You ploughed through "The 7 habits of Highly Effective people"
and what did it get you? Nothing, effectively. By now, you have
realised it takes more than effectiveness to climb to the top in
today's competitive business environment.
After travelling across the country and interviewing hundreds
of upper-level managers, corporate executives and government
leaders, I have identified seven behavioural habits (or "Sins")
common to all highly successful people. Remember: Without Sin,
there is no Synergy!
In the global economy, pride no longer cometh before a fall --
it cometh before a promotion. If you are not proud of your self
and your work, who is going to be? Not your back-stabbing
colleagues, that is for sure.
Merely hoping to get ahead is a hopelessly outmoded
advancement strategy in the information age. You have got to want
to advance with a passion that eats away like battery acid at
everything that gets in your way.
Practise the art of visualisation. Imagine yourself in the
job you desire. As clearly and honestly as you can, visualise what
has to happen to the person who has the job for you to take over.
Feels good, doesn't it?
Lust is the motor oil that lubricates the modern corporate
engine. There is no limit to how far lust can propel a career.
The trouble many leaders have is they fail to prioritise lust
episodes.
In business, learning to say "no" is not enough anymore. In
today's global economy, successful bossess have to be able to say
"Hell No!" Anger is a critically important motivational tool for
managers, a way of empowering oneself by disempowering everyone
else in the room.
Successful people get more because they want more. They are
gluttons for achievement; they crave advancement; they pig out on
success. They have learnt how to screen ethical and emotional
distractions and engage in single-minded pursuit of acquistion and
consumption. In a dog-eat-dog world, it is always time to eat.
Turn passive jealousy of a successful co-worker into
pro-active envy. Rather than sulking over your rival's recent
promotion, do something about it. Point out how many times he has
been late for work or left the office early. Shake your head sadly
over his recent "erratic" behaviour. Drop dark hints that he might
have a drug problem.
The 70's were about working hard. The 80's were concerned
with working smart. As we approach the millennium, we are
undergoing a critical paradigm shift in which the leadership roles
will be filled by those who do not do any work at all.
Show me a busy boss and I will show you someone who is not
squeezing the last drop of productivity out of his workers. Keep
in mind that it is the employee who shows no aptitude for getting
the job done who is taken out of the productive flow and made an
upper-level manager.
In the end, the Seven Deadly Sins of Highly Successful People
are only a blueprint for action. It takes you to implement them
and rescript your life. Remember: The wages of Sin are... higher
wages!