Simon Sinek suggested that “Learning has greater value when we share what we learned”. Sharing learnings creates value for the person delivering and for the receiver (s). However, sometimes, people forget about the importance of the way and when the learnings are delivered.

When this information is given at a time a mistake has been made, it will look like a correction. The best time is to discuss in a sharing environment. The point I bring up to my clients and in workshops is to share what we have recently experienced that continues to help us learn.

Giving 110% plus is easy when we are passionate about our work or project. The 110% plus comes naturally if the job is a natural fit for the needed skill set. When the passion is lacking, what can be done to create it? If passion is lacking because of time constraints and task overload, take a break from it. Whether you leave for an hour or half of a day, not thinking about the work will result in the energy needed. Passion and the drive to succeed needs to be organic or burn out occurs.

Today, more than ever in the professional and personal world:

1. Speak truth not fiction
2. Admit a mistake by saying “I was wrong” and giving an apology
3. Only say nice things or avoid saying anything
4. Be on time for meetings or conference calls
5. Answer emails within 24 hours

When finding a solution to a problem or making a critical decision, think of the long-term impact. When I was in sales, helping folks determine the next step in a purchase, I knew they needed to answer how the decision would affect them in a year. This is a question I always ask myself and my clients when they are struggling or just taking the next step.

A firm handshake:
1. Creates a first-time bond
2. Starts a relationship
3. Enables the other person to begin to know you
4. Says confidence
5. Allows sharing of a personal space
6. Is usually the only time one touches another person at work

This firm handshake is the initiator of hopefully a fruitful relationship beginning.

My five favorite books that provide the professional and personal skills and insights on building relationships are:

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
• The Tipping Point – Malcom Gladwell
• Blink – Malcom Gladwell
• Start with Why – Simon Sinek
• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – Richard Carlson, Ph.D.

When strengthening a skill, I use a scale from 1 to 10 and judge where I am at. If it’s a 6 for instance, I think about what I need to do to get to an 8? So many times, when we stretch too far and have high expectations, it leads to a quick start and a faster stop. Begin this new year by picking one item you want to work on and take it up two notches making sure the tasks and time frame are doable.

Often, I hear: Why are my ideas not heard but someone else says the same thing and it is taken favorably and even as their idea! Why is that?

Ideas get recognized by the way they are stated. Also, ideas are important but they become real with results.

Another key issue is an that an idea can be like seeds in farming. They need time to grow to mature. Be the farmer, nurture your ideas and plant the seeds of thought with more than one source.

Recently, I was asked to help the daughter of a friend prepare for a job interview. These are the dos and don’ts of interview preparation:

Do:
• Prepare by learning what the job and the organization are about
• Have a personal story about yourself
• Be able to state why you are the best person for the job
• Be able share a situation where it did not work out and what you would do differently
• Be enthusiastic and answer questions with confidence even if you’re uncertain of the answer

Don’t
• Go in with the idea that they need you
• Go in without being fully prepared on what the job is about
• Go in dressed for an outdoor event
• Go in with a weak handshake

I recently heard Seth Godin give a talk about “Engagement – Do the Work You Love”. One of the elements of the talk stressed the importance of failure and the lessons learned from it. As we begin to grow and become more proficient in a subject, I believe we continue to strive for success and we work diligently to not fail. What that occurs, I think our growth ceases.

Folks I work with try and learn from situations that did not work out. An important failure I had early in my career was that my son told me to get out when making a pitch that suddenly heads south. I did not follow his advice.

In my presentation (the RFP was 50 pages), the interview was scheduled with two folks. Instead it turned out to be a team of five! I was terrible but instead of getting out of the interview, I forged ahead with my struggling presentation. It took me a year to get over it.

A few years later, I was asked by another company to put on a year program for 300 with 30 at a time in one day. I went into the interview with five people, performed well and won the project. This first failure was painful but it was the lesson that keeps giving.