14 Fatal Mistakes You're Making At

Work Today
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jason Nazar | Forbes - Tue, Oct 21, 2014 5:32 PM PHT

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Is what you’re doing at work today really the best thing for both your
company and for you? Spare a few moments to gain some
work perspective. You might discover you’re making some fatal
mistakes, or even fourteen of them.
Not Understanding the Company’s Goals: It’s everyone’s
responsibility to understand the most critical goals for their company.
Even if you weren’t told what’s most important, it doesn’t mean you can’t
or shouldn’t figure it out. The more disconnected you are from these
goals, the more you’ll be task managed. Doing what you’re told isn’t
enough; we have to do what most needs to get done.
Not Making Yourself Instrumental: Ask yourself: “If I was fired
tomorrow, would my company suffer any major disruption or difficulty?”
Be honest. If the answer is “No!” then you’re setting yourself up to be
replaced. You’re likely either not excelling at your role, or you’re working
on the wrong objectives.
More on Forbes: Ten Ways to Become Better at Your Job Today
Not Having a Work Best Friend: Plenty of research shows that
having a “best friend at work” makes you happier, more positive and
more likely to stay in your job. In fact, a landmark studyrevealed people
who have a best friend at work are seven times as likely to be engaged
in their job! Yet, only about 30% of employees say they have a work best
friend. Get happy, find your WBFF.
Being Yourself: No one is the best professional they can be. One trick
to perform better is to emulate the habits of your professional heroes:
how would Steve Jobs stay productive, how doesMark Cuban make
decisions, how does Marissa Mayer handle phone calls, how does Magic
Johnsonconduct meetings, and how do they dress. By playing the part of
your mentors, you’ll settle into your own optimal work style, and become
the best version of yourself.
Not Taking Enough Breaks: I always hated seeing my team goofing
around, but I realized how important breaks are later on in my career.
Now I’d much rather have team members go on as-many-as-needed
energizing breaks (outside the office) throughout the day, but then be
110% engaged and working until the job gets done. Over-worked
zombies infect everyone else, and leave you with an office of aimless
employees.
More on Forbes: Twenty Invaluable Tweets on Leadership
Putting Limits on Yourself: We almost never accomplish more than
we can imagine for ourselves. Many people are fond of telling us what
we can’t do, and sometimes these voices become our own limiting self -
talk. This doubt becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Go into work every
day with the attitude you can get anything done. Be something more
tomorrow than the something less you were yesterday. The only limit of
your potential is your imagination and effort.
Forgetting the Customer: People as important as your children,
spouse, siblings and parents are spending their hard-earned money on
your products or services. How much of your workday do you spend
thinking about, talking to, or interacting with your customers? Probably
not enough. Businesses that are disengaged from their customers tend
to die untimely deaths. Lead your day with a customer-centric focus and
you’ll never go wrong. (Tip: Read Tony Hsieh’s book on “Delivering
Happiness” at Zappos.)
Not Acting Like the Boss — I often encouraged my team members to
come into work, andimagine you’re the CEO. What’s the mindset you’d
need if you were the leader and how would you act? That’s the same
sense of urgency and ownership you need to have a daily basis to excel in
whatever your job function entails.
Assuming No One is Judging Your Performance: People
are always talking about how you stack up as a team member. You’re
not fooling anyone; your managers and co-workers know what kind of
job you’re doing. Just because you haven’t gotten any critical feedback
lately, doesn’t mean people think you’re doing a good job. Your own
standards should be much higher than everyone else; judge your own
performance daily and assume everyone else is as well. (Tip: ask for
writtenquarterly performance reviews, even if it isn’t company policy.)
More on Forbes: 6 Surprising Tactics Of An Unassuming Billionaire
Not Being Likable: Ideally, all work environments would be pure
meritocracies. But we’re social organisms. People like working with
people they like to be around. You get ahead, in part, by getting along.
Consider this scenario: Company management needs to do cutbacks.
Given a choice between two relatively equal performers, guess which one
gets the ax: the temperamental teammate or the affable employee?
Taking It Too Personally: So much time and energy is wasted being
upset. When faced with a conflict or critical feedback, our first instinct
should be to ask: “How I can improve?” Trust the intentions of the
person giving the feedback. Quite often it’s not a personal
condemnation; they’re hopefully thinking about how to achieve the best
outcome. You may disagree with their conclusion or approach, but
there’s always valuable feedback on how we can improve in any conflict
or critique.
Not Staying on Top of Your Industry: Dedicate half an hour each
day to reading about the latest news and trends about your industry,
whether you’re in tech or fashion or furniture. This will keep you current
on the changes coming so you can bring new ideas and perspectives. As
Stephen Covey teaches: Sharpen the Saw.
Forgetting the One Most Important Thing: What’s the one most
important thing you can to accomplish today, this week, or this month to
move the business forward most. Write it down each day and hold
yourself accountable to accomplishing that endeavor above all else. Too
often we devote our energy to mundane tasks like checking email or
meetings that falsely let us feel productive. We can get many things
wrong, and still be doing a great job, if we get the most important things
done right. (Tip: Watch more on The One Most Important Thing)
Relying on Career Employment: Career employment no longer
exists for many of us. You always have the skill set to get the next job.
Ask yourself: “If I got fired today, would I be able to find a comparable or
better job within three months?” If the answer is no, you’re sorely
unprepared for this modern economy. In Reid Hoffman’s new book,
“The Alliance,” he makes the case for a new loyalty pact between
employer and employee. The employer can count on a commitment
from the employee of up to four years, and the employee can count on
the employer to provide the opportunity and training to help them find
their next better career opportunity. Don’t let yourself get caught
unprepared for your next voluntary or involuntary career move.
More on Forbes:

You Can Succeed Even If You're Not

the Brainy Type
Entrepreneur Entrepreneur
- Fri, Nov 7, 2014 5:45 AM PHT

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I went to a university where the whole group was about 14,000 times
smarter than I was. They had the test scores, grades and pedigrees to
prove it in spades. While these mini Mensa types skimmed their
psychology books and hit Georgetown’s popular hangout the Tombs
promptly at 4 p.m., I memorized, was tutored and had every conceivable
study buddy willing to take even a little pity on me and none of it
happened over a beer.
And I still didn’t get it.
But I do now. And it’s not about IQ. Sure, a lot has been written about
the book-smart kind of IQ versus all the other kinds proposed by Howard
Gardner in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple
Intelligences. While the number of types of intelligence seems to
multiply by the day, even Gardner suggests at least one more could be
included in his original seven.
In Gardner, I found hope. He believes that no individuals should be
labeled with only one specific kind of intelligence. Rather people can
have multiple strengths and are each a unique blend of them.
Hallelujah.
And here’s where all of this relates to business. My peers were probably
logically mathematical or verbal linguistically inclined and their natural
talents were very apparent every time they received an A+ and headed
one notch closer to Suma Cum Laude-dom.
I, on the other hand, was an Adderall-deprived, interpersonally-strong
beast. Sure, I could connect with people: My professors were
always willing to give me extra time and encouragement. Then there
were the study buddies willing to pitch in. I must have had some kind of
juju going to convince them to take pity on me, right? And that’s how I’ve
made it in business -- and you can too.
Just because you didn’t ace the SAT’s, fear not. Thanks to Howard
Gardner, there’s hope. Here are some pointers to help you on your way to
becoming a better entrepreneur or business leader:
Related: How Smart Do You Have to Be to Succeed?
1. Determine your strengths.
Yawn. We’ve all heard that, but do it. Stop whining (pot meet kettle) that
you’re not as good, smart, gifted, rich, privileged or connected as the next
guy and figure out what you are good at. Then do more of it.
2. Commit to your strengths.
Put some time and muscle behind them. I love Marcus Buckingham and
his concept of focusing on your strengths and bleaching your weaknesses
from your mind because you’ll go so much further, faster.
3. Do something.
People like to credit to the likes of Albert Einstein this saying “Nothing
happens until something moves." Assess what gifts you’ve already been
blessed with and read, study, practice. Then rinse and repeat.
Related: 9 Lessons You Won’t Learn in Business School
4. Stick with it.
Another Einstein-like saying is “It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I
stay with problems longer.” So be that guy. It’s amazing how far I’ve
gotten in life just strictly by hanging in one second longer than everyone
else. Make one more sales call, send two more emails. Eventually, as my
own personal Einstein (Dad) says, “The harder you work, the luckier you
get.” It’s true.
5. Course correct.
Road test your new plan and if it’s not working after a short bit, tweak it.
Be conscious about where you’ve made progress and what could still use
a little help and adjust accordingly.
It’s not like Edison discovered the lightbulb on the first try.
6. Keep your chin up.
Through all of the C’s I earned in statistics, I never gave up and
surrounded myself with cheerleaders (professors, family and friends)
who kept encouraging me and the parts of my intelligence that I
naturally possessed. Eventually I honed my skills to compensate for my
weaknesses.
I can make friends with just about anyone. (This comes in very handy in
hospital emergency rooms, sales pitches and when I desperately need the
other kid’s mom to share some details about school.) And this makes me
naturally good at sales, writing, connecting and speaking.
So you see, there’s hope. Maybe not for me as the next professor at
Caltech, but certainly for me (and all of us on Team Challenged) in terms
of nailing the next cool celebrity client.
Hang in there, because guess who loves statistics now? You guessed it.
Related: The 10 Unique Soft Skills Employers Desire in New
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