Part 3: Key Insights From The Future Leaders Summit

(If you missed the summit, good news! You can still get a 24-hour pass right here)

In December, I started publishing some articles in my series of key insights from my inaugural virtual summit. The Future Leaders Summit was an online event in which I interviewed 31 international bestselling authors and leadership experts. Thousands of people attended the summit from around the world and they learned so much from all these highly successful people.

In today’s article, I share some key insights from my interview with Alinka Rutkowska, a USA Today best-selling author, a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a top 100 Amazon best-selling author in business and money. Alinka is CEO of Leaders Press and has launched all its titles to bestseller status. Alinka loves to help individuals move forward by sharing stories from her interviews with successful entrepreneurs, so here we’ll focus on the common factors for success and the importance of daily habits.

6 Common Factors For Success

In conducting hundreds of interviews , Alinka found that the most successful people repeatedly mentioned the same six key success factors: Passion, Vision, Persistence, Adaptability, Customer-centeredness, and Relationships.

The Importance Of Passion

Above all else, Alinka feels that the most important factor is Passion, because without this it can be really difficult to keep going.

One of her favourite books is The One Thing by Gary Keller, in which he recommends that we should find the “one thing” we are most passionate about, and then focus on this instead of wasting time on other things.

If you don’t start with passion, you’re probably not going to make it. Passion is the foundation.

Successful People Have Daily Habits And Routines

In her latest book, Supreme Leadership, Alinka reports on interviews with CEOs who have 25 years of experience or more. Instead of looking at common traits for success, in this book she delves deeper into habits of these highly successful people.

Many people have researched this topic, and most would agree that the most successful people in life are very disciplined. They figure out which routines or habits help them succeed, and they religiously stick to them.

Habits are actionable behaviours that an aspiring entrepreneur, or anyone, can replicate.

One thing that a large number of successful people agree on is the benefit of starting their day with meditation. First thing in the morning is actually the most stressful, because our cortisol levels are at their highest. Meditating first thing in the morning can help to clear away any stress and focus your mind so you start the day in a calm place.

When you win the morning routine, that sets you up for success for the rest of the day.

I hope you enjoyed learning some of the key traits and habits of successful people. I would love you to share your thoughts:

What is one of your most important key success factors?

What is one of your daily habits that you would recommend to others?

Here’s to your success!

Shirley

By the way, if you missed the Future Leaders Summit, good news! You can get your free 24-hour Summit pass right now.

PS: Here’s a testimonial from Karen Jacobson, www.thegpsgirl.com about the Future Leaders Summit: “Working with Shirley Taylor throughout the Future Leaders Summit was an exceptional experience. Her commitment to excellence and attention to detail resulted in a program with great insights from amazing experts and these learnings will enhance careers and change lives internationally. Shirley is a speaker, author and trainer who walks her talk and has a deep passion for developing leaders. I recommend her without hesitation.”

Part 2: Key Insights From The Future Leaders Summit

(If you missed the summit, good news! You can still get a VIP Pass here)

A week ago, I published my first article in my series of key insights from the Future Leaders Summit. This was an online event I hosted recently, in which thousands of attendees from around the world learned from 31 interviews that I conducted with bestselling authors and leadership experts.

In today’s article, I share some key insights from my interview with Mark Sanborn, a bestselling author, speaker and advisor to leaders. I have been a fan of Mark’s since I first read his book “The Fred Factor” many years ago. I found the story about Fred the postman quite fascinating. The ‘Fred philosophy’ is to realise that everyone can make a difference, and that passion in our work and life can turn the ordinary into extraordinary.

Mark has written many other books, and in our interview we discussed the concept from, “You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader”. It’s true that we usually think of leaders as those at the top of an organization. However, Mark got the inspiration to write this book after many leaders told him stories about employees who were doing great leadership work even though they had no official title.

You are a leader if you make a positive difference, if you make an impact on others, through what you do and how you do it.

So What Keeps People From Leading?

Mark shared that unfortunately many people in non-leadership roles don’t try to make an impact for various reasons:

1. Mistaking controlling for leading. Maybe they have worked for a leader who micromanaged and controlled the results that employees achieved.
2. Lack of awareness that they can lead. Some people are often unaware they can lead unless they accidentally stumble upon it.
3. Not sure how to lead. Some people want to make a difference but are not sure how.

How Can You Add Value?

Employees who consistently add value will be recognized as people who produce results. These are the people who will get noticed for all the right reasons, and they are the people most likely to be promoted into formal leadership positions.

Do you get noticed at work for the right reasons or the wrong reasons?

So how can you add value? Mark shared with me what he calls the ‘ROI Factor‘, which effective leaders use consistently. This is something we could all use, no matter what our title.

• The R is for relationships. Anytime you develop a better relationship with a vendor, customer, colleague or stakeholder, that’s a form of leadership.
• The O is for outcomes, which are the results you will achieve.
• The I is for improvement, making things a little bit better using innovation and creativity.

“It’s not the job you have, it’s you do the job you do that makes a difference.”

What Can YOU Do Today To Make A Difference?

When conducting training for an organization in Singapore last week, I was happy to see a poster in the pantry encouraging staff to “Show your appreciation today!” This reminded of my discussion with Mark about how anyone can make a difference, no matter what their title. Here are some simple examples of how you can make a difference today or any day:

• Congratulate a colleague on great work on a recent project.
• Stop by someone’s desk to say hi and ask if they had a great weekend.
• Give someone a Kit Kat chocolate bar with a little note “You deserve a break.”
• Offer to lend a hand if you notice someone needs help.
• Pick up cookies or cupcakes and leave in the pantry for everyone.

What will YOU do today to make a difference?

I hope you enjoyed learning some of the key insights from my interview with Mark Sanborn. I would love you to share your thoughts:

If you’re a leader, how do some of your team members make an impact?

If you’re not a leader, what do you do to make an impact?

Here’s to your success!

Shirley

By the way, if you missed the Future Leaders Summit, good news! You can still get a VIP Pass here.

PS: Please look out for my next article where I’ll be sharing some of the key insights from my interview with Sally Helgesen, who co-authored the book “How Women Rise”with Dr. Marshall Goldsmith. In our interview, Sally discusses the roadblocks that hold women back and how we can identify our blind spots.

Part 1: Key Insights From The Future Leaders Summit

(If you missed the summit, good news! You can still get a VIP Pass here)

After being a speaker and corporate trainer for three decades, I recently ventured into the virtual world to host my first online event – the Future Leaders Summit. With 31 amazing guest speakers, the Summit attracted thousands of attendees from almost 100 different countries. And wow! I certainly learned a lot! And now I would love to share some of my key insights with you.

What an honour it was to interview some of the top global leadership experts and bestselling authors as they shared cutting-edge information about the future of work, the changes and challenges we are all facing, and essential skills needed for the future. With such a diverse range of speakers and topics, my aim was to inspire existing leaders, new leaders, potential leaders, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, in fact anyone who wants to grow professionally and personally.

In part 1, I’m sharing some key insights from my interview with Graeme Codrington, a renowned futurist, researcher and professional speaker. When I spoke to Graeme, it was easy to sense his great passion for understanding the intersection of people and technology.

Where will the 2020s take us?

In my discussion with Graeme, he shared fascinating information from his company’s research about where the 2020s may take us. He told me the key shift in mindset for us as humans is to look at the tasks that we want machines to do.

Here’s the good news: About 30 or 40% of what people do cannot be done by machines. And even better news: There are several key skills that computers are not going to develop any time soon.

Horizon Scanning

One of these key skills is what Graeme calls horizon scanning, or “what if” thinking. This is the ability to look at the future, to see what’s coming and to develop scenarios. A lot of people have the attitude of wanting to protect the systems that already exist. However, leaders today envisage a different future from one that appears inevitable given current systems.

Creativity And Intuition

Another key skill is the ability to come up with fresh ideas, and Graeme said this is still something that we don’t fully understand. There’s a science behind this, but it still relies a lot on gut feel, or intuition. In practical terms, this involves knowing when it’s appropriate to work “outside the rule book”. Human skills are needed in knowing when rules and procedures aren’t working, and then find a creative, intuitive solution.

Personal Intelligence

I like the term Personal Intelligence that Graeme uses. It’s an interesting twist on the standard term that we all know, Emotional Intelligence. The focus here is really about knowing yourself. This includes being conscious of your strengths and comfortable with your weaknesses. It’s about being very aware of what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, and acknowledging that’s why you have a team around you to compensate.

The best organizations in the 2020s will have leaders and people who are very in tune and comfortable with who they are.

I wasn’t surprised that Graeme hit on the importance of knowing ourselves as leaders and recognizing that we have a team around us, because this is something that many of my Summit guests talked about too. So do look out for part 2 when I’ll be sharing some of the key insights from my interview with Mark Sanborn, who is passionate about sharing that we don’t need a title to be a leader.

I hope you enjoyed learning some of the key insights from my interview with Graeme Codrington. I would love you to share your thoughts about some of the key skills you feel will be essential for us to future-proof our careers in our automation age.

Here’s to your success!

Shirley

By the way, if you missed the summit, good news! You can still get a VIP Pass here.

We all hear the old saying that we should ‘work smarter, not harder’, but how many of us actually abide by this? It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Experts actually say the key to working smart is to be more effective, not necessarily more efficient. Efficiency is doing the job right. Effectiveness, on the other hand, is doing the right job! Think about that! Here are my ten top tips for managing your time more effectively:

1. Figure out when you are at your peak

I know I work better from 9am to noon, so that’s when I try to do my most important tasks. Figure out when you are at your prime and plan carefully around this.

2. Turn off your e-mail notifier

Do you really need the pop-up or ‘ding’ every few minutes? Try turning off your e-mail notifier when you need to concentrate on an important project, then you really can focus.

3. Expect the unexpected

Block out some planning time. Everyone needs some time for thinking, so try to build in some flexibility into your daily routines.

4. Say NO occasionally

Sometimes we may have to be assertive and say ‘no’ if something is not urgent or a priority. Saying no courteously may be seen as a strength rather than a weakness.

5. Set priorities

Categorise tasks according to priority, for example: 1 = The task is urgent and important 2 = It’s important but not urgent 3 = It’s urgent but not important 4 = Its not urgent and not important

6. Stay focused in meetings

How many meetings have you attended where people go off at tangents? It helps to be clear about the agenda before meetings, and make sure everyone knows what the objectives are. This will help you stay focused and keep the discussion heading in the right direction.

7. Clear out your clutter

I know I can’t work effectively if my desk is a mess with lots of paperwork everywhere. So once in a while I have a good clearing and sorting session, and I clear out the clutter on my desk, trays, drawers and files. It’s amazing how much better I always feel once the clutter is gone!

8. Remember to take a break

We all tend to make more mistakes when we are tired or stressed, so learn to recognise the symptoms when you are flagging and take a break from your work. Yes Mom, I hear you… this is something I’m not so good at!

9. Don’t procrastinate

Tackle what’s right now in the present and don’t let procrastination get in the way. It’s amazing how great it feels when you can tick off those items on your to-do list!

10. Adopt a positive attitude

Keep your mindset positive. See solutions instead of problems. See positives instead of negatives. Do your tasks with a happy heart, and smile!

There are many pressures from society and family to be a certain version of successful. Usually this means wealthy or socially important, instead of healthy, happy and great at what you do. But doing things to make lots of money or for superficial social status will not lead to a fulfilling life. In the workplace, focusing on tasks that are difficult or displeasing to you, even if they will supposedly help you ‘get ahead’, will make you miserable.

The idea

As Steve Jobs said, “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.” He was an example for us all, a man who obviously loved what he did and was therefore very successful at is.

Do not stray from your talents. When something comes easily to you, you often enjoy it more. It is much easier to become a leader in a field you are naturally good at. Resist pressure to achieve other people’s vision of success. Focus on what you are and can be great at doing. As long as you are doing what you are good at, the rest will fall into place.

Fast fact: Take every opportunity to they new things. At any point in your life, you may find something that you are good at, something you have been looking for all along.

In practice

• Knowing what you are good at is one thing. Being modest about it is another. If you are especially good at something, let it be known. Tell anyone and everyone who is interested. This way, if there is a job prospect or project that is right up your ally, people will know to come to you first.
• In the workplace, volunteer for tasks that you know you can do well. Keep you eye out for projects and job advancements that will help you shine. let your superiors know your skills, interests and desire to grow. You never know what they may have in store for you.
• Narrow your field of expertise. Don’t try to be the best at everything.
• Don’t be side tracked by other taste or other people. Don’t be intimidated into thinking that what you are good at is not worthwhile.
• Take compliments, Reflection what other say you are skilled at. They may be able to see a talent in you that you do not see yourself.

When you manage your personal branding, people will remember you and associate you with the brand values you wish to convey. If you don’t manage your brand, others will!

Secret # 1: Define your brand

Your brand is what people say you are. Do you know who you are? The image in my past career (though not bad) needed a lift in my new career so I had to redefine what my new brand was. What is your brand and what do you stand for? If you want people to remember you, to buy from you or offer you a job or promotion, you need to present yourself in a way that represents your brand.

Secret # 2: Set your brand goals

Without a goal in mind, the ‘image’ is just superficial.

Secret # 3: Look the part

Our look tells a story about who we are. It conveys the messages, whether intended or not, of what our brand values are. So, what message are you conveying to people with the way you look?

Look in the mirror and ask yourself: what brand value are you conveying through your look, and is it consistent with your intended message?

Secret # 4: Sound the part

In any communication, whether formal or informal, you need to make sure it is representing your brand values. What impressions would you like to leave behind when you communicate?

I often receive emails in SMS language even in an official capacity, and it always gives me an impression that the sender is not professional. Recently, I heard a top official’s address in a major sports event, broadcast to the whole world, and he made some obvious grammatical errors. That left a negative impression on many listeners.

To achieve your goals, review your communication to see if it matches your brand values.

Secret # 5: Act the part

Does the inside of the box match the outside and the messages it conveys? This is about our behaviour in terms of our work habits and interpersonal skills – we know that in the end, action speaks louder than words. It is also about what we don’t say – our body language gives away many secrets about who we really are inside!

If you put in efforts to look and sound good, then don’t miss out on the way you deal with people. That could be the thing that makes or breaks you.

Go type ‘reduce stress’ into your search engine. Go ahead; I’ll wait. Bet you got a number of hits in the millions. I know I did with Google – almost 30 million hits. And you can look through those and find everything from exercising to meditating to eating. Think about it, though. What good does it do you to remember that you didn’t exercise last night when you’re stressed out at work today? Can you leave the staff meeting saying you’ll be right back after you’ve done five minutes of meditation? Of course not. So, what can really help you chillax when the stress goblin is sitting right there on your desk laughing at you?

Recognise your body’s signals

The first thing you have to do is to recognise that you are stressed. Personally, I tend to start tensing up my shoulder muscles first. On the other hand, a lady I know has that nervous leg twitch: it jumps up and down like it’s on a piston. One ex-colleage – I won’t mention your name, Greg – used to get pretty darned cranky when he started getting stressed.

Maybe you tap your fingertips on the desk, or if you’re a smoker, you crave a cigarette. The key is that, usually, somewhere inside your body, the stress starts showing first. Pay attention and figure out what that first sign is for you. You might even want to keep a diary for a week or so to figure out what your particular indicator is. Once you have it figured out, you can move on to the next step.

Reverse the process

You are now at the point where the stress gremlin has jumped up and grabbed you by the throat. It’s not going to do any good to think about eating right or meditating. You need something NOW to stop the stress from getting worse and, if possible, reverse it.

Here are some possibilities for addressing the problem – depending upon your situation:

1. Take some deep breaths
   Take several deep breaths in through your nose and blow them out through your mouth. When blowing out, purse your lips. Make sure to count as you breathe in, and take twice as long to blow out as you did to breathe in. Even if you are in a meeting, you can do this surreptitiously by looking down at papers or something else in your hands.
2. Relax your muscles
   Sit or stand up very straight and, working from your feet upward, release each group of muscles in your body until your entire body is relaxed. For example, relax your toes, then your feet, then your lower legs, thighs, and so on. Work all the way up your body until you are finally relaxing your scalp.
3. Stretch
   You might think that a good full-body stretch might be too noticeable, but really it’s not. We are so used to stretching when we yawn or awaken that a quick stretch will likely go completely unnoticed among your meeting mates. My personal favourite is to sit up straight again, fist my hands, and push straight down while reaching behind me with both arms. This seems to relax my back, shoulders, neck and arms all at the same time.

Okay. You’ve released that build-up of stress in your muscles for the moment, so you might think you are finished at this point. You’ve become stressed and you’ve stopped the stress. You have, in fact, reversed the process. However, one step is left.

Determine the cause of the stress

Why on earth would you worry about the cause of the stress when you’ve got it handled already? Well, in order to prevent it from happening next time, of course. You don’t want to do a complete analysis while sitting in your meeting or talking to your co-worker. After all, you are in communication mode and should be listening, understanding and responding when appropriate. Instead, just make a quick note in your mind about the things that were said or done right before you started feeling the stress. You can analyse the full situation later when you are alone at your desk.

Certainly you can go back and read all those wonderful articles on how diet affects stress, or ways to meditate on your lunch hour. Most of them are useful and interesting ways of trying to head off stress before it starts. But if you need to get the stress gremlin off your back right now, give our three steps a try. You’ll be glad you did.

In any office environment, skilful organisation provides the strong foundations of any working day. If you work in a secretarial or administrative role, your employers expect you to manage not just your own workload efficiently, but also be familiar with the workload of the people around you.

Even if you possess some fairly good time management skills, it is always possible to brush up on your skill-set, to fine-tune some current practices, to adopt new techniques, or to train yourself to optimise your organisational regime.

Within your job scope, you are always likely to have consistent calls on your time throughout any working day. Regular interruptions, new projects and dilemmas to solve may become the norm rather than the exception. If you have these strong foundations plus an organised mind, you’ll find you can stay one step ahead rather than feel overwhelmed by workplace demands.

If you want to improve your daily organisation, here are seven powerful strategies you can use to get great results immediately.

1. Stay Focused
   It is important to stay focussed and avoid getting derailed by a barrage of work demands. By keeping a clear mind, you can ensure that your finger stays on the pulse of essential tasks and priorities. Having a good task list will help you to keeping focused and avoid distraction.
2. Clear the Clutter
   If you manage multiple deadlines, you may find that your desk starts to disappear under the weight of outstanding projects. It can easily result in clutter and chaos. A messy desk will make matters worse. Clear the clutter regularly, and make life easier by sorting into files for those urgent and forthcoming deadlines.
3. Plan Your Time Well
   Scheduling time for the important tasks is essential, so make sure your key projects have been mapped into your day. I always find it helpful to be aware of the times of the day when I’m at my most alert or productive. It will be different for everyone. Plan ahead to use those times effectively, and assess the time required for specific jobs wisely.
4. Chunk Tasks Down
   Procrastination can be your own worst enemy. It can strike at any time, but especially when you are feeling less than productive. If tasks are unpleasant, difficult or overwhelming, it can help to break them down into manageable sections. This reduces the time required for completion, and doesn’t feel so overwhelming. It’s very rewarding to tick off small chunks of a bigger project.
5. Identify Time-Wasters
   How many times do you get to the end of the morning and wonder what you’ve done and achieved? This can happen at any time. It’s important to identify your time-wasters so you can take steps to eliminate them. Set up your voicemail system when you need to focus, and then schedule time to return important calls. Stay focussed and keep the conversation brief. Decide on dedicated times to check emails and to respond, rather than keep your email program open constantly.
6. Keep a Time Log
   If you start feeling overwhelmed and there are not enough hours in the day, try keeping a time log. Note down every task that you do throughout the day. Although this may sound tedious, it can prove very valuable because it will highlight where your time is being taken up, when you are most productive, the tasks that takes the longest, and also the little things that drain time.
7. Anticipate Challenges
   Stay one step ahead of unexpected work-streams by knowing your employer’s schedule and anticipating potential problems or requests. Anticipation means you are already prepared to respond to any unexpected challenges, and it also equals less pressure.

Everyone in today’s workplace is also a manager and a re-organiser, because often the best laid plans can change in an instant. Skilful organisation and good working habits can be some of the key overriding factors for anyone in our busy offices.

These strong foundations will mean you can respond confidently at a moment’s notice. Having routines in place will also help you stay cool and calm, and to rise to the challenges you meet, and maybe even enjoy them.

Hi I’m Shirley Taylor from STTS Training. I’m here today with some tips on how you can stand up, stand out, and get noticed at work.

Do you sometimes feel you struggle with the ‘invisible’ phenomenon? Do you feel you work hard but aren’t really ‘noticed’? Or perhaps you don’t feel you get due credit? Or perhaps you feel taken for granted?

You may be asking yourself why you need to be noticed at all. You are doing your work, getting your pay, so what difference does it make if you get noticed or not? Well yes, it does matter. If you are not noticed, you are not in people’s minds. When you are not in people’s minds, you may be passed up when new projects come in, when promotions come up, when new opportunities arise, and when recognition is due.

1. Be Sociable and Network

If you are always hiding behind your computer and keeping your head down, no-one will know you even exist. People may not even know who you are. Spend a few minutes at the start of the day or at lunch time to meet and greet your colleagues. Chat to people you don’t usually chat with when you see them in the lift or in the pantry. Smile at a stranger. You may make a new friend. It’s so important to develop and nurture relationships at work. When you are visible, you will be noticed. When you are noticed, you will be top of mind for that new project, and you will get more help than someone who does not network. Keep building your network outside of working hours too; socialising with colleagues after work is a great way to get to know them better and be a real team player.

2. Help Your Colleagues Succeed

I believe a lot of my career success has been a direct result of helping others become successful. As I’ve helped to create opportunities for others, doors have opened for me too. When people see your genuine desire to help your colleagues, this will get you noticed as well as enhance your success.Helping others is a great sign of collaborative leadership, great teamwork and self-confidence. You can help others as well as yourself by developing a close relationship with all your colleagues. Show that you are constantly working together, helping each other, guiding each other and providing each other with hands-on support.

And don’t forget it works both ways. While you are helping others, be just as enthusiastic about learning from your colleagues. In this way you’re building mutually productive and rewarding relationships where everyone wins.

3. Accept Responsibilities

If you say “It’s not my job”, that will get you noticed for the wrong reasons. Perhaps take on something that requires creative thinking, or event organising, or something else you’re interested in that isn’t particularly in your job scope. But just a word of warning here: be sure you still manage all of your current responsibilities well. The last thing you need is to get noticed for the wrong reasons.

4. Get Involved

Don’t be someone who just does their work and then goes home. Get involved in your company’s events. Join the lunch-time yoga class, get involved with charity events, join your colleagues for a karaoke evening, or something like that. If you’re not one for singing or sports, how about helping out with logistics? These are places to be seen and noticed, and to make new friends too.

5. Stay Away From Politics

It’s sad but true that there are normally some political weeds in most workplaces. Some people even think it will give them a leg up if they get involved in politics. My advice is don’t get caught up in any of this negativity. Instead, keep focused on being positive, effective and productive, and in creating an impact at work. It doesn’t hurt to know who the weeds are though, so you can give them a wide berth! The last thing you need is to create a negative image and have people talking about you for the wrong reasons.

If you start working on all these 5 strategies, you will not only start getting noticed, you’ll make more friends and have more fun at work. Put more drive and energy into your work, keep a smile on your face, keep your head up instead of down as you walk around the office. Start spreading some positivity and energy around the office, and others will feel it and start sharing it too. Don’t just work with your head. Start working with your heart too. You’ll find yourself being noticed for all the right reasons!

Everywhere you look on the Internet, you can see ideas for improving your life or achieving your goals. Regardless of what those goals are, it’s likely they somehow relate to being more successful – at school, at home, and at work.

Any goal you might have can be reworded as “I want to be more successful with…” Let’s say you want to lose weight. That would be, “I want to be more successful with my self-image and fitness.” Or how about getting that promotion at work? “I want to be more successful with my job and my boss’s opinion of me.”

The big question is how do you become more successful? For work, you’ve probably thought of goals such as a promotion or a raise. Or perhaps your goal is to be given more authority or responsibility. No matter what your goals are, here are seven tips for achieving them:

1. Set concrete goals
   No one, especially your boss, is going to be able to help you be successful if you don’t know what you want. Don’t say, “I don’t want to get bored,” or “I wish I could make more money.” Instead say, “If I take more responsibility for accounts payable, I should be able to convince my boss that I deserve a raise.” The key is the very specific goal of taking responsibility for accounts payable.
2. Don’t compare yourself to others
   Only compare you to your past self. If you happen to overhear your co-worker on the phone saying, “I got that 4% raise I was hoping for,” don’t get all bent out of shape because you only got a 2% raise. Instead look at where you where you are now and where you need to be to get another raise of an additional 2%. Or what can you do to make next year be a 5% raise?
3. Don’t over-think
   If you are considering taking on the added responsibility of, say, accounts payable, don’t spend all your time figuring out exactly what you will do with it and how you will change it. Just spend some time doing the job. It may be that something you want to change really isn’t the key issue you thought it was.
4. Learn something new each week
   Again, be specific. If you are in charge of accounts payable, learn one thing about how the accounts receivable unit is run. Or if you want to move into management, take 5 minutes to chat with a division manager at the coffee machine. Ask her why she wanted to be in management or how she communicates with difficult people.
5. Be patient, but not too patient
   You know how business works. Almost everything takes time, especially changes. Know that you probably aren’t going to ask your boss for a promotion today and get it tomorrow. So hang in there and keep on keeping on. Work hard and show them what you can do, but also set a reasonable time limit. If you time limit is three months and nothing has happened after four, then you should arrange an informal meeting to see what’s going on.
6. Speak up
   Take risks and speak up when you think you have something valuable to add to a discussion. Don’t worry about what people will think. Even if your idea doesn’t work in this case, management will still notice that you took the initiative to make suggestions.
7. Listen carefully
   Of course, I saved the most important tip for last. Remember always that communication is two-way. You are not going to know how to phrase a comment or suggestion unless you understand the other person’s views and opinions. I have seen far too many people working out their next statement in their minds instead of actually listening to what is being said. This is the most obvious gaffe you can make when communicating.

Nothing can guarantee you success at work, but certainly by using these seven tips, you have a better chance of achieving your every desire. Okay, perhaps not every single one, but you will likely be more successful at achieving your goals.