Collected Perspectives: Shared Management Wisdom from Stratford

Nurturing Positive Habits - Stratford Group Ltd.

Written by Stratford Group Ltd. | Jun 11, 2011 8:36:14 PM

I recommend the book, The Habit Factor® by Martin Grunburn.  It details the importance of positive habits in helping to achieve goals. These techniques are good not just for personal achievements or improving health, but can be applied to executives trying to excel in their roles and grow their business.

As an executive, you set high goals for yourself and your company. But too often what is lacking are the small steps or habits that set the directions required to achieve these goals.  One example of such a “habit” is a weekly reporting mechanism specifically related to a goal. Proposing the mechanism is easy, but maintaining it and ensuring everyone keeps contributing to it is what requires adopting a habit.

Another example relates to motivating your team. Developing the habit of having an impromptu talk with a non-executive employee on a daily basis can make a huge difference in team spirit, how each employee feels empowered and their overall sense of being valued by the company.

With focus, a new habit usually becomes a reflex within a few weeks – something you don’t even have to think about.  These positive habits are a powerful means to diffuse negative habits.  Getting rid of negative habits through willpower alone is very difficult, but if you adopt a positive habit, you have a better chance of eliminating the negative habit relatively painlessly.

There is a free application for the Habit Factor® for the iPhone/iPad that can help you develop positive habits and track them.  Although at first it looks like just another “to-do” list, it can be used to consciously develop positive habits that will quickly become natural actions in your daily life.  Worth a try!

 

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