Doing This One Little Thing Every Day Will Guarantee You a Quicker Path to Success

Comparison is the theif of Joy - Theodore Roosevelt

We have probably done this at some point in our lives, looked at our sibling, neighbour or co-worker, and compared our situations to theirs. We have possibly gone as far as wished we had what they had. The feelings that come with these comparisons can be disempowering unless you learn how to shape and use them for your benefit. Sadly very few of us do, and before we know it, we find ourselves demotivated or jealous. We end up overlooking what we have or ignoring our potential.

I remember one such time in a former role where I would look at my senior colleagues and go beyond admiring their ability to convey big picture concepts and then effortless switch their attention to zoom in on the detail when asked a question. I was always comfortable with one or the other, never both.

This comparison did little to serve me, it highlighted where I needed to grow, but I struggled. I struggled to understand what I needed to do to get better at big picture thinking. When I had a conversation with one of my senior colleagues, I realised the knowledge and information they amassed to have these elevated customer conversations about processes came about from the little everyday things they did.

There was no single answer or silver bullet to have better conversations. It came from understanding big pictures and big conversations, as I liked to call it came from comprehending and consolidating many individual elements. In other words, you can’t start with your pen in hand and expect to draw your vision on the whiteboard, not without orientating, connecting and placing the individual elements themselves.

To get to this point, we need to gather information, make decisions, establish connections, try, fail and try again. In many ways, the answer I was looking for is analogous to solving a 1000 piece jigsaw. We may have the jigsaw box as a frame of reference, but the puzzle is only solved once we figure out how the pieces come together. We need to sift through the data; we have to form information and turn it into knowledge. As we absorb the data, we make connections; we look for patterns using our previous knowledge. Perhaps we start with the corner pieces, and maybe we see easily identifiable features in the shapes we see. The more data we absorb, the better we are to make informed decisions.

Using this analogy, I appreciate the significance of those customer and peer conversations. The more you have, the better you become at accessing information, the better you put the pieces together. The everyday discussions were the missing ingredient, not the hours spent reading, which helps but does not provide situational context.

This principle can be applied to almost anything in life; the more data and information you assimilate, the better you can understand behaviours and make connections.

Our brains are excellent at filtering, sifting and sorting. The more we do, the better and more confident we become. But here is the bonus, talking is more than gathering information and knowledge. It is how we interact when we want to build and maintain relationships. Perhaps that’s why our survival has heavily relied on gossip, where we exchange information about our environment and each other from an evolutionary standpoint.

Let’s face it, we all like to gossip, don’t we!

Putting malicious gossip aside where information is shared with the sole intent of degrading and humiliating someone. The gossip I am talking about is where its purpose is to pass on information and knowledge inherent to our survival. This type of gossip serves many purposes. There is a saying, “If you are not selling, you are being sold to.” Amply highlights that when we communicate, when we interact, we are constantly influencing and being influenced by the other person.

Our minds are continually shape sorting, fitting jigsaw pieces together. So that is why one of the biggest secrets to anyone’s success is in the conversations they have. Those little side conversations may at first appear to fill time or hold little value, but the truth is they count. They always count because they contribute to the overall picture; they allow you to influence. When handled correctly, talking satisfies our basic instinct to be heard, understood, and know that we matter!

So perhaps if you are still looking for the elusive answer to your success. The answer may lie in the fact you need to talk more. You need to surround yourself with the right people and have those conversations, big and small. They all add up, and besides, it is good to talk! But be careful, you don’t want to become a person who is all talk and no action, do you?

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