YOUR WORK

 

                            THE DISCIPLINE OF WORK

                          " LEADERS AREN'T BORN, THEY ARE MADE. AND THEY ARE MADE 

         JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, THROUGH HARD WORK, AND THAT'S THE PRICE

                            WE'LL HAVE TO PAY TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, OR ANY GOAL".

                                                                                                           --- VINCE LOMBARDI

                                     THERE IS PERHAPS NO AREA OF YOUR LIFE WHERE SELF-DISCIPLINE HAS A GREATER IMPACT OF YOUR FUTURE THAN IN YOUR WORK. YET, IF YOU'RE LIKE MOST PEOPLE, FROM THE TIME YOU START IN THE MORNING AND THEN CONTINUING THROUGH OUT THE DAY, YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE AND EVENTS THAT DRAW YOU AWAY FROM DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT. HOWEVER, IT IS THROUGH DOING YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TASKS THAT YOU MOVE ONWARD AND UPWARD, QUICKLY AND DEPENDABLY IN YOUR CAREER.

                               A GROUP OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES WAS ASKED, WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITIES THAT A PERSON WOULD NEED TO BE PROMOTED IN YOUR COMPANY? OF THESE EXECUTIVES 85 PERCENT AGREED THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITIES ARE 

                             1. THE ABILITY TO SET PRIORITIES AND WORK ON HIGH VALUE TASKS,                                     AND

                             2.  THE DISCIPLINE TO GET THE JOB DONE QUICKLY AND WELL.

                     IT SEEMS THAT THESE TWO QUALITIES ARE MORE HELPFUL FOR CAREER SUCCESS THAN ANYTHING ELSE A PERSON CAN DO. DILIGENT, DISCIPLINED, FOCUSED WORK WILL ENABLE YOU TO CONSISTENTLY AND PREDICTLY GET MORE DONE, GET PAID MORE, AND GET PROMOTED FASTER THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON.

                              LOOK THE PART DRESS

                                   FOR SUCCESS

                     FINALLY, YOU NEED TO DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO LOOK THE PART. REMEMBER, BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER" WHEN IT COME TO PRESENTATION, THIS MEANS THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO PROMOTE OTHERS  WHO LOOK LIKE THEM. YOUR BOSSESS ARE VERY MORE PEOPLE WHO THEY ARE PROUD TO INTRODUCE TO THEIR IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOUR BOSS WOULD BE PROUD TO TAKE YOU OUT FOR LUNCH AND INTRODUCE YOU TO OTHERS AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF HIS OR HER COMPANY.

                      EACH MORNING BEFORE YOU GO TO WORK, LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ASK YOURSELF, DO I LOOK LIKE ONE OF THE TOP PEOPLE IN MY FIELD? IF YOU DON'T GO BACK AND CHANGE - AND KEEP CHANGING UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE ONE OF THE TOP PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS.

                          LEARN HOW TO DRESS FOR SUCCESS. READ BOOKS AND ARTICLES, OR ASK OTHERS FOR ADVICE. LOOK AT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS AND DRESS THE WAY THEY DO. DRESS FOR THE JOB TWO LEVELS ABOVE YOUR CURRENT JOB. REMEMEBER THAT FULLY 95 PERCENT OF THE FIRST IMPRESSION YOU MAKE ON THE OTHER PEOPLE WILL BE DETERMINED BY YOUR DRESS AND GROOMING. MAKE SURE THAT FIRST IMPRESSION - AND THEN THE SECOND AND THIRD IMPRESSIONS - ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SEND.

                           MANY PEOPLE WORK THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITHOUT REALIZING THAT BY PUTTING FORWARD A LITTLE EXTRA EFFORT, WORKING A LITTLE HARDER, AND FOCUSING ON HIGHER - VLUE TASKS, THEY COULD BECOME ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PEOPLE IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS. WHEN YOU DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO CONTINUALLY  INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR COMPANY, YOU WILL PUT YOUR CAREER ON THE FAST TRACK AND VIRTUALLY GUARANTEE YOURSELF A WONDERFUL FUTURE.

                       IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, YOU WILL LEAR THAT YOUR WORK BEHAVIORS NATURALLY DETERMINE YOUR ASCENTION TO LEADERSHIP, AND YOU WILL SEE HOW SELF-DISCIPLINE IS ESSENTIAZL TO FULLFILLING YOUR POTENTIAL AS A LEADER.

                                 ACTION EXERCISES:

                     1. MAKE A DECISION TODAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BECOME ONE OF THE TOP 20 PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN YOUR COMPANY - AND YOUR INDUSTRY. WHAT SHOULD YOU OR COULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY.?

                    2. MAKE A LIST OF EVERTHING YOU DO IN YOUR JOB AND THEN  IDENTIFY THE THREE TASKS THAT CONTRIBUTE THE GREATEST VALUE OF YOUR WORK AND COMPANY.

                   3. SET A NEW WORK SCHEDULE FOR YOURSELF AND BEGIN TO START EARLIER, WORK HARDER, AND STAY LATER UNTIL IT BECOMES A HABIT.

                   4. IDENTIFY THE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE IN YOUR JOB, AND THEN WORK ON THOSE RESULTS ALL DAY LONG.

                  5. DETERMINE THE PERSON WHO IS THE BEST DRESSED AND GROOMED IN YOUR COMPANY, AND THEN RESOLVE TO USE HIM/HER AS A ROLE MODEL FOR YOUR OWN APPEARANCE.

 

                   6. DECIDE TODAY THAT, FROM NOW ON, YOU ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY WORK ALL THE TIME YOU ARE AT WORK AND THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DEVELOP THE REPUTATION FOR BEING THE HARDEST WORKING PERSON IN YOUR COMPANY.

                   7. DEVELOP A SENSE OF URGENCY. RESOLVED TO MOVE FAST WHEN YOU ARE GIVEN A JOB OR OPPORTUNITY. THIS CAN  CHANGE YOUR LIFE.