Winning OR Success?

There has always been a lot of discussing in the leadership and coaching fields about winning. Are winning and success the same things or are they different?

According to DICTIONARY.com, winning are defined as:

1.	to finish first in a race, contest, or the like.

2.	to succeed by striving or effort: He applied for a scholarship and won.

3.	to gain the victory; overcome an adversary: The home team won.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to succeed in reaching (a place, condition, etc.), esp. by great effort: They won the shore through a violent storm.

5.	to get by effort, as through labor, competition, or conquest: He won his post after years of striving.

6.	to gain (a prize, fame, etc.).

7.	to be successful in (a game, battle, etc.).

8.	to make (one's way), as by effort or ability.

9.	to attain or reach (a point, goal, etc.).

10.	to gain (favor, love, consent, etc.), as by qualities or influence.

11.	to gain the favor, regard, or adherence of.

12.	to gain the consent or support of; persuade (often fol. by over): The speech won them over to our side.

13.	to persuade to marry; gain in marriage.

14.	British Mining. a. to obtain (ore, coal, etc.). b. to prepare (a vein, bed, mine, etc.) for working, by means of shafts or the like.

15.	a victory, as in a game or horse race.

16.	the position of the competitor who comes in first in a horse race, harness race, etc. Compare place (def. 27b), show (def. 27).

17.	win out, to win or succeed, esp. over great odds; triumph: His finer nature finally won out.

While there is nothing WRONG with winning, I see it related to wars and battles (military), political contests, sports (at all levels), games (at all levels), fights and arguments. Winning also means there are losers (unless you believe in that “win/win” stuff!).

What about SUCCESS? Is success the same thing as winning? The same source, DICTIONARY.com defines success as:

1.	the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.

2.	the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

3.	a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.

4.	a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.

5.	Obsolete. outcome.

Seveteen definitions for WINNING but only five for SUCCESS. And yet, there are many more personal definitions for success than there are for winning. Winning means that you did not lose and that someone else – an individual, group, team, organization or entity (such as a country or an army) – lost.

Success can apply to individuals, companies, groups or other entities. At the personal level, success does not have to mean winning. It can related to a state of being, the accomplishment of a goal, it can be financial or inner-related. Successful people sometimes define themselves by what they have done, the title they hold or what possessions they have accumulated. Others define success by experiences the have had, relationships and a condition of being such as heath or fitness. All of these are build around the individual’s definition of a goal or goals (about me) and not based on someone else losing (about them).

Whether is leadership, supervision or organizational strategy and goals, there needs to be much more focus on success and how to achieve it at the individual and group level. The talk of winning can stay on the battlefield, the political sphere and sports arena.

GEORGE F FRANKS III is the founder and President of Franks Consulting Group – a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute of Management Consultants. His web site is http://franksconsultinggroup.com.
His e-zine on career and leadership topics is http://careerandleadership.com

Five Steps to Super-Success

Successful people, whether they are in business, government, non-profit or a professional field have five characteristics in common. These characteristics distinguish them from those who are in the middle of the pack. Some leaders have displayed these since their youths. Others have learned them, in many cases painfully, over the years. With drive, passion, hard work – and a degree of luck (i.e. being in the right place at the right time) anyone can be successful.

The common traits of successful people include:

Passion for the current job or profession. Successful people wake up every day exciting about both the challenges and opportunities facing them in the day ahead. There is no “oh it’s Monday!” or “thank goodness it’s Friday”. Most work, in some way, seven days a week and do not clock in/out”. I one way or other, they are always working. Everyday single day brings new challenges and new opportunities for those who have a passion about what they do to make money.

Balance of work, family and other interests. Successful people do put how they make a living first. But they also find ways to weave their family and their interests into the way they make a living. Whether it is traveling with family, supporting a non-profit cause tied in to a personal (and professional) interest or just relaxing on the beach, successful people find ways to integrate work, family and personal interests together in a way that enhances each and is not to the detriment of their professional objectives. You can have it all.

High tech/low tech. There are super successful people who use pencil and paper. There are super successful people who use typewriters (yes, this IS getting more challenging). And yes, there are super successful people who always have the latest notebook computer, cell phone, PDA device and the other latest cutting edge devices. Does one or the other make one more successful? Wit the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I say “no”. What works for you is the right technology. Now there are some fields and some professions that demand a high degree of technological savvy and tools. That is clear. But in other, more entrepreneurial endeavors, the low tech person may be just as successful if not more so than the one checking their email and answering their cell phone non-stop.

People powered. Successful people thrive on other people. Customers, clients, investors, potential clients, employees and others energize successful people. It is difficult to be successful if your idea of a good time is being in your office or even just with a few close associates. Listening to the thoughts, ideas, needs, questions, issues and concerns of a variety of people opens up whole new possibilities for successful people. And they create situations where they can have these exchanges constantly.

Reading and learning. While there are many ways to learn: classes, TV, radio, CDs and other medium, the one that propels most successful people to the top of their field or profession is reading. Most super successful people read constantly. And they do not just read professional journals and reports. They read everything they can get their hands on. They are curious about the world and they see opportunities and tie-ins for themselves in much of what they read. They devour books, magazines, newspapers, journals and just about anything else they can read that serves to expand their mind and their horizons.

Success, while a state of mind, is also a series of behaviors. And the most successful people exhibit these five behaviors consistently. Even if one does not achieve the stratosphere of the super-success, adopting there habits into daily life will leader to a higher level of success and personal fulfillment in the future.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. George is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and the International Coach Federation. Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com George's NEW Career, Leadership and Work Life E-zine is: http://careerandleadership.com

Old Men in Coffee Shops

On any week day go to any coffee shop and you will find a relatively new and growing phenomenon. Men age forty and older sitting drinking coffee while working on laptops, talking on cell phones and reading business journals. Who are these men and why are they sitting in coffee shops?

THE SITUATION

The number of men who work for corporations and are over forty who have been either laid-off or forced into “early retirement” has grown every year over the past decade in spite of a robust economy. These men are mainly white and middle to upper middle class. They have at least a college degree if not an advanced degree. They started their careers in a variety of capacities with large corporations but invariably they found themselves in white collar management positions at some level by the time they were age forty. By the 1990’s companies were flattening their hierarchy to be more competitive in a global economy and reduce expenses to improve profitability. The people at the top rarely went. The people at the bottom were either needed or protected by unions or other conditions. The easiest targets were the white collar middle managers. More work could be shifted to those below them. And if they needed to be replaced over time, younger workers could be promoted or hired to do the work at a much cost. At the same time, many companies began outsourcing “non-core” work functions to contractors who also were selected for their low cost approach. And some functions were just eliminated as unnecessary.

The unspoken contract that these middle age white men believed in and worked for was broken when they needed a job and a paycheck the most. They had kids in college, mortgages and many had large debts from chasing the middle class dream. They were told if they went to college, got a job with a “good business” and worked hard, they could count on a job until they retired. They also were told if they did a good job they would slowly advance up the many levels of the corporate ladder. All of these implied promises proved to be false. And they proved to be false when, for many, it was too late to start over at a low paying entry-level position. Those making $75,000 to $125,000 per year in salary plus full benefits plus a pension were now left with no paycheck, no benefits and a gutted pension with too little to retire “early” on.

While much can be said about their options, the more important question is what SHOULD be done to help this great and underutilized resource?

The answers are not always the typical ones: become a consultant, become an entrepreneur or get retrained in a highly technical field. There are already too many consultants going after the same work. And big consulting firms dominate that field anyway. Many of these men went to work for large corporations for the very reason that they were NOT entrepreneurs. Contrary to the current popular myth, not everyone is an entrepreneur. And finally, many of these men studied engineer or programming or accounting while in their youth. Many at age forty plus have no desire to learn the basics of a technical field and compete for those entry level jobs with a twenty-two year old.

So what are the options left for these forty plus white men who have a life-time of business experience and no jobs?

SMALL BUSINESS

There are many existing businesses that make less than one million dollars a year. Most want to grow and be more successful. The functional and organizational skills that these men have developed over the years could be invaluable to helping small businesses succeed and grow. Many small business people have never worked for large businesses. As such they dismiss many of the good – along with the bad – ideas that make corporations operate.

TEACHING

Teaching is another option. In this case I am not talking about walking in as an elementary or middle school general teacher. Rather, the skills in business and functional areas that these middle age former managers developed over the years would be very valuable in a high school business, community college, junior college or professional – trade school environment. The key is to meet the skills and background with the need. And the need is great.

GOVERNMENT

We see in the media on a daily basis who 30-40% of those in government will retire over the next ten years. The professional and functional skills that these unemployed former managers have could be invaluable to the governments of towns and municipalities, counties, states and at the Federal level. Not to displace the people working today. And not in lieu of hiring the new college graduates. But to supplement the work force in roles requiring experience in engineering, accounting, management and administration to name only a few of the many areas of need.

MENTORING

Finally, these is the need for formal mentoring programs that take advantage of the resource that sits in the nation’s many coffee shops in lieu of a corporate office today. They have, without exception, years of experience in business plus many functional specialties. That experience should be tapped to mentor young people, struggling business people and non-profit organizations. There is a very real need to match the skills and the talent with the need in this area.

While there always have been and will be men sitting in coffee shops rather than offices, the number has grown to shocking levels. Steps should and must be taken to identify and channel their skills, experience and motivation into the areas lacking in resource and ability today. Government, small businesses, education and mentoring programs would all benefit greatly from the infusion of their experience and skills.

George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group - a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. His web site is:
http://franksconsultinggroup.com
His hot, new career and leadership e-zine is:
http://careerandleadership.com
George can be contacted at:
gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com

A Daily Ritual for Success

Some individuals have daily rituals. So do some athletes. But very few businesses have daily rituals to improve the business and drive results. One daily business ritual that has worked for a number of companies and other organizations is the daily meeting or conference call.

“Daily!” I can hear you saying now. Yes, daily. Here is how it works.

First, identify what the most important objectives for the year are. These are usually defined in the business plan. Next see which ones are broken down by month. If they are not broken down by month do so. Then break them down by day – either calendar day or business day depending on the nature of your business.

Secondly, who owns each of the results for the company or organization? There must be an accountable owner. This is the person the Board or the CEO looks to for the delivery of the business result. The second in command for each of these people must be identified also.

Finally, the logistics. What time, where, call in bridge only for those who are not at the primary office location and a format for reading out daily and monthly cumulative results plus related issues.

The call must go on every business day which may be five, six or seven days a week. The most senior accountable owners must be on the call. The only excuse for their not being on the call is being in transit on an airplane, with a customer or sick. Every call, every day will review the result for the previous day, the cumulative result for the month and any significant issues impacting performance. These issues raised must be specific and must be assigned to an owner with a follow-up within 24 hours.

While the daily results review meeting may seem like overkill, it serves to create focus, crystallize accountability, raise the sense of urgency and improve communication across organizations. Try it and let me know how it works for YOUR company or organization.

George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group – a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. His web site is:

http://franksconsultinggroup.com. George’s career and leadership e-zine is at:

http://careerandleadership.com

He can be contacted at gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com

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