Ask any successful person how they achieved success and many will mention good fortune. Some will say, “I was lucky.”
For instance:
Jay Elliot told me he met Steve Jobs in the waiting area of a restaurant after leaving Intel for a job at a start-up. The start-up failed. Jay had no job.
Andy Grove, Intel’s president and Jay’s former boss, gave Jay this parting message, “You’re making a big mistake – Apple isn’t going anywhere.”
Jay became a V.P. at Apple and Jobs’ right hand man. Steve was twenty-five. It was just months before Apple went public.
Serendipity!
I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it. Denzel Washington
The Sweet 16 of creating good fortune:
- Stay open. The thing you seek may not be the thing you find.
- Keep asking questions.
- Look for favorable circumstances. People see what they look for.
- Set direction and goals; they help you understand favorable winds.
- Adapt to favorable opportunities that aren’t perfect.
- Keep moving forward even if direction changes.
- Prepare for adversity.
- Embrace turbulence; it opens hearts and minds.
- Let go of failure.
- Talk opportunities. Talking problems elevates and validates them. The more you talk about problems the more problems you see.
- Learn from mistakes.
- Push through resistance.
- Disregard convenient activities; do what is right.
- Build a network of friends.
- Ask for advice, a lot. Seek out experts and others who share your experiences and vision.
- Express gratitude.
Bonus: Do your best where you are.
Successful leadership includes good fortune. I don’t believe in luck but good fortune isn’t always an accident.
How can leaders create good fortune?
