I read an interesting article about a man named James Murphy. He flew missions in the Middle East among other places while he was a pilot in the Air Force and Air National Guard. After his career as a pilot he became a sales manager for a national paint company and ended up boosting the annual revenues up from 5 million to over 50 million in 2 years. That is some serious increase in productivity.
James Murphy wrote about his success and how he translated what he learned as a fighter pilot to business in his book “Business Is Combat”. Murphy wrote “The discipline. The planning. The attitude. The process that turned me and thousands of other people into fighter pilots was nothing short of a textbook for the creation of cutting edge business warriors.”
That’s pretty good – James is able to make the correlations between air combat and business combat which he taught through his management training company called Afterburner Seminars to clients like IBM, Dell and Home Depot.
In almost any type of business you can find correlations and be able to extract what works for one type of business or activity can also work for another. But keep a winning attitude is tough is today’s hyper demanding world. Here are some tips to keep you focused and on the ball:
One thing at a time – Focus on the job at hand. Put yourself “in the moment and focus on what you have to accomplish right now” is key. You can’t listen to a presentation and get 100% out of it while you are busy doing your personal texting at the same time.
Less talk, listen more – Brevity is the soul of business speak suggests James and I would agree. Murphy says it well: “A few well-chosen words can close a business deal, clear the air in a conflict or communicate a vision to employees.” We spend too much time as it is in meetings. Try to keep your meetings short but to the point and achieve what you need to and end the session. You’ll be more productive – try doing it with memos and emails too.
Practice and Prepare – When dealing with clients or customers, always have planned scenarios that you’ve thought out prior. This will help you combat potential negatives. Consider the potential outcomes. Then run them over with trusted colleagues – they will think of things you haven’t.
Rally for the Cause – If your team is not behind you, you will not have support or enthusiasm. Get everyone behind you by making sure that your team member’s goals and personal interest are in line with your task of goal. Bottom line is when you get your team to buy into the cause; you’ll have a motivated team.
Vinay Singh is a subject matter expert in the HR/talent acquisition business transformation field with expertise in both professional services and corporate environments. He has helped hundreds of companies deploy all manners of talent and hiring strategies and represented thousands of job seekers over the past two decades — with a specialty in the tech field.
A consummate student of learning about the disruption around the “people & technology business,” he has studied at The Ohio State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and most recently New York University.
His passion is deeply rooted in research and analysis; he writes about people engagement and looks to find the solutions to the problems within the talent acquisition technology and processes today.
Author – Vinay Singh
The Intrinsicana human performance system provides a dynamic and practical solution designed to evolve with you, seamlessly adapting to your unique organizational challenges.
