Episode #554: The Leader Success Formula In Japan

Here is a handy success equation which is easy to remember: our mindset plus our skill set, will equal our results. This is very straightforward and unremarkable, but we get so embroiled in our day to day world, we forget to helicopter above the melee and observe the lay of the land. A great mindset coupled with lacklustre skills, won’t get us very far. A poor mindset with great skills won’t do it either, so we need both.

What is our mindset composed of? How we think is critical. Are we operating with a positive mindset? If we are deep in depression about the circumstances of the business, we are stuck in a hole from which it can be hard to emerge. We are what we think, so control over what we think becomes so important. That also means being strict about what we put into our minds. Stay away for fluff, endless scrolling on social media and negativity. Find the useful, positive and valuable and make that the diet for our mind.

Our opinions influence how we see the world. Where do these opinions come from? They are usually the product of our access to quality, correct information. There is a tricky balance here because a lot of the news we need to consume is laced with negativity and that can pollute our positive attitude. So we need to curate the information we take in, to help us make informed decisions, based on correct data.

Our beliefs are similarly formed from data, personal experience and what we hear from people we trust. Our degree of success can be impacted by our self-belief. It can be a drag on our progress if we are limiting how we see our potential.

We believe we are operating logically, except we often make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. Being in control of our emotion is a fundamental first step to getting ourselves into a position to be successful. Wild mood swings make us a difficult person to work with or get close to. A short temper can have us explode in haste and repent at leisure, after we have created havoc all around us.

We are all drowning is a sea of information today as the internet propels constant updates and new content at us. When I was at University we went to the stacks in the library to find the few books available there and if someone else had that textbook you needed you dipped out. Microfiche was the big innovation to access information in a non-paper format. For the younger generation out there, microfiche was an ancient method of taking microphotographs of physical pages and putting it on to film you could scroll through, using a special microfiche reader. I noticed with my son’s education, his problem is the constant assault of data and the difficulty of working out which information was valuable amongst the flotsam and jetsam battering his attention everyday. Getting insight becomes the game of success because we don’t lack for content anymore.

Once we have the mindset correct then we have to take action. This is often easier said than done. We are so busy and translating insight into outcomes is not a given in this constant rabid struggle against the demands on our time. Behaviour determines outcomes and the formation of good habits is the key here. If we form the right habits then we take the right actions and we form the right default behaviour which adds to our success.

The way we communicate flows from these habits and behaviours and we should be seeking inclusivity. Business is too complex for relying on the hero worker who can do it all by themselves – that ship has sailed. We need to be persuasive and able to garner collaboration in the workplace today. There is so much technology available today and it spews out endless choices. How do we get others to follow our ideas and adopt our suggestions? Our degree of cooperation from others is a compilation of our interactivity. If we have good people skills then we can interact with other in a constructive and positive way which adds to our success. Often technical people struggle in this area because their education hasn’t focused on the human interaction dimension. Communication and people skills are new sets of complexities they need to master otherwise they will always be soldiers and never become generals.

Our mindsets and skill sets combine to offer us opportunities to influence others and to direct the way forward. That is what it means to lead. If we are busily working in our business, we may neglect to work on ourselves, so that we can work on the business. It always good to step back and regroup around the fundamentals and refocus on where we need to put our energy and passion.