Success depends as much on the desire of an individual as anything else. Hard work, persistence and intelligence also factor in, and depending on the endeavor, these may play a big role. However, without a burning inner desire, your chance of success is greatly diminished.
How do you channel your desires to successful outcomes? How do you turn your desires in to a burning purpose that will keep you going strong throughout your life?
Many product managers have begun their tenure with an up-and-coming company by hearing the phrase, “We want you to be the CEO of the product.” While many have argued the validity of this statement, it is something that every product manager should aspire to become, and that is what the market wants.
So how does one achieve this admirable and lofty goal? A startup company CTO explained this best: a product manager is someone who will stop at nothing, accept no excuses, take no prisoners, and make the product successful. The PM owns the product and is completely responsible for its success.
Amazon, Intuit, Airbnb, Disney, FedEx and Uber…what do these companies have in common? They know their customers. They don’t just know about their customers, they know why their customers ‘hire’ them and their products to do specific jobs.
All of these companies are learning organizations. At their core is a deep desire to know why people and companies spend their money to purchase their products and services. They know the importance of constant learning, they know what they are competing against.
Leading a new team comes with challenges. You have a group of people who have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way. They may or may not have liked their departing manager. You may or may not have worked with them or know them at all.
Regardless of the situation, you have a great opportunity in front of you. Here are 10 tips to help you become a competent leader.
In the United States, we’re celebrating Independence Day. This is a special time because of great leaders, who in the late 1700s risked everything to form a new country where people could pursue their dreams. Those men were not only great leaders in their day, but their influence continues to inspire others—all around the world—to step up and do great things.
Independence Day is a time to reflect on the freedoms we have and the people who paved the way. Though many readers of this blog reside outside the US, I hope you will also appreciate the great things that happened back in the late 1700s and the impact those men had on establishing freedoms enjoyed by many throughout the world today.
In recent weeks I have interacted with several friends and family who are working through difficult situations. We’ve had informative conversations about what motivates them to keep going. Though their motivations vary, the commonality is their desire to succeed. In every situation, they know the key to winning is to keep pressing forward, to persist in what they’re doing.
Today’s workforce is working from home more and more. This trend is growing and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. A recent study from Polycom shows that almost a full third of employees around the globe are regularly working remotely, and almost two-thirds have some sort of flexible work schedule. Clearly the concept of the workplace is changing both rapidly and dramatically.
Recently I was reminded of a story about a young man who lived during the 1849 Gold Rush. An older, wiser man observed him passing by obvious ‘flecks’ of gold in the stream, and asked him why. The young man said he was searching for the big ‘nuggets’ of gold. The old man pulled out his pouch and said “The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth.”
What are the ‘flecks’ of gold that you are passing by in life? Are you looking for the big victory, but missing out on the many small wins that will bring you more happiness and success? Life-long accomplishment comes from the small, consistent wins along the way.
Guest post by Annabelle Smyth
Learning how to communicate with your employees is vital to being a great manager. A leader that knows how to communicate and understands an employee’s situation is one that employee’s want to work for. Communication can improve teamwork, unity, productivity, and efficiency.
In our world of work and business, competition is a real thing. Too often, however, we miss the real competitor. We overlook the root of what our products are really competing against. As Peter Drucker famously said: “The customer rarely buys what the company thinks it is selling him.”
Why do we miss the mark when it comes to competing in products and services? Why do the majority of innovations fall short of their desired objectives? Are you competing against luck?
Lead on Purpose 