Define Success in Everything
Celebrate when you have defined success. First shot at taking pictures of fireworks, which was a satisfactory outcome!
Over the last two months I have been working on an initiative to bring prioritization and clarity across an organization. I wish I could say I had success defined for this endeavor. Sadly, I didn’t crystalize what that would look like. However, all is not lost and it is never too late to take the step back and write down what success will look like.
The most successful people I have been around are clear on the end outcomes. They envisioned what success looks like and focused intently on the journey to get to the outcome. Distractions were put aside, the noise was muffled, and momentum toward the goal escalated.
Tips For Defining Success
- Write out what success looks like. By writing out success, often times clarity comes and what you originally thought success looks like has another meaning. You have went deeper, thought longer, and put down on paper the definition of success.
- Don’t determine success in a bubble. Share your ideas with others and get their input. In the above story, it was clearly beneficial to see what the stakeholders thought success was for the initiative. It has sparked conversations and additional meetings to clarify and visualize the mission of the organization.
- Find the small success points along the way to achieving the grandiose vision. Small wins build momentum. They deliver confidence, and set a great path toward achieving the bigger success criteria. When those small wins happen, be sure to celebrate as you are moving forward and not backward.
- Realize that success can change because the situation changes. Don’t be stubborn. Sometimes success will be a no win situation here and the best you can do is get out of the situation with humbleness and dignity.
- Be obsessive about achieving success. Learn to say no to the things that aren’t helping you get to the end goal. You may think saying no will cause contention and strife, but it will really allow you to say yes to more and more things to achieve you mission.
Successful people have the end result in mind. Before you get going know where you are going. Define success today!