created.
27. Add One, Drop One: But one good way of enhancing the likelihood of success is avoiding over-load.
28. Momentum Through Immersion: out of that immersion, suddenly we will kick-start back into proper progress,
29. Easy Does It:  Know when to take a break. When to laugh at oneself. When to switch it all off and go see a movie. When to stop texting and drop her a real love letter (even though you live with her).
30. Wake Up (2) : Re-register that life is spectacular. Wake up.
31. More Music: Music changes mood; Music-the right music, at the right time accelerates success.
32. Point of View: We live in a malleable universe. What You See Is What You Get.
33. Ready For Anything: How ready can you be? With consideration and judicious use of this list. Anything.
34. Acceptance: Goals are great. Ambition is no bad thing. Drive is exciting. But acceptance is cool.
35. That Knowing Feeling: Sometimes, just sometimes you just know you are on to something: It's worth tuning in: your heart and your gut always know.
36. Know Your Enemy: Not the enemy. Your enemy.
    
37. time vs. TIME: Not all time is the same. Think return on time.
    
38. Are You Kidding? You can fix it. You can.
    
39. Balance? Stay grounded, connected, in balance.
    
40. Enjoy Yourself? Otherwise: what is the point?
41. The FlightDeck What needs to be done? When? And its relative importance?
    
42. Be Outrageous Ask the questions others are avoiding, fearful of answering or hadn't even articulated. Strike out, be different : be outrageous.
43. One More Time Persistence works. Every time.
    
44. Organisation Who? What? Where? When? Why?
    
45. Give It A Break And let it solve itself.
46. Wood vs. Trees. Sometimes we just get too bound up in the detail and need to ask: what's really important here? What is the big picture? Sometimes of course we've become a little too 'flaky' and conceptual in which case it's about what do we need to actually do?
47. Review, Condense, Distill. Condense down those thoughts and notes and distill out the wisdom which you want to hang on to
48. Ask. A fast-track to success. They might say no. Their advice might be distorted. But the right person, at the right time might just know. Know what you need to know.
49. Work You Love? Of course. But love your work: really decide to give it your all. Most jobs suddenly become so much better with a simple mindset shift.
50. Kaizen. Continuous innovation. Love it!

The detail here.

Bonus: How To Be Brilliant book

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortyNine: Do Work You Love, Sure

But Love Your Work.

Of course, be on a quest to do work you love. Of course realise that money rarely compensates for a job you hate. Understand that doing a work you love solves many other challenges, too such as health and wealth and...But. But. All jobs have their tricky bits. You have your moods and doubts and the-grass-is-greener thoughts. The way through that is to love your job. Really decide to give it your all. Most jobs suddenly become so much better with a simple mindset shift.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortyEight: Ask

Ask. A fast-track to success. They might say no. Their advice might be distorted. But the right person, at the right time might just know. Know what you need to know. Ask.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortySeven: Review, Condense, Distill

Every so often take that notebook of yours and further review it. Condense down those thoughts and notes and distill out the wisdom which you want to hang on to. Like an early alchemist looking to convert lead into gold, from those ramblings and sketches and scribbles are the routes to your success. Don't lose them. Unlike the alchemists it works. Review, condense, distill.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortySix: Wood vs. Trees

Sometimes we just get too bound up in the detail and need to ask: what's really important here? What is the big picture? Sometimes of course we've become a little too 'flaky' and conceptual in which case it's about what do we need to actually do? Wood vs. trees is a balance which is on the path to success.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortyFive: Leave It A While

Sometimes the less conscious brain will do the work if given a chance. Leave the challenge for a while. Overnight. Or  a transatlantic flight. Or the weekend. Upon return, the problem has often changed and is easier to resolve. Of course the problem hasn't really changed: you've changed. You're now in a state ready to solve a problem rather than a state of frustration that a problem can't be solved.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortyFour: It's Got To Be Done; Once & For All

A system of organisation, that's what. It's got to give you access to what you need, when you need it. It's got to allow you to focus on the vital few. It's got to keep distraction at bay. It's got to be so simple that it's a no -brainer to run it. But above all, it's got to be yours: work the way your mind works, the way your day unfolds and meets your non-work demands.  Start today to organise that  system. Pinch ideas from colleagues who are good at this kind of stuff, get inspiration from a few books (start with my free pdf: Boost Your Productivity) and refine it over time. It's the bed-rock of a path to success.

StrategiesForSuccessFifty: FortyThree: One More Time

Persistence is a winner. There is a dark side of course (there always is...): addiction, fanaticism, an inability to let it go. But simple persistence: one more call, one more mail, one more strategy. It works. Ask any successful person.

StrategiesForSuccess: FortyTwo: Be Outrageous

Ask the questions others are avoiding, fearful of answering or hadn't even articulated. Be the person your customer needs you to be: fair, responsive and innovative. Have unconditional love for your children. Be there for your friends, whatever: know what's important to them. Strike out, be different : be outrageous.