Succeed – Tim Lombardo

Position to Succeed Some are in the game but are not in a position to succeed or win. The positioning enables you to maximize the opportunity to give yourself and the team a chance to win by being in a position to succeed. Without a doubt, you work to do certain things and to fill a specific role for your company. They put you in a position and expect you to play that position to your full potential. They are counting on you to get things done. So what does it mean to put yourself in a position to succeed? Show up ready to play. You set yourself above the crowd by showing up and being ready to go. Arrive on time, dress the part, comb your hair and shine your shoes. Have the laptop, mobile phone, pen, pad, and tools ready. You set yourself up for success when you show up ready to go. Know your position. Practice your skill sets and know what you are doing. Continually grow and learn and practice your position until you are outstanding at it. Continuously pursue personal improvement. Get clarity on your tasks, understand your position, and then set your personal growth goals to help improve your strengths. Listen to your coach. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods both had coaches. You are never too good at advice and taking direction. I may think I have things dialed in until a coach pulls me aside and reminds me of the one or two things I have not been doing. Sometimes they are fundamental things that I should have known to do all along. Take direction and fix mistakes. Make things right by always being willing to change and correct errors. Focus on your strengths. People do not pay $ for mediocrity; you will find excellence by exercising your strengths. Don't ask a world-class opera singer to dance for you. Get it? Put yourself in a great system. A flawed system will eat up a great person every time. Personal excellence will not compensate for a poor strategy, wrong team, or incompetent leaders. If you are going to focus on being excellent, you should focus on doing it for a great team that can put you in a position to win. Adjust your attitude. Do this as often as necessary. Stay positive, humble, kind, motivated, happy, optimistic, thoughtful, helpful, compassionate, hospitable, eager, grateful, cheerful, and encouraging at all times. Help those who struggle with this; otherwise, you are just a chump with a so-called "good attitude." People who work with their attitudes need your friendship to change their attitudes and grow. Be an encouragement and lead by example because people will catch on and follow your example. Think for a change. Thinking for a change is my favorite John Maxwell book title because of the dual meaning. Feel free to take and moment to think about both implications. Taking the time to think things through before you follow up will save you time, money, and heartache. I often schedule a time to grab a cup of coffee, find a quiet place and think about the things I need to do. Thoughtful planning puts you in a position to win. Have a long-term vision and set short-term goals. What is the big picture? Where is the destination? Long-term results are the vision in simple terms. What am I doing today? What am I doing this week and this month? These are short-term goals in simple terms. It would help if you had a pad of paper and time to write this stuff out. Put worthwhile things in writing. There is something that happens when we write it down. Use a daily planner for this. Forgive yourself for failure but do not let yourself off the hook. You don't have to beat yourself up for missing the mark, BUT you do need to change, make the adjustments and make things right. You are human means you will do something wrong. However, as humans, we have the opportunity to make changes and make things right. Take ownership of your shortcomings, and then do everything in your power to fix those things quickly. I love what I do. Let me clarify upfront. I "love" to watch movies, but if I had to watch movies 40+ hours per week for 40+ years, that "love" would probably be replaced with another word. Perhaps the vision and purpose of the goal is the only thing to love. Vision and purpose should line up with your values. Ok, I take this one back. I have never really loved my job, but I do enjoy the journey of trying to provide for my family. There are lovely moments, but love is too strong of a word to describe this. Love God, love others, and try your best to enjoy what you do. I love personal growth. I love the pursuit of the goal I love the value you find in others I love the process of winning I love the journey I love the mission if it improves other's lives I love the opportunity to change Anyway, I hope some of this helps you put yourself in a position to succeed. Success is your duty and responsibility, especially if you provide for others. Leadership is influencing others and impacting the outcomes we need to achieve. Have individual and team goals, then put yourself and your team in the best position to win. Taking action is the only thing that will affect change. We have the opportunity to make tomorrow better with the actions we take today. Procrastination takes you out of position every time, so do not delay and do it. The time has come to get serious about the position we put ourselves in every day based on our decisions and actions.