What if everything you thought about best practices was wrong?
on Friday, November 18, 2011One of the best things about flying is reading magazines I might not ordinarily read.
The Spirit magazine on Southwest Airlines offered business insights under the intriguing title “Xnay the Old Way” which contained an overview of Steve Shapiro‘s book Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition. As I disconnected from technology I let my brain loose with some of these ideas and could immediately see how to apply and fine-tune my own 2012 plan.
Can you imagine if you
- Forget your goals. Do your goals stress you out? In this day of BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and the moving target created in the current economy, what else can they do? Find new ways to set benchmarks that empower you.
- Partner with people who are unlike you. If you spend the majority of your time in a mutual fan club, you get no fresh thought or insight into your blind spots. Shapiro says “Hire people you don’t like.” I don’t think I’d go that far. I’ve never had a good experience working with someone I don’t respect or trust. But I do appreciate his challenge to get out of our comfort zone to expand our understanding of the incredible value in other personality styles and strength sets.
- Quit looking for outside feedback. There are few leaders or peers able to truly speak into your life or business. If you are looking for constructive feedback, roadmaps, or advice look to those who’ve earned the right. They’ve been there. Done it. Have the t-shirt. AND can give you perspective that is not exclusively through their own lens. After you’ve asked a few (and I do mean only a few) trusted advisers, now ask yourself. What does your heart say? You know more than you think you do. Trust your gut.
- Allow failure to be an option. How many of us have identified the fear of failure as a reason we might not pursue our goals with ferocity only to realize it was actually the fear of success that really held us back? What if you failed? What would it mean? It would mean you learned one way it doesn’t work. What if you were overwhelmingly successful? What would it mean? It would mean you found your sweet spot and an idea whose time has come combined with the proper delivery method. Remove failure as a hurdle and view it as invaluable learning.
Of course, this is just food for thought. This is a must-own book for this period in time navigating your success path. Be prepared to have your thinking challenged and make some fresh decisions about your own direction. It’s all good!
Have some of your own contrarian viewpoints? Leave us a comment. Start the conversation.
Connected leaders operate with…Clarity. Focus. Action. Results.
------------------To your success!
Kathie Nelson
http://www.KathieNelson.com