The Winning Habits: 4 Secrets That Will Change The Rest Of Your Lifeby Dick Lyles
Dick looks at four simple formulas for becoming more effective and successful. The author Dick Lyles, CEO of the global consulting company Leadership Legacies and formerly the President and COO of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, shares in this book the secrets to lifetime of fulfillment. A cross between the best-selling books Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard and Dr. Covey s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this 111-page book uses fictional characters to bring to life the not-so-secret guidelines to success making it easier for readers to grasp the concepts.
The author reveals that you too can be successful by adhering to four simple winning habits in your job, family, business or your daily life:
1. Be first on, last off, and add extra value. How you do things is key to your success. According to Lyles, it is not sufficient to have great ideas, do good work, and then stop. You will achieve better results if you focus on creating a better outcome. A one-person business owner, most especially, does not have the luxury to simply conjure brilliant ideas for the business, and then expect someone else to worry about the details and follow-through.
A results-oriented person who puts in extra effort to come up with significant improvements to their projects stands a greater chance at success than an activity-based person. Don t make the mistake of thinking that your brains alone can carry you, because in the real world, brains alone aren t enough. You need to possess a high degree of curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-critique to succeed.
2. Never trade results for excuses. Stuff happens is the excuse we often find ourselves making when we are unable to do things we originally planned to do. Successful people, according to the author, make sure that they do what they commit themselves to do. Simple rationalizations and flimsy excuses do not easily let them off the hook. People who want to succeed as focused on the results, always bearing in mind that productivity is more important than activity. They make no excuses for themselves; they just do it.
If you want to attain a lifetime of fulfillment, you need to develop the habit off saying, There s no excuse to prod yourself to doing what you set out to do.
3. Solve problems in advance. Learning how to troubleshoot action plans before you implement them is the essence of the third winning habit.
Lyles explain that every move whether implementing a new decision or solving a problem -- can have consequences, some of which are unintended. Some of these unintended consequences can become new problems that you need to face. To avoid new problems popping up, you need to learn how to troubleshoot your decisions.
Troubleshooting decision means having a logical and consistent method for solving problems and making decisions. According to the author, there are seven steps to solving a problem:
§ Define the problem § Define objectives § Generate alternatives § Develop action plan § Troubleshoot § Communicate § Implement
4. Always make those around you look good. The author advises, Develop the habit of always making those around you look good. You can get further ahead in life if you don t push people back to propel yourself up front. The reason: people know. You ll stand a greater chance at success if you make the habit of creating allies, instead of enemies.
This advice is even more relevant for entrepreneurs working with employees. You can achieve more if you are able to support your employees goals, help solve their problems, show that you are truly interested in helping them achieve in line with the overall organization s goals.
The Winning Habits: 4 Secrets That Will Change The Rest Of Your Life is a fun and simple read. Its parable writings are easy to digest and apply in your business and daily life.
About the Author :
Dick is the CEO of Leadership Legacies, LLC, a global consulting company that serves business leaders by offering them a comprehensive and integrated line of products and services that significantly increase the performance of their organizations and the people within them. He is also the former president of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, which doubled in size during his three-year tenure.
He has had a distinguished career for more than 25 years as an entrepreneur, executive, author, speaker, and consultant with an international clientele. His clients are organizations of all sizes, including many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies at all levels around the world.He is the author of four books:
Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that will Change the Rest of Your Life;
Winning Ways: Four Secrets for Getting Great Results by Working Well with People; Responsible Managers Get Results, written with Gerry Faust and Will Phillips; and
Practical Management Problem Solving and Decision Making.
Dick is a frequent guest on radio and television programs and speaks at conventions, conferences, and executive retreats around the world. Whether he is delivering a keynote address, consulting with clients, coaching protégés, or leading his management team, Dick Lyles is known for his ability to energize people and develop powerful results -- producing relationships -- in essence, he "walks the talk" of Winning Habits and Winning Ways.
Dick is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and has a master's degree in organizational psychology and a Ph.D. in business administration.
