Business View Magazine | January 2020

10 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2020 success, and parental success. They were then asked to estimate how influential habits, talent, decisions, and luck were in contributing to success in each of those areas. And it turns out, habits weren’t only influential in a person’s career – but they also had a disproportionate impact on success in every area of life. On average, respondents attributed around 50 percent of their overall success to having the right habits. They attributed only 5.8 percent to luck and also said their habits are more than twice as important as the decisions they make (24.7 percent) or their talents (19.5 percent). Additionally, the more successful a person rated themselves in a particular area of his life, the more he attributed his success to having good habits. And while there are likely keystone habits for success, what’s surprising is that many of the habits people attributed to their results are less heroic than they are simple. For instance, some of the career habits respondents felt made the difference between success and failure include: • Think yes before saying no. Be open to opportunities to grow and expand outside of your comfort zone. • Trust your gut. Do your research but stop at 80 percent confidence rather than 110 percent. • Be curious. Dedicate time each week to dreaming and researching. Know the dream is free but hustle costs extra. • Do the hardest or most important thing on your to-do list first thing in the morning. “A lot of these habits are what we call Trigger Habits,” says Gregory. “While they seem small, they actually trigger a series of other powerful habits. For instance, ‘Thinking yes before saying no,’ is likely to create a habit of being less impulsive, more thoughtful, and even more visionary and creative. In fact, many of the good habits successful people have at work carry over into their personal life.” So instead of agonizing over every decision, counting yourself down and out because you aren’t as gifted as the next guy, or even wearing your lucky socks to work each day, Gregory and her team at VitalSmarts recommend creating new, simple habits that will jump start your workplace performance. The skills to learn and adopt new habits are taught in the training course The Power of Habit, which is based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same title by Charles Duhigg. 3 Tips to Learning New Career Habits in 2020: Spot the Lag : Identify the areas in your career where you’re not getting the results you want, then identify the habits that will produce those results. If you can’t see the lag or the desired habits, invest in a 360 survey to gather feedback, ask a mentor or manager where you could improve, or find training and development opportunities that illuminate the skills needed to reach the next level. Make it a Ritual: Create a ritual around the new habit by engineering your environment—time of day, place, people, objects, etc.—so that it’s conducive to doing the habit. Set up reminders, or cues, and arrange your world so that doing the behavior comes easier. For example, if you are trying to develop a habit of quickly processing incoming email, then disable social media, instant messenger tools, and other distractions on your computer so you can focus on the new habit. Reward Yourself: Every time you complete your new routine, reward yourself—immediately. Maybe you indulge in a special treat, an activity, or delay indulgence in your favorite guilty pleasure until after you complete the new routine. This becomes your incentive—not the results you hope for. The results will follow but reward yourself immediately to fire up your motivation in the beginning.