Toronto, 10pm, February 4 2010
Hi this is Mike Lipkin and I hope that February is flowing well for you, especially if you’re a Pisces or an Aquarius. From everything I see around me, we’re definitely going to need help from above. 2010 is going to be another year of crises, opportunities, chaos, and change. In other words, it’s going to be exactly the same as 2009. It’s also going to be exactly different.
It will be exactly the same because dramatic change is the only constant. And that’s the same reason it’s going to be exactly different. Every year brings a new kind of dramatic change. In 2010, it’s the kind that will crush you or catapult you. It will grind you to nothing or grow you into the next new thing. It will build you or bust you. In other words, this is the year that will erase mediocrity from the vocabulary. If you’re middle of the road, you’ll get run over. If you’re fair or average, you’ll barely earn enough to eat. If you’re good, you only qualify for the struggle. Even if you’re excellent, life is going to be hard, really, really hard.
So what’s it going to take to make 2010 the best year of your career? That’s my mission. I want to help you achieve professional Nirvana no matter what your external circumstances. My definition of Nirvana is when you’re free of worry, performing at your best, doing what you love, making a powerful contribution to people you like being with, and earning great money. Does that sound like the kind of year you want to have? Then enjoy this message and listen for the breakthrough that you need to hear. That’s why you’re listening right now. I’m about to say the one thing that will spark your personal resurgence and renewal.
Through my work as a global researcher, motivator and coach, I talk to over a hundred thousand people a year. Most of them are incredibly smart and successful. They have to be – just to make it to my sessions. Seriously, it’s only the best and the brightest that bring me into their enterprises. So I probably have one big advantage over you: I hang with more people. I see challenges from multiple perspectives. I’m also a media addict who reads, listens and watches everything I can access 18 hours a day. That’s all I do – I consume and produce insights that are designed to make people magical. Even when I’m sleeping, I’m plugged into some celestial station, conjuring up new ideas and phrases to boost people’s mojo.
So are you ready for some motivational magic? Then let’s explore the Top Ten Drivers of Success in 2010. These are the game-changers that will help you and your stakeholders win. As you listen to me, think about how you can share them with others as well. Pay it forward, and you’ll get paid very well.
1. Preeminence – Be Recognized as The Best or Be Forgotten: In a tight market, everything is on sale – even the best quality. Clients can afford to buy the best. Why would they settle for anything less? So ramp up your skills. Develop your capacity to be remarkable. Out-train, out-study, out-plan, out-perform your competition so you can be out-standing. And let everyone know. Broadcast your superiority from every angle – just like I’m doing now. You’re listening to me because, at this moment, I’ve convinced you I’m worth it. That’s my moment of private Nirvana – thank you for granting it to me.
2. It’s about Discipline – Focus on The Fundamentals: Barack Obama told you to put away those “childish things”. I’m telling you to shelve the bells and whistles. Avoid the bling that can blind you to the things that really matter. Concentrate on the core. Make every conversation count on the matters that count. Become known as someone who keeps the main thing the main thing. Get the right things right. And be relentless. Repetition is the mother of success. Talk about what matters and you will too.
3. It’s about the Customer Experience – Differentiate or Die: It’s not good enough just being the best. It’s about being Uniquely Rewarding. That means giving others the kind of pleasure they value deeply and can only get from you. It’s not just about being different. It’s about being indispensable to their well-being. It’s about becoming a constant, welcome presence in their professional lives. What would that take? Who would you have to become to deliver at that level?
4. It’s about Execution – Accelerate, don’t Predict: We’re all operating in a permanent fog of extreme volatility. A plan is only as good as the assumptions it’s based on. As things change, so must your plan. Whoever responds first, wins. “Instantaneity” is the new expectation – no lag time between events and your actions. The big don’t eat the small. The fast eat the slow. And remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be damn good.
5. It’s about Simplicity – Response-ability, not Bureaucracy: We’re all suffering from the new global plague – apocalyptic anxiety & overwhelm. We all have to manage unprecedented complexity with unprecedented penalties for getting it wrong. We’re drowning in data but we’re starving for wisdom. We’re desperately looking for people who will help us navigate our way through the storm, not hide behind a wall of policy and procedures. What kind of person are you?
6. It’s about Constraint – Do More With Less: You don’t need me to tell you there’s a lot less funding around. Everything is becoming smaller, except for government. So daring and imagination must replace money and manpower. Constraint and austerity must become your call to action. Scarcity is a beautiful thing. It liberates your internal abundance. Bring it on.
7. It’s about Authenticity – Be Real or Be Ridiculed: After the shocks and shattered hopes of the past two years, people are having a hard time trusting other people any more. Skeptism and cynicism are the twin filters through which we’re processing anyone’s promises to us. We don’t want smoke and mirrors; we want real people with real benefits that will make a real difference. We want to see people sweat on our behalf and we’ll do the same for them. The absence of authenticity is a guarantee of failure and rejection.
8. It’s about Individual Ingenuity: Every Person Makes The Difference: The best organizations are looking to every one of their people to create a better way. There is a direct correlation between corporate success and individual contribution. Positions don’t count, ideas do. There are no passengers or spectators any more; just players who love to help their teams win. Are you one of them?
9. It’s about Interdependence – United, We Win; Divided, We Lose: This is the driver that defines all the others. Everything can only be achieved through other people. It’s about magnifying others’ talent. The ultimate winners in 2010 will be “Force Multipliers” – they will multiply the impact of the people around them. They are the reason why the team plays at a higher level. What would it take for you to be that person?
10. It’s about Daily Renewal – Fly Light, or Sink Heavy: Every day is a new beginning. Every day is our entire life in miniature. Every day is a decisive pivot around which our careers could turn. So live every day like it’s your finest hour. Treat it with that kind of reverence and that’s how you’ll treat everyone around you as well.
This is Mike Lipkin and it’s been pleasure and a privilege lighting you up. Pass the torch on…
