High Achievers Discipline

This list is from a very wise and disciplined man. He was kind enough to share with me. Because most of these are my failings at one time or another.. This list is a journey not a destination. None of these guarantee success. However, if you follow them you will be perceived by your peers and chain of command as a PROFESSIONAL. 

Customer Relationships -Standards of Professionalism

These aren’t demands, rules, or regulations. These may be some of the contributing factors why some of your peers are moving ahead, and you are not. I was fortunate enough to learn many of these lessons early in my career. For those who consider this a “career” and not a “job” these may be helpful to you as well. 

·      Do not lie, cheat, steal, evade the truth, conspire to deceive or tolerate those who do. If you are aware of any employee violating this ethics code you may be held to the same level of responsibility as the employee who committed the violation. 

·      Broaden your outlook and take responsibility for your own development and career. Nobody else will. 

·      Under promise and over deliver. 

·      Don’t make excuses. Accept responsibility. Accepting the responsibility will save you “the lecture.” “Excuses are tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom go far."

·      Learn how to be a “resource” not a “vendor.” Vendors are easily replaced. Be the one everyone turns to for advice and respects. 

·      Show up early. Walking in the door at 8am is not starting work at 8 am. Show up ten minutes early and get your coffee and say hello to your friends.

·      Bring paper and pen to all meetings.

·      Dress for the job you want not the one you have (I was always business casual at a minimum). Iron your clothes. Shine your shoes. Dressing up for a night club is not business appropriate.

·      Do not jump the chain of command unless you have notified your immediate superior. You don’t have to tell them what you will discuss but give your boss the courtesy to know what you are doing.  EEOC Concerns are the sole exception to this.

·      Everyone on the team should have a personal plan. Plan your work, work your plan. We don’t “wing it” here. Where do you plan to be next year, in five years, in ten years? It won’t happen by accident or luck. You must make it happen. 

·      No complaining, griping. If you can bring up a subject to affect change that is one thing, complaining about something that you can’t change is annoying.

·      Never walk into your boss’s office with a problem unless you can propose a solution. The first question I always ask is “How would you solve this issue?” If you don’t have the answer at least make an attempt. Turn it into a learning opportunity. 

·      Don’t forward anything to your boss for a decision unless you know it well. For example, if a prospect sends you an NDA. Read it and understand it so you can discuss it. Don’t expect your boss to educate you. You should act as an advisor to your boss.

·      Never accept the words from a senior worker “because that’s the way we have always done it.” Never in history has a phrase been more used to justify mediocrity. 

·      Don’t CC people in email just to let them know you are working hard. We know. People who put out many “CC”, “FYI” or send articles out in the middle of the day are just saying they don’t have a lot to do or they are making CYA moves.

·      Treat all employees at this company as you would a customer. Treat angry employees as you would a neighbor’s child. 

·      Be respectful of others time. Just because you have time to kill does not mean a co-worker does. 

·      Watch for potential signs of your own substance abuse. I’ve lost count of the number of people I personally know who have DUI’s, or those sent to Rehab or AA. None of these people turned into “that guy” overnight. They did it day after day, until it became year after year. Substances can “Rob you of your ambition.” Ambition is the linchpin to all your Superpowers. The path to self destruction is an insidiously slow process. I won’t say something sappy like “get help.” We both know you won’t until it is court sanctioned. 

·      Don’t gossip

·      Don’t share information about your salary (or other confidential information) with others.

·      Be a team player-pitch in when needed. Volunteer.

·      Don’t use the f* word (or other off color language), tell dirty jokes or display pornographic material in the work place.

·      If you tell someone you are going to do something, do it and do it when you said you would. If for some valid reason you can’t, let them know and give them a revised expectation.

·      Don’t put anything in email, text, tweet or any social media that you wouldn’t want to see on the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal, and/or your mother to see.

·      Do the right thing even if you think nobody notices. We always notice.

·      It is nearly always a bad idea to date a co-worker. Do you really want your ex to share all your embarrassing secrets through the company? If the relationship ends badly that may be what happens. Think about the worst break up you ever had and then imagine them at work sitting two cubes down from you. That is your future. Good luck with that.  

·      Don’t be late to meetings or other appointments (especially customer calls).

·      Don’t wear overpowering perfume/cologne/Make up.

·      Nine out of ten jobs are not advertised. Networking and consistent performance will get you your next three jobs.  (It got me my last five in a row. My “interview” consisted of filling out the HR paperwork and asking me when I wanted to start.)

·      Decide what profession you are. Sign up for classes, read books, go to seminars to hone your craft. Pay for it out of your own pocket and spend PTO and weekends working on yourself. The Student always wants to become the “Master.” All true Masters never stop sharpening their skills or learning state-of-the-art techniques. In other words, real Masters remain a humble student.  I am continuously stunned to hear a Sales Professional hasn’t read a Sales book or attended a class in five years. If you are one of these people and we are in a competitive situation I will crush you like a bug. Like a bug under my shoe. A vast majority of the competitors I beat in the field never saw it coming. Run your career like you will face me for the biggest sale of your life. It is ironic that this day comes and goes every day and many of you don’t recognize it when it passes you. 

·      I would wish you “good luck,” but the harder you work and the better you plan the “Luckier” you will get.