Three words

Three words to change your life:

1. Goals
2. Intent
3. Action

Candor

I’m currently listening to Jack Welsh’s audiobook Winning. In it he explains a few of his ideas, philosophies and recommendations based on his experience as CEO of GE. A lot of what he says makes perfect sense and for that reason it appears here.

Jack is big on candor. Clear, honest and open communication at all times is one of his greatest recommendations. He talks about the necessity of candor in good times and bad, when you’re giving praise and criticism, whether you’re talking to a superior or subordinate. He is absolutely right.

Now, obviously we don’t want to go around belittling people. Nor do we want to go overboard with our delight in their abilities.

Too often we are concerned with the possibility of offending someone, hurting someones feelings or not allowing someone to save face. In such situations we don’t tell it like it is. And everyone suffers. You suffer because you haven’t said what you mean and they suffer because they don’t know what you are really getting at. This is not clear communication. The same is true when giving praise where it is unwarranted or over-the-top. It can only cause confusion.

Candor in communication does not allow for ambiguity. It does not allow room for confusion. Sure it may seem abrupt or a little harsh but at least everyone knows where they stand and no-one is likely to be surprised by the truth as they already know it.

Tunnel vision

Commonsense says “don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.”

Uncommonsense says “put all your eggs into one basket and watch that basket like a hawk.”

Diversification means a division of attention. It means complication. It means complexity. We already have too much complexity in our lives. Modern technology has made things busier rather than easier. It’s nothing like The Jetsons. We don’t need more complexity we need more simplicity.

Tunnel vision equals simplicity. Forget about all the superfluous stuff floating around the edges of your vision. Put the blinkers on. Focus unwaveringly on your ultimate vision, your ultimate goal.

Successful people have tunnel vision. They remove the waste and focus only on what they have to focus on. They don’t concern themselves with anything that does not contribute to their ultimate goal.