4 Tips to Dramatically Improve Any Skill

Practice does not, in fact, always make perfect. Here's an easy way to make sure all that work pays off.

Picture someone you know who is incredibly talented: an athlete, a musician, a scientist.

You probably wish you had been born with some type of gift, right?

You were.

"We are often taught that talent begins with genetic gifts--that the talented are able to effortlessly perform feats the rest of us can only dream about. This is false. Talent begins with brief, powerful encounters that spark motivation by linking your identity to a high-performing person or group. This is called ignition, and it consists of a tiny, world-shifting thought lighting up your unconscious mind:

"I could be them."

That's the introduction to Daniel Coyle's The Little Book of Talent, a cool book filled with 52 easy, proven methods to improve almost any skill. It's a great guide; in just a few minutes you'll think, Oh, wow, several times.

Here's an example. You want to get better at something. At anything. Just going through the practice motions provides little or no results, though, so the key is to make sure you use a method that follows the R.E.P.S. gauge:

R: Reaching and Repeating

E: Engagement

P: Purposefulness

S: Strong, Speedy Feedback

Let's take a brief look at each.

Reaching and Repeating: Practice should require you to operate at the edge of your abilities; in short, you have to consistently reach and constantly repeat.

Say you're leading a training session. Should you:

1. Call on one person, ask a question, and have him or her answer it, or

2. Pose the question first, and then randomly choose someone to answer (and maybe even turn the exercise into a game)?

The second is the best approach, because everyone has to reach, every time--even if he or she isn't called on. Call on John from accounting, and I know I don't have to answer the question; I can sit back, check my email, and wait until you eventually call on me. I don't have to reach but--maybe--once.

Always put yourself--or the people you're training--in a position to reach, over and over again.

Engagement: Practice must command your attention and make you feel emotionally invested in striving for a goal.

Say you're trying to perfect your slide transitions for a presentation. Should you:

1. Run through the whole presentation 10 times, or

2. Try to hit each transition perfectly, without mistakes, three presentations in a row?

Running through your presentation 10 times in a row will feel like death; trying to be perfect three times in a row turns the exercise into a game you care about.

Make sure the outcome of every practice session is something you will care about: You'll try harder and be more engaged, and you'll improve more rapidly.

Purposefulness: Practice must directly connect to the skill you want to build. (Sounds obvious, but often what we practice has little to do with what we need to accomplish.)

Say you feel nervous and intimidated when you have to speak to a group. Should you:

1. Rehearse at home, alone, until you know your material inside out, or

2. Practice speaking to small groups of people in less formal settings, like in a meeting?

Although solo rehearsing certainly helps, the only way to perform well under the pressure of an audience is to actually practice speaking to people. No amount of solo practice will prepare you for the nerves you'll feel when every eye in the room is on you.

Strong, Speedy Feedback: Practice must provide an immediate and consistent flow of accurate information about performance.

Say you're studying for a certification exam. You purchased a sample test guide. Should you:

1. Take a complete test and wait until the next day to see how you did, or

2. Complete a section and immediately grade your answers to see where you went wrong (and right)?

Take the test in chunks. Check your results right away. Immediate feedback is the best feedback; you'll better connect the dots because you're in the flow. Waiting even a day for feedback creates a mental distance and a lack of engagement that are really hard to overcome--which means much of the time you spent trying to learn was wasted.

5 Signs That You're an Entrepreneur at Heart

You might be surprised how many "entrepreneurs" are not at the helm of a growing business but rather are among the employees helping to build it.

Entrepreneurs can be a wacky bunch, but it can get weird to see some of these personality traits in the people you select to help build your business.

When you look at entrepreneurs who have built businesses larger and longer-lasting than themselves, you see some fascinating and surprising characteristics. Some of these attributes are contrary to the stereotypes that are propagated by television and movies.

Here are five observations we've made about the entrepreneurial mind and personality.

1. Entrepreneurs are passionate, inside and outside of work.

Whatever they immerse themselves in, entrepreneurs typically invest fully and passionately. This extends beyond business building into many aspects of life outside the workplace.

2. Entrepreneurs are committed to building businesses, not just coming up with great ideas.

Most people with ideas don't build businesses. Most entrepreneurs we know look for good businesses to build, given their area of expertise. We've met countless individuals with a "great idea" who never turn that idea into a successful business.

3. Entrepreneurs know how to focus, yet are comfortable moving in multiple directions at once.

It's notable how many entrepreneurial business owners we know who are building multiple businesses at once or are leading nonprofit organizations at the same time they are building for-profit businesses. Often, this comes across as restlessness but is really the manifestation of a high level of energy that, when focused, can lead to amazing accomplishments.

4. Entrepreneurs are happy.

Most entrepreneurs have healthy personal lives, despite in some cases being "married" to their work. Our guess is that finding happiness in your professional life, whether that means freedom from a boss or feelings of accomplishment, feeds a healthy mind, which bleeds into one's personal life.

5. Entrepreneurs can be employees.

People often associate "entrepreneur" with any small-business owner. But we see the term as more general to any business builder. The reason? We see a lot of small-business owners who don't act like business builders, and we see a lot of business builders within larger companies who have entrepreneurial traits. You don't have to be an owner to be a successful entrepreneur.

All of the above characteristics contribute to success in building businesses and creating lasting growth.

The 5 Traits of High-Potential Employees

Who will be ready to run your company when you can't be everywhere anymore? Here's how to pick your next generation of leaders.

Samuel Bacharach: 'If You Don't Do Politics, You Shouldn't Be a CEO'

As your company grows too big for you to do everything--the way you do now--you're going to give over some of the leadership. (Relax. This is a good thing!) For reasons of staff morale, economy, and your own precious peace of mind, it’s better to find your new generation of leaders inside the company. But there’s a rub. Not every longtime loyal employee is really suited to be a leader.

Some have reached their potential and are quite comfortable where they are. This doesn’t imply mediocrity. It simply means that their role at the company and their ambition have converged, and a degree of leveling has set in. Others on your staff might be the “me-me” type--utterly convinced of their own limitless potential and blind to the overwhelming evidence that they’ve gone as far as they're going to get.

How do you decide who among your longtime lieutenants have what it takes? I point to five criteria:

1. They know the business. Your high-potential employees are the ones who have true expertise and keep learning. Their knowledge may be technical or it may be institutional, but it’s invaluable for the organization. More important, they understand how their activities, their sector, and their realm of knowledge is related to the company’s goals.

2. Others respect them. Your staff members, not just you, also have to appreciate how much your high-potentials know. It’s not enough that your top people know their stuff. Everyone else has to know they know it.

3. They are ambitious. High-potential employees aren’t just career-minded; they’re ambitious in a focused way. The best way to get a sense of this is to evaluate their commitment to career progression. Look for signs that they long to accumulate new responsibilities, new successes, additional knowledge, and, for better or worse, additional recognition.

4. They work well with others. Though your leaders need to be driven, they also must be able to form partnerships with others besides you. This attitude goes beyond amiability; it's a pragmatic, tactical skill that allows them to make better, more informed decisions. Lone rangers may be creative and ambitious, but they make lousy leaders.

5. They have guts. Your next generation of leaders must understand that no matter how much research they do, no matter how many cost-benefit analyses they conduct, no matter how many market surveys they complete, they will always be deciding under conditions of uncertainty. The information at hand will always be less than the information you wish you had. Leaders need to have the courage to take risks.

Though you don’t want your next generation of leaders to be clones of you, you do want them to have the traits that drove you to build a growing company. You want them to know their stuff. You want them to have a good reputation on your team. You want them to be driven but able to give and accept help. Finally, you want them to have the courage to make tough decisions, even if there’s a chance they’ll fail. Because that’s how entrepreneurship works.

Is Your Leadership Showing?

You're the CEO of your company. But do you look and act like a leader? Here are five ways to get started.

Most members of a team know when they’re doing their work well. They often have a particular area of expertise, and they have deadlines and deliverables.

For leaders, it’s a bit different. How do you show that you’re leading? Here are five competencies that good leaders demonstrate. They are related to one another, and each is framed with a question to help you think about opportunities to display leadership.

1. Visibility

We know that leaders need to be seen by followers--from formal presentations and announcements, to a crisis, to simple “managing by walking around.” The less-obvious occasions, however, are easily overlooked. They can be lost opportunities, or powerful expressions of leadership.

As a leader, when do you feel out of your comfort zone? Maybe it’s when you have to deliver bad or unpopular news, or mediate a conflict between direct reports, or perform a necessary task that you just don’t like. One CEO client told me that he found it hard to celebrate the “small to medium wins” that his team wanted acknowledged. He considered these victories just part of doing business. His solution was to ask his executives to publicize accomplishments up to a certain level, allowing him to save his praise for the really big achievements.

Ask yourself, “How am I visible to others when I don’t want to be?” The answer is not to pretend to like being visible--far from it. Instead, ask yourself this question prior to an uncomfortable event, and use it to help you prepare. Consider some behavioral options, and put yourself in a different mental space. Then you’ll be able to be visible in a more productive, less stressful manner.

2. Preparation

Many leaders are great at preparing the logistics of leadership (the facts and figures in a plan, or the pitch for a presentation). Too many leaders, however, don’t prepare regularly for the deeper daily requirements of leadership. This is a shame, because most leaders face complex challenges, relentless claims on their time, and increasing pressures to deliver on goals over which they don’t have direct control. A bit of regular preparation goes a long way.

Just as athletic activities involve physical, mental, and emotional energies, leadership is a “whole-body practice” and requires preparation of the whole person. The next time you are running through your checklist prior to a leadership event, ask yourself, “How have I prepared my whole self for this?”

3. Comfort

This is closely related to preparation, because leadership discomfort is greatly enhanced by a lack of preparation. In order to be more comfortable as a leader and to appear that way to other people, you need to practice (which is simple preparation repeated). By “comfortable,” I don’t mean perpetually happy or even relaxed--I mean grounded in your complete embodiment of leadership.

Ask yourself, “How do I display that I am comfortable with the responsibilities and demands of leadership?” Look for nagging doubts in the back of your mind; or instincts that need to be surfaced around what you feel should be happening instead of what is happening, or that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach about an issue not faced. This is valuable data, and if you do not address your lack of grounding and comfort, others will certainly sense it for you.

4. Listening

One reason that modern leadership is hard is because an effective modern leader must listen to others. Though few people manage to do it, this may be one of the easiest competencies to demonstrate--provided you can resist the urge to talk.

Ask yourself, “What one thing can I tell myself as a reminder to listen more?” It’s vitally important that you think up an effective cue. If you can’t come up with one, that in itself could indicate a deeper internal misalignment.

5. Blend

This list started with visibility. When the opposite is required, a leader must blend in. Otherwise, he or she risks drawing attention away from the people and issues at hand. When you pull back, it makes it easier for other people to bring you hard problems, bad news, and perspectives that challenge the status quo.

As a leader, it’s not all about you. The clearest way to demonstrate this is to find the right moments to step out of the spotlight so that other people get the attention they need. Ask yourself, “When necessary, how do I lower the volume of my leadership presence?”

Though leadership can be hard to demonstrate at times, regularly questioning how you embody your role will serve your leadership well.

True Secret to Success (It's Not What You Think)

If you're not exercising this emotional muscle, you're probably setting yourself up for failure.

I'm utterly convinced that the key to lifelong success is the regular exercise of a single emotional muscle: gratitude.

People who approach life with a sense of gratitude are constantly aware of what's wonderful in their life. Because they enjoy the fruits of their successes, they seek out more success. And when things don't go as planned, people who are grateful can put failure into perspective.

By contrast, people who lack gratitude are never truly happy. If they succeed at a task, they don't enjoy it. For them, a string of successes is like trying to fill a bucket with a huge leak in the bottom. And failure invariably makes them bitter, angry, and discouraged.

Therefore, if you want to be successful, you need to feel more gratitude. Fortunately, gratitude, like most emotions, is like a muscle: The more you use it, the stronger and more resilient it becomes.

Practice Nightly

The best time to exercise gratitude is just before bed. Take out your tablet (electronic or otherwise) and record the events of the day that created positive emotions, either in you or in those around you.

Did you help somebody solve a problem? Write it down. Did you connect with a colleague or friend? Write it down. Did you make somebody smile? Write it down.

What you're doing is "programming your brain" to view your day more positively. You're throwing mental focus on what worked well, and shrugging off what didn't. As a result, you'll sleep better, and you'll wake up more refreshed.

Reprogramming Your Brain

More important, you're also programming your brain to notice even more reasons to feel gratitude. You'll quickly discover that even a "bad day" is full of moments that are worthy of gratitude. Success becomes sweeter; failure, less sour.

The more regularly you practice this exercise, the stronger its effects.

Over time, your "gratitude muscle" will become so strong that you'll attract more success into your life, not to mention greater numbers of successful (i.e., grateful) people. You'll also find yourself thanking people more often. That's good for you and for them, too.

This method works. If you don't believe me, try it for at least a week. You'll be amazed at what a huge difference it makes.

8 Ways to Keep Your Brain Innovative

When I return from the Serengeti, my brain feels new. It's as if the hot African sun sears away mental fog. You can replicate this--closer to home.

Jamie Grill/Get

Kenyan Children Foundation

Geil Browning with the Kenya Children Foundation, February 2002.

For many years, I have had the privilege of leading groups of family members, friends, colleagues, and clients to Africa. We do volunteer work for the Kenyan Children Foundation; we dig, scrub, build, teach, and--at all times--give as much love as possible to the AIDS children the Foundation serves. Every evening, no matter how late it is, our group convenes to discuss our day. This is not a vacation. This is work--expensive work! Yet year after year, people jump at the opportunity to join me.

People want to join me because of the wonderful feelings that come from helping children whom society has otherwise abandoned. There is also the excitement of visiting such a dramatically different part of the world.

Also, after our work is done and we return home, we all notice an interesting phenomenon. Our brains feel new. Our eyes see differently. It's as if the hot African sun seared away all our mental fog.

"It seems crazy to think that I had to go that far to gain perspective," says Lauren, a human resources executive at a Fortune 1000 company. "But life there is simpler. We had no TV or radio or newspapers for three weeks. Unplugging gave me such an appreciation for life. Kenya reminded me of what's important: the beauty of the earth, good food, and fellowship. By getting off the daily treadmill, I was able to get back on it with far more patience. The Serengeti gave me the gift of seeing the bigger picture. Now, in my work, I don't get so wrapped up in the day-to-day challenges that I lose sight of the greater goal. My brain built new pathways and connections, and reached new 'aha' moments that have made my decision making more clear, my life less stressful, and my heart more grateful."

When I am in Africa, I not only begin to see the "bigger picture," as Lauren says, but I also gradually get into the rhythm of "Africa time." An 8 o'clock appointment may or may not happen at 8 o'clock. When it happens, it happens. Africa time causes the structural part of my brain to eventually give up and go on a holiday. I also find that the analytical part of my brain is forced to yield to more innovative and more social thinking--so I use the opposite parts of the brain on which Western society is largely based. All these shifts make my brain more open to inspiration and new ideas.

On the treadmill of our daily lives, we are far too busy for Africa time. Blogger J.D. Gershein notes that the expression "I've been crazy busy" has become the new professional apology, and asks, "How on earth did we arrive at the crossroads of manageable busy and clinical insanity?"

The problem with being "crazy busy" is that it does not allow freewheeling thought. Think of the bright ideas you've had when you were washing your face or even sound asleep. A recent article in The New York Times titled "The 'Busy' Trap" points out: "History is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks, and no-accounts aren't responsible for more of the world's great ideas, inventions, and masterpieces than the hardworking."

Working incessantly is counterproductive. Our brains can handle only so much. A wonderful article by Sara Robinson called "Bring Back the 40-Hour Work Week" notes that every workday, "odds are good that you probably turn out five or six good, productive hours of hard mental work, and then spend the other two or three hours on the job in meetings, answering e-mail, making phone calls, and so on. You can stay longer if your boss asks, but after six hours, all he's really got left is a butt in a chair."

Although corporate America has not gotten the message, there is mountains of evidence that working longer hours does not produce better work. In fact, the overworked brain begins to make mistakes, and it is possible for teams to reach a point at which they are working longer hours just to correct the errors they made from working longer hours! Dramatic examples of the consequences of brain fatigue include the Exxon Valdez disaster, the space-shuttle Challenger explosion, and numerous times when air-traffic controllers have been overtired.

So what can you do to work smarter, prevent burnout, and make sure your brain is always open to inspiration?

1. Work fewer hours.

Working the longest hours of anyone is just foolish.

2. Clarify your goals and core values.

What are you ultimately trying to accomplish? Are you spending too much time spinning your wheels on tasks that are irrelevant?

3. Track your time.

Being ruthlessly efficient allows you to block out periods of nonwork time.

4. Don't overpromise.

This is especially challenging for entrepreneurs, given that in many cases you won't get the job unless you tell the client you'll get it done in record time--for the least amount of money.

5. Say no.

Learn to walk away from jobs that will be a nightmare.

6. Hire help.

If you refuse to delegate, you end up hurting only yourself by working longer hours. You will have to learn how to not be a perfectionist and how to not be a control freak.

7. Get a life.

Make sure you have a good life outside of work and that you're not trying to escape something by working too hard.

8. Unplug.

Block out periods of time when you will let your phone take messages and let your email collect unread. It's not going anywhere.

Fortunately, you don't need to travel halfway around the world to learn how to make your life less busy and your brain more innovative. By working smarter, you'll have an opportunity for strategic thinking and planning during prime time every day, instead of squeezing your most important visionary work into late nights and weekends.

7 Tips for Creating Your Own Destiny

Are you working on your life or just in it? Here is the perspective and method you need to plan and execute the life and career worthy of your potential.

Getty

Too many people whine about not having the life they want. The main reason people fall short of their own expectations is the same reason most companies fail to achieve their objectives: poor planning and execution. In fact, I am amazed at how many successful executives create strategy for their business, leaving their life to chance. Often it's more comfortable (note I didn't say easier) to complain and blame outside factors for lack of accomplishment or unhappiness than to take time to work on life rather than in it.

I choose otherwise. A close entrepreneur friend, J, and I are taking our annual four days away to determine our futures and hold each other accountable. Here are the tips that will assure us of success.

1. Plan a Preferred Future

As Lewis Carroll said: If you don't know where you are going, then any road will get you there. Both J and I are close to 50, so our 60th birthdays are the milestone for this journey. Twelve years is plenty of time to make course corrections and absorb any external factors thrown at us. Our planning will be specific and measurable. We'll take time to examine and discuss the details of every aspect of our lives, personal and professional, to achieve integrated success and happiness.

2. Be Pragmatic

Neither of us will be playing for the NBA at our age (or my height). The future has to reflect what is physically possible with available resources and limitations. Pragmatism isn't in itself restrictive, however; J and I will harness our creativity to design aspirational futures that exploit every opportunity and asset we have. We'll also create filters to keep us from wasting time and energy on what's unachievable or irrelevant.

3. Decide the Who, Not the What

We're defining who we want to be at 60, not what we want to be doing. The who centers on passion, core competencies, and core satisfaction, such as material requirements. If I know who I truly want to be, I can detail what to do, own, resources I need, etc. I can also determine what not to do, own, etc., focusing time and resources where required.

4. Be Honest

J and I will challenge each other constantly to get to the truth of who we are and who we wish to be. There will be no quiet politeness on this trip (not that I'm capable of it). I can't let J believe his own stories and rationalizations, causing misdirection and distraction. Warning: Allowing this dialogue requires intimate knowledge of each other and great trust. Pick your accountability partners wisely.

5. Consider the Tools Around You, Old and New

Every resource is important. On my old list is Napoleon Hill, who nearly 100 years ago connected creative visualization to success. And I will also consider new resources like crowdsourcing. Although I'm a natural skeptic for overhyped Internet trends, my friend and talented designer Elena Kriegner inspired me with her KickStarter campaign. It's simple, interesting, and elegant (like her jewelry), which is why it's gaining traction, unlike many others. In this planning exercise, no resources, new or old, are off the table to achieve my desired future.

6. Ignore the Naysayers

I live for constructive criticism. But outside perspective that is baseless conjecture or stems from emotional baggage (think dissatisfied family or friends) is destructive for achievers. Put these people in a box where they can't distract you from your ambitions. Find people who get it, and put them in your corner. Engage them in your preferred future, and help them achieve theirs.

7. Don't Settle for Mediocrity

Although being the next Steve Jobs or U.S. President is likely off our agenda (as it should be), J and I both want to be pushed to the limits of our potential. Too many people settle for what is easy rather than engage their energy and creativity to create something different and meaningful. Then they wonder why their work has no significance. I choose to pursue the Awesome Experience.
People who take a reactive approach to growth and development will suffer the same fate as companies, managers, and employees who let the markets, technology, and competitors determine their destiny. The game of life rewards aggressive players who leverage their energy, smarts (note that I didn't say intelligence), and creativity to determine and obtain the life that truly makes them happy. As Jim Collins points out in Great by Choice, good and bad luck comes to all; it's how you plan and execute that determines your return on luck.