Our Greatest Source of Security

The only real source of security any of us have in this time of change and downsizing and merging and new business models and all the other stuff we see, read and hear – is what? The only real security any of us have comes from our own accomplishments. Top performers - the people who will prosper even in the toughest of times - believe that. For others it's a frightening thought – or a frustrating thought – or just plain not true.

Victims will ask “How can it be true if I work in a situation where I'm not recognized for what I do? “ “How can it be true if I work in a situation where nothing ever changes?” “How can it be true if I really don’t want to change? “

Well it is true – regardless of personal circumstances, and to ignore that fact is to put the future in jeopardy.

Let’s take the case of two new graduates, both hired at the same business, both given similar assignments.

Graduate A goes to work every day, does his job as it's assigned to him, meets the requirements of his job, gets married and starts a family. After work our graduate spends time golfing with his old buddies, socializing with his college friends, watching TV – and generally enjoying the fruits of his labor.

Graduate B goes to work every day, does the work he is assigned, meets the requirements of his job, and asks his boss if there are any things he can do to prepare himself for future assignments. He gets married, starts a family, He's also a golfer, and gets to know some other golfers that work for the same business, as well as some of the customers and suppliers for the the company. He playa golf weekly with these people, and socializes with his old friends and his wife’s friends on a regular basis. He takes his bosses advice, and takes company sponsored courses that provide him with knowledge in areas that he did not study in college. He sets goals at work and shares them with his boss – and negotiates them so they support the bosses requirements. When a goal is met, he shares that milestone with the people that contributed to it, and with his boss.

After two years, the business is sold, and the new owner, a multinational organization, moves the business to a new location, and terminates all the existing employees, including our two graduates.

Who do you bet on to come out of this setback in better shape? I'll bet on Graduate B, who, in venturing out of his comfort zone for knowledge, contacts, and accomplishments, put himself way ahead in the race to succeed – and to have security through his own accomplishments.

Accomplishments are available for everyone, but they need to be sought after – and the most important individual quality anyone can have is the ability and capacity to seek out and embrace change. Top performers don’t wait for change to be imposed – too often imposed change is change arising out of crisis.

A story from my own experience to illustrate that point: A company had a large immigrant workforce – from a number of different countries and cultures - and all were struggling with the language requirements of the work they were doing. They worked for a large aerospace company, and their jobs had high value – good pay, good benefits and excellent working conditions. The inability to communicate in English was a major stumbling block to getting ahead, or even surviving. The company offered English Second Language programs to all who were interested – even setting up classes on a split between company paid time and personal time. It was a voluntary program – and only 15% of the people who were eligible and who needed to improve their English skills signed up. And of the 15% who signed up, only 20% of that group successfully completed the course and gained a better competence in English. Two years later that company consolidated operations in another state during a downturn in the economy – and terminated all the existing employees. For the top few who had taken advantage of the English Second Language classes, new jobs were found in no time – many of them found new jobs before the business shut down. For the others who had passed up the opportunity to gain a critical skill, new jobs came at a slow pace.

So when do you start this process of acquiring accomplishments as the means to providing security in your life? The answer is – today! Regardless of where you currently find yourself in your life, now is the time to start – or to continue – or to change the direction of where you are going. And the single most important thing you can do today is to set your own goals and then act to see them come true – and then make new goals – and then act to see them come true. And then make new goals, and then make them come true. When you do that you create your own life of expectations – and not simply allow whatever happens to force change.

Taking the route of seeking personal accomplishment as the way to security puts you in the top 10% of all people.. When you do that you give yourself a tremendous competitive advantage in this time of change.

And if you've had a record of accomplishment in the past, now is not the time to rest on your laurels. Recent accomplishments have a higher value than older ones, and with the pace of change, what happened five years ago – or even a year ago – may have lost some value in the marketplace. It's like Satchel Paige, the famous baseball pitcher from the old Negro Leagues used to say “ Don't look back, they might be gaining on you.”

And don't dwell on lost opportunities for accomplishment – I guarantee there are opportunities available right now. If there is a bright side to today's economy and change, it's that identifying positive change and going for it is more important than it has been for some time. Take advantage of that fact to grow personally and professionally and avoid the status quo.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved

A Rock Through The Window - There Goes The Comfort Zone

Right around five PM yesterday, a loud noise, like a shotgun blast, got me out of my office and into the dining area of our house. There was a big hole in the shade covering the picture window. There was glass all over the rug, and all over the dining room table and chairs. I drew the vertical shade, and saw a very large hole through the middle of the thermopane window. It looked like a shotgun hole. It wasn't. Lying on the carpet near the window was a good size rock.

Someone had thrown that rock with quite a bit of force - enough force to blast through the double pane window and then through the shade - leaving shards of glass as far as fifteen feet into the room!

We called the police - they came in 10 minutes, recovered the rock and filled out a report, and looked at the area around the house. We had heard nothing, seen nothing, and had no clue as to what might have happened and what caused it.

After the police left, my wife and I got busy cleaning up - a process that took close to an hour. Then I taped over the hole in the window so it was sealed, and so that the remainder of the window would stay intact.

Nothing like this had ever happened to us before. No acts of violence, no vandalism, no feeling of being threatened. The house had always seemed like a real comfort zone. The closest thing to this was the theft of a car from our driveway some years ago. The car was old, there was no evidence of forceable entry, and the police were rather droll about it.

Now we feel uneasy - this rock throwing could be interpreted so many ways. A deliberate act directed at us - for God only knows what reason? A random act of vandalism? A mistake - whoever did it didn't mean to do it - at least not to us? Some kind of destructive impulse that just happened to target us? We'll never know. What we do know is that a comfort zone can change in a flash - without warning, without reason.

So what do we do? First thing is to accept that we will probably never know the cause - so it's a waste of time reflecting on it. It's a waste of time to look with suspicion at the people that walk, drive or run through the neighborhood - although doing so is a really human response. It's a waste of time trying to guard against a repeat - chances of it happening again are very small.

So we will get the window fixed, make sure the replacement thermopane window is shatterproof so we don't get glass spraying into the room if it should happen again, and then forget it.

Except. Our comfort zone took a little hit. It will never be exactly the same again. And our empathy for victims of real violence and circumstance has gone up a few levels. And that's good.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www,coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Captain Sullenberger, Preparation, Routine and Opportunities

Hats off to Captain Sullenberger and his crew and their rescue - I can't think of a better word to describe what they did - in saving the passengers and themselves when they had to ditch in the Hudson River. The accolades and gratitude and respect that the crew have received are well earned.

And there is a real lesson for all of us as we go about the business of our lives - every day - some routine days, some difficult days, some boring days, some really special days.

The lesson can be summed up in a quote I read in the book "The Last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors" by James D. Hornfischer.

"It has been written that so much of life is preparation, so much is routine, and so much is retrospect that the purest essence of anyone's genius contracts itself into a precious few hours."

The quote refers to the heroism of the small destroyers and destroyer escort ships of the US Navy at the Battle of the Samar Sea in WW II. They turned into the teeth of a large Japanese fleet bent on destroying the carriers they were protecting. Outgunned and outnumbered, the tin can sailors attacked - and all the preparation, routine, habit and response they had accumulated contracted into the collective genius necessary to give the carriers time to escape - but at a very high cost to those sailors and their ships.

Captain Sullenberger and his crew saw all of their preparation, routine and retrospect contract into a brief period of genius that was the product of everything that came before it. Everything I have read about the Captain tells a story of a man constantly striving to be better, to rehearse scenarios, to understand the dynamics of what he spent so much time doing. And when those birds hit, all of that contracted into his - and his crews - particular genius - and lives were saved.

In these times when so much negative is reported, stories of true genius, of competence, of heroism, of people just doing their jobs can help us keep perspective. And realize that our own times of preparation, routine and retrospect can contract into a few hours when an opportunity presents itself that can be life changing.

It's tempting right now - when everything seems mired in negativity - to ask ourselves "what's the use?" Answer that question by remembering and thanking the Captain Sullenberger's and the Tincan Sailors - draw inspiration from them - and press on.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

How To Hire The Right People

"The first thing you have to do is hire the right people." Have you ever heard that profound piece of advice? Of course you're going to hire the right people - if you know who the right people are. If that's the case, why isn't more time spent defining what the job requires of the right person as the first step in any talent selection?

If you Google the keyword phrase "hire the right people" you will get 76,000 responses. If you Google the keyword phrase "hire the best" you will get 872,000 responses. You will find the great majority of responses deal with ways to evaluate candidates. Lots of information on tools - checklists, questions, how to structure an interview, how to write a job description, recruiting practices, and so on. But very few of those 948,000 Google responses address the key question - How to define the best person for the job - the right person for the job - based on the job, not the applicant?


Most organizations focus on the technical benchmarks. education, experience, industry knowledge, certifications, level of accomplishment and contribution, recommendations - hard information of high value - fairly easily obtained. And so these technical benchmarks and the intuition of the interviewers become the basis for the selection decision.

But the benchmarks critical to success or failure are often treated with a few statements about working in teams, ability to communicate, listening skills, sense of humor, and so on. Hard to define, describe and agree on. So the benchmarks that make the difference in success and failure - ever more so the higher up in the organization the job is - remain only vaguely identified - certainly not agreed to by the interviewers. And that is the weak link in the selection process.


It doesn't have to be that way. The stakeholders of the job, the people that have done the job, the people to whom the job reports, the peers the job works with, all have knowledge of the Behaviors, Personal Skills, and Motivators that make the difference between success and failure. Getting that information in a form that could be used in selection has been a real challenge. But now there are tools and processes that can benchmark Behaviors, Motivators or Attitude and Personal Skills that those in the know feel are necessary for success. And those benchmarks can then be used in the selection process - to see how candidates measure up to the job, not to some measure of "good enough," or "best we could find." And let's face it, no person will bring the ideal profile to the job. The benchmarks can then be used to develop the person selected so they can be more successful, quicker.


Intuition is the force guiding most selection decisions. But intuition is influenced by many different inputs, as well as the biases created through life and work experience. By adding to intuition the benchmarks of Behavior, Personal Skills and Motivators, and the consistent application and comparison of those benchmarks to the selection process, intuition can be much more secure in its decisions. And that leads to commitment toward the person selected - and that's a good thing. The "throw them up against the wall and see if they stick" approach can be replaced with a commitment to success. And when that happens, turnover goes down, retention and productivity go up. And the right people for the job - the best people for the job - strengthen the organization.

With so much more talent available, it's a good time to examine selection practices to ensure the right people are being selected for the right jobs. It's tempting to hire the best people - whatever that means - out of a large talent pool. But it's critical to select the best talent matched to the right job for that talent.


If you would like more information on how to benchmark jobs in your organization, and multiply the success of your selection efforts, give me a call.

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Ten Behaviors For Success In A Business Downturn

A lot is written about what to do after losing a job, but what about the people who don't lose their jobs, but are faced with the results of business slowdowns - layoffs, reduced expectations, salary freezes, greater responsibility with fewer resources and the uncertainty of what's next?

In every economic downturn and resulting workforce reduction, the internal dynamics of organizations change. Everything takes on more importance - every behavior, mistake, judgment, comment gains importance way out of proportion to its value. Contrasts become much sharper. The meetings get longer - the demands get sharper - the expectations higher - the disappointments felt more deeply, and the blame game swings into action. It shouldn't be that way, but in most companies - even the best managed - workforce reductions brings home the feeling that it could happen to me. When that happens, survival trumps opportunity, safety trumps optimism, and a sense of humor has to be muted -unless the person with that sense of humor be seen as not serious - as not a player.


For many people in todays workforce, the depth and severity of this downturn is outside their experience.


So they ask if it's time to slam the hatch shut and hunker down and wait it out, or go out and look for a job, or start a business. What other alternatives are there? What can be done to not just survive, but prosper in a downturn?

Plenty - in behaviors, attitudes and personal growth. That may not seem obvious, but the choice of how to deal with a temporary setback is a personal one. And the effect of using this stressful time as the time to develop personally and professionally adds value throughout a career.

Here are ten success behaviors that can make the difference between losing, just surviving or succeeding in economic downturns.



1 - Do the work - every day. Downturns often lead to people spending way too much time on conjecture and surmise. Avoid those people - and make sure your own behavior doesn't become counter productive. I have a friend who has a saying framed and placed right where everyone can see it. It says " Don't let the bastards wear you down."


2 - Start by valuing what you have and stop wasting time mourning the loss of what was. And recognize that the boss may have had to fight hard to keep you, and now is not the time to complain about pay, assignments, or all the other issues that people reductions create. Make sure any and all conversations are positive and understood in the way they were meant to be understood. It's easy in these times of bad news for one person's suggestion to be seen as a complaint.


3 - Keep your eyes open, your ears tuned, and your mouth shut. Deal with what is - not what you might think it is, or what motive you think was behind decisions.. Your opinions and judgments are probably (90%) wrong anyway - so why waste time on them?




4 - Help a friend that lost their job. Giving and showing concern means a lot to them and even more to you. Acting without regard to getting is tremendously liberating, and the rewards for it may be in a lifelong friendship and other rewards that can't even be imagined at this time.


5 - Update your resume. Chances are that it hasn't been touched since the last time you changed jobs. Be impressed by how far you have come from a value, skills and contribution basis. If you're not impressed with your increase in value, skills and contribution, get in gear and grow!


6 - Seek self development. Even in the worst of downturns, the opportunities to grow your skills is available. An example: Don't like to speak in public? Join Toastmasters - do it on your own time. It isn't expensive and it will increase value faster than almost anything else you can do. Same goes for working in volunteer organizations - the personal skills that can be gained from working in non profits and volunteer groups have tremendous carryover value to work. Reach out to do something you have never done and never thought to do. It's stimulating. Be sure to stay current on the trade publications for your industry and/or your areas of expertise.

7 - Be a problem solver. Ever notice how many people are always ready to identify a problem, but seem to disappear when the talk turns to solutions? The problem identifiers seem to come out of the woodwork during downturns, but the problem solvers are the ones who grow - and they are a scarce commodity. And being a valued scarce commodity in a downturn - or anytime - is definitely career advancing.



8 - Inventory what you're good at - what others say you are good at - as well as what you feel are your strengths. Then build on those strengths. In downturns it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking in terms of scarcity - of what you don't have. All that does is lead to negative thoughts about self worth and ability.



9 - Stay in touch with people who you see as successful and centers of influence - at work and in your personal life. Learn from them - become a center of influence yourself. Read Harvey Mackay's book "Dig The Well Before You're Thirsty" on the importance of building relationships - and doing it every day, not just when all hell is breaking loose.



10 - Seek out things that provide motivation and inspiration. I have a friend who listens to bagpipe music on the way to work every morning - says it pumps him up - gets him ready to hit the ground running. Avoid people and programs and situations that provoke anger and negative emotions.



Come to think of it, these ten behaviors are valuable all the time, not just in a downturn. But they do take on added importance when times are tough. Take the time - right now - to see which of these success behaviors have value for you - and which ones need some work on your part. And then make this challenging time a time of personal growth. It will prepare you for the good times that are just around the corner.

Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Use SMART Goals to Overcome the Tyranny of the Unimportant

Have you ever caught yourself rearranging your desk, or your E Mail files, or checking E Mail, or making a purchase on Amazon, or automatically answering your cell phone, even when you know the call isn't important - when you know, in your gut, that there is more important work to be done? And you just can't bring yourself to make that phone call, or that prospect call, or answer that E Mail request for information, or work on the quarterly reports?

If you answered Yes, welcome to the world of Resistance, that force that always shows up when we are attempting to create positive change and progress – when we try to step out of the box – when we try to confront fear.

Resistance shows itself in many ways – you can't touch it, step on it, feel it – but you know it when it happens. And one of the most frequent ways it shows itself is through the Tyranny of the Unimportant. That force that takes us away from the work that will result in progress and success, and puts us in the middle of "thin things." The Tyranny of the Unimportant is procrastination at its best – or worst. We're busy as hell – just not effective. And that to-do list with ten things on it has eight things crossed out at the end of the day, but the two top things remain untouched. And we're frustrated and apprehensive.

The sneaky thing about procrastination is that it isn't caused by people quitting or turning their backs on what they have or want to do – it's that they'll do it – tomorrow. And Resistance through the Tyranny of the Unimportant is right there to help.

Procrastinators aren't lazy. In fact, most of the procrastinators I know are some of the busiest, brightest, most motivated, most energetic people you could imagine. They have to – do lists, they work fast and hard and get a lot done – how can people like that be called procrastinators?

One answer - they do the most urgent thing first – but not the most important thing. If you looked at their daily lists of things to do, you would find too much for one person to accomplish, and most of the demands are reacting to the requirements of others. And this Tyranny – to a great extent - is self imposed.

Stephen Pressfield, in his excellent book The War of Art, makes the point that "Resistance," that evil force that only shows itself to keep us from doing something positive, shows itself through the Tyranny of the Unimportant
Pressfield is a writer – he wrote "the Legend of Bagger Vance," among other books. Just like most self employed people he has to be a self starter. People who are their own boss, who don't have someone breathing down their neck, who have to do the important things in order to survive and prosper must overcome the Tyranny of the Unimportant.

So how to overcome this Resistance – this enemy of accomplishment – that form of Procrastination?

First realize that Resistance is the product of fear – in its many forms. Fear of failure, fear of not good enough, fear of not being able, fear of not being worthy, fear of being told no – the list is a long one. Fear shows itself by trying to force us not to do what we know to be the most important thing. And rather than confronting and overcoming that fear, we direct our efforts to the not so important – and fool ourselves into thinking we are overcoming Resistance by deflecting it. We're not. And Resistance wins another round. The only way to overcome fear is to confront it – and push through it. And realize that it will come back tomorrow, and the day after that – and the day after that. But overcoming it today makes overcoming it tomorrow a little bit easier. Letting it win today makes it so much more difficult to overcome tomorrow.

The good news about fear is that the things we fear the most are the most important things we must do. Now that's cutting to the chase. If rejection is at the top of the fear list, overcoming rejection is where action needs to be taken. If the fear of a No answer after asking for a line of credit is the most fearful thing to do, it has to be done first. If the greatest fear is public speaking, or developing relationships, that's where success will be found.

In addition to turning fear around and using it to identify the really important, take a survey - ask people you know what's important to them. The really successful will tell you, specifically, what they want, and how they're going to get it. From the not so successful, you'll hear answers like "want to be happy," or "successful," or "rich," or "healthy." or the "best." Nice sentiments, but hardly what's needed to overcome the Resistance that will try to keep them from achieving those sentiments. If your answer is at that level, you gotta drill down and define what terms like happy, rich, healthy, success really mean on a personal level – in concrete terms that can be the basis for goals.

Goals are critical to overcoming Procrastination in any form – but particularly in dealing with the Tyranny of the Unimportant. Use those things you fear the most, and the things you've identified as wanting the most, to create SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic and Time Framed. And avoid the temptation to load up on goals. Procrastinators are really great at letting their optimism get ahead of their reason, and establishing a set of goals that is way too ambitious. It's a great way to set up failure, and to not confront the question of priorities. Three to five goals – no more. This is one place where less is more.

Then create a daily, weekly and monthly list of To Do's – and prioritize them. What you use to designate their importance can be any number of things. Some people use "Must Do's", "Want to Do's and "Nice to Do's." Others use A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 as priorities. Going out much further than a month can be a waste of time – an unimportant exercise - things are often so dynamic that a crystal ball would be needed to look further out in the future. The important thing is to do it – and then stick to it, leaving space for the urgent important things that always pop up. Trust the goals you develop. Then act on your fears through your priorities and your goals.

The reward? You've overcome Resistance – today. You've become more effective – you've confronted fears and become so much better at doing that – and you realize that fear can actually take you where you need to go. And you accept that. And you gain a huge measure of personal control over your time.

Start with truly important goals – and start today.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Where Success Happens

What does it take to be successful? What is success? How can I get there?

The best answer to the question of what is success is from Og Mandino: “ Success is meeting your goals.”

The answer to what it takes to be successful and how to get there is a bit longer: Success happens at that special intersection of passion, commitment, talent and persistence. Think of those four as separate paths that flow into one path – one powerful path that leads to success – in it's infinite variety. It's a special place, that path.

That special path is different for each of us. It has to be – everyone of us is so special and different in every one of those four requirements. But we all have the capacity to arrive at our own intersection – again and again. What an exciting thought - that each of us can combine and align our special attributes in such a way to be successful – as we choose to define success.

It's sad that so many people have had experiences that have taught them to be safe, to stay on the sidelines and watch, to hold their passions and commitments in check, to see how the wind blows. What an enormous waste of resources,on a personal level and on every other level. Those are the people that are the subject of Henry David Thoreau's statement: “ The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

It doesn't have to be that way.

The idea that there is the potential to exceed anything yet accomplished through a process of self discovery, discipline, commitment and passion is really exciting – and scary. What's really scary is that it lies within each of our capabilities to grow and reach that intersection and do it again and again in our lives. We can do it at any age, under any circumstance, at any stage – and it's not magic, it's not a silver bullet, it's not limited in any way.

Let's walk down each of these four paths and see how we can get them to join together to create a level of success greater than any yet experienced.

Passion is the first path for a reason. It's the emotion that leads to commitment. It's the feeling that comes from the heart and provides us with the strength to dedicate ourselves to people, places, things, ideas, processes. It's often the most difficult path to find, but once found, it can be the most sustaining and exciting. Passion is excitement, passion is enthusiasm. It's curiosity, it's wanting to share, it's that spark that lights the fire that leads to commitment. The path of passion runs very close to the path of commitment – their intersection is vital to creating the foundation for success.

Commitment comes in many forms. The qualities of commitment that we are looking for start with positiveness; the conviction that we are committing to a worthy cause; the belief that what we commit to will result in a positive outcome, and will improve our life and the lives of others. There is no place on our path for negative, destructive commitment. Positive commitment sustains, negative commitment corrodes and destroys. Commitment requires that special feeling of being part of something bigger than self. If there is a single tipping point on the path to success, it is when that feeling of total commitment occurs - when, as Goethe wrote:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary
truth,
the ignorance of which kills
countless ideas and endless plans:
That at the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
that would never otherwise occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and
material assistance which no man
could have dreamed would come his way.
Whatever you can do or
dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power
and magic in it.

Talent is the path where the rubber meets the road – where things can be done – where action to create success occurs. The belief that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it may be true at one level, but at the practical level of creating success, it hinders more than it helps. An example: without good eye hand coordination and excellent depth perception, no one is going to be a major league baseball player - nobody. They don't have a piece of the puzzle – the talent - that is critical to success. If they persist in trying to a be a major league ball player, they're wasting their time. Some people learn that lesson the hard way. “Experience may be the best teacher, but only fools can learn by no other” is a harsh reality. Others find out what they are good at, and pursue success from that more powerful place. You can have a passion for and a commitment to baseball, you can manifest that passion and commitment as a spectator, as a sportscaster, as a grounds keeper, as a General Manager or a players agent, or as an employee of the team, but as a player – not. The talent has to be there to be successful.

The good news – and it is really good news – is that talent requirements can be identified, talents already present can be identified, and, in many cases, talents that need to be developed can be – it's exciting. Even more exciting is discovering a passion and a commitment that fits with your unique blend of talents – now that's special. Whether it's through experience, failures, successes, self discovery, or tools to help define requirements and capabilities, this is where the engine of success resides – in the talent to drive that passion and commitment.

And then Persistence, the centerline that keeps the forces generated in the paths of Passion, Commitment and Talent moving toward success. I have a framed saying from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I keep within view. It's a powerful message:

Press On

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Passion, leading to Commitment, fueled by Talent, and directed by Persistence – the formula for success. And in this time of uncertainty and bad news, it's so important to find or rediscover our passions and commit or recommit to them, develop the talent – the skills and abilities and motivators we need to make them happen - and then persist in meeting our goals.

That's the package. Now's the time. It's not easy – nothing worth doing ever is - but it's worth it – in so many ways. Have a great 2009, and the best of success to you.

Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com
Copyright© 2009 All Rights Reserved