Tips For Business and Life

In both business and life, it’s not all about your knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. It’s also about how you go about your day-to-day. It’s been a while since I wrote a post about attitude and perspective, however I got inspired this week! This is probably one of the more important posts you will read here on PPC Ian. It’s a shorter one, but I’m telling you, these tips work. Above and beyond “working”, following these tips will make the world a better place. Enjoy…

• Ask yourself every single day how you can help others. Make it your mission to help out. This year (check out my 2013 goals) I’m striving to help 5 people per day. Applied practically, I view myself as an enabler at my job. I do everything possible to help my team, co-workers, partners, and customers.
• Try to find a company that has few/zero politics and stay there. There simply is no meaningful benefit that can come out of gossip, alliances, and politics. Once you have found a workplace that has very few politics, hang on tight as you are in a very nurturing and positive environment. If you thrive in an environment of politics or even partake in the gossip, take an unbiased look at your situation and seriously consider an adjustment. This type of behavior will permanently hold you back from true leadership.
• Celebrate the success of others. Never look down on your friends or teammates for their achievements. Make sure to share in their excitement. Those that celebrate others have achieved true leadership-level maturity. (Check out my post about Celebrating Your Team’s Success.)
• Avoid saying negative things. The spoken word is very powerful. When you say something negative, that word has the opportunity to alter the way you think and perceive the world. That word also has the power to influence others. Even more important: Avoid writing anything negative. The written word, in my opinion, is even more powerful than the spoken word.
• Stay extremely positive and speak/write positive statements. This tip is the converse of the last one. Positivity is contagious and energizing. True leaders have the ability to energize everyone around them.
• Get into work early, on a consistent basis each day. The consistency and early start is the mark of a true leader. Do this even at the expense of sleep. Never miss your queue.
• Always expand your knowledge. Keep learning, have a hunger for knowledge. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can turn new knowledge into actionable results. Become a repository of knowledge and new ideas for your employer.
• Be a true perfectionist, take pride in everything you do. Never settle for less. Demand the same quality from others. Inspire true quality.
• Develop an unparalleled network. Treat your connections as friends, not just acquaintances or business partners. Treat your friends very well and help them out.

Of course, there are many other tips, however I just wanted to share a few that are top of mind for me this week. I hope these tips help you out in both business and life!

Image of Tip Theory Into Practice © iStockPhoto – marekuliasz