‘The Six Fundamentals of Success’ (I)
‘The Six Fundamentals of Success’ by Stuart R. Levine
Fundamental 1: Make sure you add value
a) Know how your organization creates value for the customer and how you fit in.
b) Understand how your company spends and makes money.
c) Focus on the things that are important to adding value.
d) Care passionately about customers.
e) Continuously improve your skills so you can keep finding new ways to add value.
Prepare:
a) Do your homework. If you are preparing a presentation, think through your comments. If you are preparing a team meeting, read the materials you receive in advance and make notes. If you are meeting with a prospective client, research the company. Find out how to spell and pronounce the names of the people you’re meeting. Know who will be in the room.
b) Practice several times, even if the ‘meeting’ is just a one-on-one conversation. Quickly running through what you want to say will help you stay focused and clear.
c) Make a list of what you’ll need to bring with you and run through it just before you leave.
Invite and value feedback: When someone offers feedback, say, ‘Thanks, I appreciate that.’ He or she will know you’re listening. If you disagree, rather than becoming defensive say, ‘I appreciate your telling me and I promise to think about it.’ Then do. Often when you get some distance from the conversation, you can see more truth in the comment.
In any case, close the conversation by thanking him and telling him he can approach you anytime.
Fundamental 2: Communicate Up and Down, Inside and Out
Respond to calls and e-mails within twenty-four hours: Commit to returning calls and e-mails within twenty-four hours. Make it a personal standard and hold yourself accountable.
If you’re waiting for input from someone else, reply to let the person know you’re waiting for information and give her a sense of when she’ll hear from you. Responding promptly tells people you can manage your time, and you respect theirs.
Excel at giving feedback:
a) Give feedback with supporting data, whenever possible. For example, ‘ Your customer satisfaction rating is 65% and the average is 75%. I’d like to give you some ideas on how to bring your rating into line with the average.’ Hard facts help to depersonalize feedback.
b) Be specific. Don’t say, ‘Nice job running the meeting.’ Instead say, ‘In the meeting, when you told Kelly you’d handle her concern one on one, that was a terrific way of keeping things on track.’
c) Give negative feedback in private and positive feedback in public.
Fundamental 3: Know how to deliver results
Data is not knowledge: Before sharing data, set a few minutes aside to think about what the reader needs. Ask yourself a few questions:
a) How will the person use it? What’s relevant?
b) How much does the person I’m sending it to really need to see?
c) What’s the best way to format or highlight it so its significance is clear?
Keep meetings focused:
a) Never start a meeting late.
b) Ideas and issues unrelated to your purpose are bound to emerge during meetings. Don’t discourage this creative thinking; instead, capture it and save it for later.
c) During the wrap-up phase, make sure that each person knows what she has committed to do, and the deadline she’s committed to.
d) Meetings are expensive. To conduct meetings without achieving their goal is an unnecessary waste. Stay focused.
Source: from a book ‘Pissarro : creating the impressionist landscape’ by Katherine Rothkopf
Source: https://www.artnet.com/artists/raden-sal%C3%A8h-sarief-bustaman/auf-dem-megamendung-pass-zwischen-bogor-und-xNu8RxDg-A0rnWfRU4dr7w2
