TRAITS OF THE GREAT
Michael Smith
Facilitator HR Mobility Peer Group, VP Sales & Service AHI Corporate Housing, Entrepreneur in Residence The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce
Who do you know that’s great at what they do? When you think of them, what traits come to mind? Take a piece of paper, use as few words as possible and describe what makes them great. Take some time and list traits as they come to mind. What did you learn from this exercise? As I interview high achievers, I ask them to list what qualities they attribute to people who succeed in business and life (I’ll be sharing summaries of these interviews soon). For now, let’s check your list. Are there 10, 15, 20, or 100+ traits you listed? Honesty, Integrity, Work Ethic, Persistence, Passion, etc. –most people end up with 10-20 traits. I predict when compared you’ll probably have 75% to 80% of the same traits listed yourself. So WHAT?
Interestingly, no one has listed being the most intelligent person in the room on their list. Good news! We all have the ability to become GREAT. The question is, do you have the will? Understanding the character traits of the GREAT is the easy part. Learning to apply them in your life and making them habits is the hard part. Pick one of the characteristics on your list and make a plan to have that word describe you. Can you learn to be persistent and fight to get to your goals? Will you concentrate on HOW you’ll accomplish your goals and not IF you will? Can you become that person who always does what they say they’ll do regardless of the obstacles? Yes, but only if you’re deliberate and have a plan.
The GREAT: Have defined the characteristics required to be great and live them
The GOOD: Have defined some of the characteristics of the great and apply them
The GONE: Make the simple complicated to explain their failures