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If you want to do well in life, make lots of money or enjoy the lifestyle that expendable income enables then you need to engage with the tools of success. Whether you are a high-flying executive or play professional sport, consistency is a key attribute of success.
Have you ever heard of an employer looking to hire someone that is good 30% of the time, average 40% and poor the rest? No, it doesn’t happen because that business would not survive long.
As Jim Collins pointed out in his book, From Good To Great, a corner stone of successful businesses is having the right people in the right seats (doing the right job). The ‘right people’ have traits in common and one of them is they are CONSISTENT.
So how does one become consistent?
Before we discuss how one becomes consistent let’s just labour on why it is important. Consistency is profound in the respect that it can overshadow natural talent, it helps systemise delivery and importantly it becomes a foundation for setting a baseline for output allowing you to adjust and improve.
It’s also a key attribute in Brand development, Apple has evolved with a core value being, ‘We believe we‘re on the face of the earth to make great products’ and Apple’s consistency to this value has made them a global business powerhouse in the B2C market place.
Now we know why consistency is important how do we become more consistent and successful? Below we explain an outline of how to be a more consistent professional.
Table of contents
- Setting and Achieving Goals
- Creating Routines
- Creating Habits
- Rinsing and Repeating Success
- Consistency Takes Time
- Environment Helps Build Consistency and Success
Setting and Achieving Goals
Knowing where you are going will help you get there. This seems obvious, but it would surprise you (or not) how many people work through life merely ticking boxes, happy to take a wage and pay the bills. The fact that you are reading this page suggests you are not one of those people. You’re here to drive towards success and we know by setting targets and goals you will be able to have a destination to work towards. Create a plan of how to get to your destination with several ‘stop-offs’ along the way. Use these points to measure your consistency and keep yourself motivated. Be accountable to yourself when you wander from the path but don’t beat yourself up just get back on the horse and start with the process again. Stay upbeat and optimistic and take it one step at a time.
Creating Routines
Routines are at the heart of consistency and are the system we can use to reach our goal destination. They allow us to save time, resources and energy which we can give over to recreation. Routine helps us plan and schedule our movements and thought patterns to the point where we no longer need to think about what it is we are doing, and habits are formed. Routines shouldn’t be fixed though, and you should review your routines regularly to see where improvements can be made.
Creating Habits
Through the right development and continued repetition of routines, habits will inevitably be formed. This is where the sweet spot is, providing the habits you create are good habits which support your journey.
You must take a mindful approach and audit your current work habits to find out which ones to keep and which ones need to go. Bad habits will hold you back and stop you from being successful and your professional advancement.
Rinse and Repeating Success
Consistency is all about Repetition and Evolution. To create a positive habit means you will need to consistently repeat the process time and time again. When we do this though it is important to take time to review the outcome and process of the activity regularly making small (or major if needed) adjustments to improve the success of the activity. Every time you are successful with the activity you will look good to your bosses, colleagues and staff, it will become what you are known for and ultimately make you the ‘go to’ person or expert in this field.
Consistency Takes Time
Whether or not you believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outlier’s premise that ‘it takes 10,000 hours to make you an expert rule’ one thing we do know; Rome was NOT built in a day. So the message here is learning to be consistent WILL take time. Be confident in the fact that by the time you’ve reached your destination you will be an expert in what you do because you’ve invested the time to do it.
Environment Helps Build Consistency and Success
Something that can help speed up the process of becoming consistent and successful will be surrounding yourself with likeminded people. People on a similar growth pathway to yourself. Network and environment is key in every aspect of professionalism. The adage ‘it’s not what you know it’s who you know’ has never been truer in the 21st century. In the right environment surrounded by the right people you will share ideas, share new and more efficient ways to do things better, get motivated, stretch your comfort zones, find competition that brings the best out in you and help you achieve your goals more efficiently.
