One Half of Success?…The Other Half of Success?….Other People’s Breaking News….Econ Recon: More to Come? Buckle Up!…New Tools for your Kit

“Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity. Successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality.

Act, look, feel successful; conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.”

William James
1842-1910
Philosopher and Psychologist; First US Educator to offer a Course in Psychology

 One Half of Success

A tired (and somewhat cynical cliché) about success is that it’s “Not what you know, but WHO you know.” This cliché is clearly valid at some level in every success as most people would affirm that good networks are a success prerequisite,  but a recent INC Magazine article suggests that we may be going about building them the wrong way.  

Like most people we prefer the company of people like ourselves. The internet has fed this tendency by creating online communities that make it even easier to find those who remind us of ourselves. According to multiple, peer-reviewed studies, simply being in an open network instead of a closed one is the best predictor of career success….in fact, the study shows that half of the predicted difference in career success (i.e., promotion, compensation, industry recognition) is due to this one variable.”

Shameless Self Promotion Dept.: The diversity you find in a Vistage group is a big step in this direction.

The Other Half of Success

And while we’re on success…if a diverse network is half the difference in career success, where’s the other half? Maybe you’ll find it in another study referenced in a short article in HBR. A 10 year research project that included 2,700 executive interviews unveiled that successful executives display “four recurring patterns that distinguished exceptional executives.”

Other People’s Breaking News

The late Stephen Covey in “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” focused on understanding the tyranny of the urgent overcoming the important. Marketing guru Seth Godin challenges you “to decide whether we want to engage in the hobby of living through other people’s breaking news instead of focusing on what’s actually important.” Take a minute to deconstruct the urgent versus the important; it may contribute to your success.

 Econ Recon: 

More to Come: The year is off to a rough start in the markets. Some economists feel the strength of the consumer and recent employment reports bolstered by low oil prices will overcome any recessionary pressures. Others feel that the impact of low oil prices on the petroleum industry plus China’s slowdown may push the economy backward. This one page analysis accompanied by a 3 minute video from Bloomberg business may help you make up your mind about the where we’re headed.

Buckle Up!: Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics was recently interviewed by CNBC about matters economic. This interview captures Dr. Beaulieu’s thoughts on the recent short term volatility, but he remains focused on the recession he sees coming in 2019. Check out why he says “Buckle Up” in this summary of his interview.

 New Tools for Your Kit

Vistage Speaker Scot Hunsaker’s presentation “Turning Employees Into Owners” features many tools that he and others have used to build value in their companies. Scot would like to ask you what you are using in your company. If you complete his survey on  business tools you are using in your company, Scot will provide you access to this database so you can explore what other companies are using.

Shameless Self Promotion Dept. (reprise): Scot will be the resource speaker for the Upstate Vistage Groups on June 22^nd and 23^rd. Contact me if you’d like to explore the opportunity to hear him explain how to “Turn Employees into Owners.”