Dharmesh Shah
Founder and CTO at HubSpot
Simple Daily Habits Of The Delightfully Successful
1. Walk away from gossip.
How: Shift the conversation. Or walk away.
Why: Gossip also diminishes everyone involved. Delightfully successful people talk to other people instead of talking about them.
2. Spend five minutes in another person’s shoes.
How: For five minutes, focus on what your manager needs. Forget your job description: What does your manager hope to accomplish? What are her targets?
Or focus on a customer. Forget what you provide: What does that customer hope or need to accomplish? What are his goals?
Or focus on a particular employee. What are her career goals? What is she struggling with that impacts her performance?
Why: The best way to build your own long-term success is to help other people succeed.
3. Give one person unexpected praise.
How: Go out of your way to recognize a person who did something well: A colleague, a manager, a customer, a vendor… all you have to do is say, “I was really impressed by how you…”
Why: Appreciating other people, especially people who may not expect it, creates a solid and lasting connection.
4. Do one thing no one else is willing to do.
How: Do a little extra research. Put in a little more prep time. Revisit what others assumed was a dead end. Take one more shot at salvaging a damaged customer relationship. Make one more phone call, send one more email, reach out one more time.
Why: Do the same things as everyone else and your career success will be the same as everyone else.
5. Shine the spotlight on one person.
How: Why you share milestones achieved and dependent tasks completed. Say, “I’d like to thank Liz for jumping in to help us sort out the logic issues in the routing software. Without her we never would have pulled this off.”
Why: And soon everyone will want to work with – or for – you.
6. “Sell” one thing.
How: Convince someone to try something new. Convince someone to let you help them out. Convince your manager a new initiative will pay off.
Why: Learn how to sell and you can do almost anything… because you’ll know how to get awesome people to work with you.
7. Give one person an unexpected hand.
How: Say, “Hey, I’m swinging by accounting… is there anything I can do for you while I’m there?” Say, “Hey, I finished up a little earlier than I thought and I’ve always wanted to learn about (that)… can I help you for a few minutes?” Offer to help in a way that feels collaborative instead of gratuitous or patronizing. And then actually help.
Why: that means others will see you as a real leader… even if you’re not in a formal leadership position. Yet.
8. Admit one failing.
How: Say you were wrong. Say you are sorry. Make a joke at your own expense. Ask someone for help (because that implicitly shows you don’t have all the skills or answers.) Admit you bit off more than you could chew.
Why: When you do, you’ll find it much easier to work to improve your weaknesses. Plus you’ll find that other people will gladly help you, usually without being asked.
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