By: Marlene Green, PCC, NCC, Leadership Coach, Speaker and Trainer
Opportunity knocks for each of us. The key is to be ready, willing and able when it makes itself available. Some people call these opportunities luck, but luck doesn’t guarantee execution. You have to hone your skills and be prepared because you never know when opportunity will come your way.
Let Go of Ego
I am currently reading the biography of Steve Jobs and am struck by how one person can have such a wide mix of positive and negative attributes. His ego and lack of emotional intelligence was key to his failure as a manager at Apple and Next. His ego was blinding. It caused many talented technicians to quit. It was a cause for delays, cost overruns, and production slowdowns in the manufacturing plant. It also caused an eventual rift at Apple where the board of directors chose to oust him from daily operations. Although Steve had an amazing mind and sales aptitude, he alienated many potential business partnerships because of his bad etiquette, personality and manners.
Jobs had an incredible opportunity. Early on, he capitalized on the budding computer industry with his creation of the Apple 1 and 2 PCs. Later, his ego stalled the process of putting out a quality product in a cost efficient and timely manner. It allowed competitors to come in and challenge, and eventually dominate the PC market. Opportunity doesn’t have patience. It doesn’t wait for perfection. Whether you see it or not, opportunity is in front of you. Don’t let your ego keep it from you.
Be Present and Open
Embrace every opportunity by being present and open to others. Rather than observing through your “ego filter,” try to see situations from all points of view. Opportunities can only come when you see them. Steve Jobs might have avoided some of the failures that plagued the Macintosh computer had he only listened to the people that worked for him. His aloof and closed nature stonewalled his team even though their ideas would have made the product faster, cheaper and more stable.
Stay open and present to everyone and everything around you and you will find more success than you ever imagined. Ideas and opportunities come from everywhere. More importantly, relationships thrive on presence. If you want to make the most out of your business and social relationships, you need to keep an open mind to the possibility of what others have to offer you. People naturally want to help those that are receptive and open to their assistance. Your network of open relationships will lead to new doors of opportunity you don’t currently know exist. This is when luck becomes opportunity.
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Marlene Green, PCC, NCC™
Leadership Coach, Speaker and Trainer
MGA group and individual coaching programs
marlene@marlenegreenassociates.com
http://MarleneGreenAssociates.com