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Manufacturing personal success
September 3, 2016
Agenda
1. Introduce myself, provide context and set expectations
2. Define success
3. Measure success
4. Choose the right battles
5. Limits to you success
6. Bring it all together
7. O&A
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it
- Aristotle
It is the mark of wise mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it
Who am I
• I subscribe to a view that we are the sum of our experiences projected onto the world through the prism of our values and moods
• I am not a guru on success, I speak to you as a person who likes
– to observe
– to ask questions
– to make things better
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Consider the context for what I will be sharing with you
• I usually oppose – since the young age I remember myself rebelling against myopic thinking, closedmindedness and traditions
• I ask many questions
• My background is different
– I left home when I was 13, Ukraine 17, lived and worked in 10 different countries/cultures, visited 65 of them
– I have made a living in 4 professions
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As a result, my views tend to differ from most views, so please use Aristotle's advice for the next hour
What is your definition of success?
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Dictionary definitions success
Merriam-Webster.com
• to do what you are trying to do : to achieve the correct or desired result
• to happen in the planned or desired way
• to come after (something) in a series
Businessdictionary.com
• Achievement of an action within a specified period of time or within a specified parameter
• The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
• The attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.
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My definition of success (deduced from my life experience)
• Success is a victory
• If success is a victory, then successful life is a victorious life
• But life is not one game, battle or competition it’s a chain of battles which you choose to take on in your life
• Then success in life is a string of victories in the battles, which you choose in your life
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Constructing a framework for measuring success If we don’t measure outcomes of our actions why bother acting
Compared to herself the data shows that she is
successful
Compared to herself I think she is successful
Compared to others the data shows that she is
successful
Compared to others I think she is successful
Objective Subjective
Internal
External
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Choosing the right KPIs and how to measure them is key for getting measurable results
Unfortunately life is complicated, which does not allow apples to apples comparison of ones success
• 2 participants doing the same thing at the same time - the team that wins the game is a success.
• Many participants doing the same at the same time – marathon came 4th out of 50,266 (NY 2013)
• Many participants doing similar theater play – how do we know that a play was a success, not so easy (reviews, ticket sales, how long it has been playing)
• Many participants doing different – the rest of life situations
More objective
More subjective
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Game
Life
How do we compare success of many participants doing different things
• Even if two people start in the same place, the life will send them in different directions
• It will be impossible to compare them objectively in order gauge success
• One should choose ones path with purpose and measure progress/success vs. their plan
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Start
Finish
The only way to be sure is to measure yourself against yourself
Compared to herself the data shows that she is
successful
Compared to herself I think she is successful
Compared to others the data shows that she is
successful
Compared to others I think she is successful
Objective Subjective
Internal
External
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Getting to victory Plan vs. Reality4
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Wait, before we choose what challenges to tackle …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEhSk71gUCQ
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You are where your thoughts are, so make sure your thoughts are where you want to be
• Do not do what your friends & family tell you to do
• Surround yourself with visionaries and successful people
• Use their advice to populate your landscape of possibilities
• Frame what you hear/read/think in a form of possibilities not prescriptions
• Carefully analyze the landscape• Make your own choices & plot your path
Landscape of possibilities How to choose your future challenges
Your goal
You are here
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The Skill vs. Challenge by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi4
Its important that next challenge that you choose is more complex & difficult than the previous one
Time
Difficulty
1 2 34 5 6
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When choosing the next node in your life plan analyze inputs against the Flow framework, then choose & act appropriately
Ask yourself• How does this
challenge fit into my long term plan?
• Do I want to take on this challenge?
• Do I have the skills to tackle this challenge?
• If yes take it • If not, where and
how can I get them• Can I afford to get
them
Go get them tiger
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Skills essential to success
• Structured thinking
• Clear communication
• Problem solving
• Leadership & teamwork
• Courage & independence
• Flexibility
• Mental toughness
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Developing new skills should be second nature to you
• Set goals, but aim for the sun
• Find a mentor
• Invest in yourself, it is the most stable currency available
• Learn new things, but focus on quality & what matters to you
• Knowledge is devalued today, understanding is the name of the game
• Use your understanding to develop skills
• Build your networks
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Limits to your success, what are they?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX4saxIfPYw
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Limits to your success – there are none!
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” – Henry Ford
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Victory at all costs – don’t do it
• 7 time consecutive Tour de France winner
• Head of a bank branch, to head of the bank, to head of the National bank to Vice Prime Minister to Prime minister in 4 years
• President of a country vs. 2 time president vs. 3 times and counting
ALWAYS, do the Wall Street Journal test
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Resume
• Learn constantly to increase choices available to you and build skills for future challenges
• Measure yourself to yourself
• Reach out for advice, but then set your own goals in life
• Choose your own path to get there
• Take on progressively more complex & difficult challenges (but stay in the flow)
• Build your support network and use it
• Know it will be difficult and be ready to persevere
• NEVER compromise your integrity
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
- Robert Frost
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• You can reach success in the box that you were born in or you can choose your own box/boxes and strive for success there. I like to control my life and early on in my life I opted for choosing my own boxes.
