Volkmar Völzke's BLOG

In principle, one would think that anyone who has once been successful should also remain successful. Although we are used to seeing people and companies again and again whose success suddenly turns into the opposite, we rarely understand the true reasons behind it. 

So what keeps us on track, even if we continue to increase our success, and what, on the other hand, throws us off track?

The question is highly relevant to everyone at all times. 

Here's the simple answer: we often forget to keep doing the things that originally made us successful. We believe that success happens "automatically" at some point. The opposite is also true. 

Success must be regained every day! 

Here are three examples in which we keep falling into the trap of success:

1. Relationships. Regardless of whether private or business, relationships must be maintained with the same dedication with which we initially built them. Companies would have more recurring customers, and more marriages...

Yeah, I know that doesn't concern you. And yet you surely know people from your surroundings who have a huge problem with it. What am I talking about?

Unreliability.

Sure, that’s not you! Or is it? Sometimes? Here's the truth: EVERYBODY is sometimes unreliable. Some rarely, some more often, others almost always (you can at least rely on their unreliability!) 

The problem is that unreliability massively reduces productivity and success. The most successful people are reliable. 

Reliability means that you keep ALL promises and inform others in advance of any necessary (!) changes. You may think it's very simple, and that everyone should be reliable. 

Well, I am always amazed that an estimated 50 percent of business people I know are regularly unreliable, with corresponding negative effects on performance. Examples: 

1. Joining agreed telephone calls late or not at all
2. Not sticking to project milestones
3. Starting meetings late
4. Not implementing strategies
5. Not...

Forget discipline (at least in the way most people understand it)! 

Discipline is an important element for any success. However, as most people understand it, it is not enough to ensure lasting success. 

It helps to imagine that discipline has three levels. The most successful individuals and companies are disciplined in all three levels, the average only in the first. 

The good news: you can work your way up the ladder. For outstanding success, you even SHOULD. 

Level 1: Task discipline. You have the discipline to carry out planned actions and comply with agreements. In other words, you and others can rely on you. 

Level 2: Growth Discipline. You consistently implement growth plans. This means you systematically develop your personality, invest a certain amount of time every day in your education and consciously change habits towards more success. 

Level 3: Success Discipline. You set goals for yourself (and your team) that are extremely challenging...

"Great new ideas are ridiculed at first, then resisted, then admired, and lastly applied by all." 

I have to keep thinking of that old wisdom when it comes to new technologies and approaches. 

"Siri? I tried it and it did not understand my question. Forget it!" 

"iPhone? It’s only an extended MP3 player. Business people will never use that! " 

"Online Language Translation by Google? That's just nonsense! " 

Stop! Do you notice something? Yesterday I had a complete presentation translated by Google online from German into English (for free by the way). The result: 95% correct and meaningful content, even with content that is not easy to interpret. It needed the odd improvement here and there, but that's it. Fast and cheap. When did you last try it? 

Watch out, and beware of premature judgments. Just because something did not work a year ago, does not mean that it still does not work now.

My questions to you: 

1. What are your (hidden)...

There is a common cause for both growing success and greater fulfilment and enthusiasm in life. Can you guess what it is? Yes: the speed and clarity with which you decide and then implement those decisions. 

Asked the other way around: Do you know someone who decides and implements quickly - and at the same time is unhappy and unsuccessful? Probably not! 

Conversely, the conclusion also applies: If you want to achieve more results quickly and feel happy about it, then you need to decide faster and ensure swift implementation. 

"Yeah, but ..." you may think now, "it's not always that easy!" No, it's not! Because what's in our way is our mindset.

However, we can train our decision-making speed. Here are three ideas: 

1. Become aware that most decisions do not get better if you wait longer. On the contrary! There is an optimal point of decision, and that is almost always earlier than when most decisions are made. Try it!
2. Become aware of your fears. Indeed, what...

Do you want to have a strong idea at the beginning of the year of how to immediately increase your good influence, increase the productivity of your team and act as a role model? 

Well, here's the solution: Answer inquiries from customers, colleagues and other people in your area quickly and clearly. If you sometimes (or often) simply procrastinate on answers (or observe this behaviour from people around you), then here is the key to how you can (and must) change this NOW! 

Let’s not fool ourselves: Bad response behaviour has substantial collateral damage, such as double work, lower productivity, frustration, lost customers, decreasing reputation and much more.

Rule of thumb: If you do not respond to normal inquiries within 24 hours (even if only with a confirmation), you have a problem - and your environment with you!

And “busyness" is not an excuse! I know extremely productive and successful people who always respond swiftly, while others do not respond even...

In the last memo, I wrote about how your own uncertainties stand in the way of more success. It is especially blatant if you are a leader. Here, your uncertainty is transferred to others. 

The difficulty is that many managers are unaware of their insecurities and prefer to hide them. All (yes: all!) people have insecurities, even the most successful role models. 

The difference: the most successful ones handle it differently than the rest. 

Here are three tips on how the best leaders manage their insecurities and even capitalize on them: 

1. Accept uncertainty! The world is uncertain and very unpredictable. However, many pretend you can create an oasis of certainty around you. Forget it! If you accept deep inside there will always be insecurity (as there is always gravity), you can relax and find ways to deal with it. This step sounds simple, but it is not, as it shakes up deeply rooted beliefs (for example, if you had a well-guarded childhood).
2. Move ahead!...

Today, I will make a personal confession to you: I'm having a lot of trouble dealing with uncertainty. Not good! Why? Because every piece of growth, every bit of progress, and every change causes uncertainty. 

The good news: I'm not alone! So, I can help others overcome the difficulties with uncertainty, because I just learned how to deal with the challenge myself. 

The bad news: I'm not alone! The more CEOs I support, the more I realize that many have the same difficulty: fear of uncertainty. 

The even worse news: As a team leader or CEO, you will sabotage your success if you're having trouble with uncertainty. 

The good news (finally!): You can work on it. However, most likely you'll need a coach for that. 

Here are three indicators for your difficulty to deal with uncertainty that you should definitely tackle:

1. You don't trust (almost) anybody. Because trust in others causes uncertainty. The other one can abuse the trust! Right, that can happen! However,...

All of us are interspersed with thinking barriers and paradigms.This once helped us to survive. Today, it is poison if we want to advance with our team or our company rapidly. 

Nowadays, the winners are those who restrict themselves with fewer thinking barriers than the rest. 

But beware: do not look at others in your team, but first on yourself.

Here are some uncomfortable indicators that you yourself have limited ways of thinking: 

1. If you never change your habits, even though they may not lead to great success. These include morning rituals, meeting rituals, your communication habits, your dressing habits, your eating habits and much more.
2. If you are caught by excuses."We can not do this in our market," "revenue doubling is not possible," "we are not born salespeople" are such excuses that uncover your barriers.
3. If you only take small steps instead of big leaps. Do you think this is "more reasonable"? Attention: This is also a thinking barrier! Who tells you that...

"A Brief History of Time": No, this is not Stephen W. Hawking's remarkable book (which is said to be the book with the greatest discrepancy between sales and reading), but something much simpler: 

Your time is limited, and you can not multiply it! 

What does this mean according to the laws of economics? Correct: Time is valuable. More valuable than anything else that we can multiply, like money, for instance. 

And here is the bummer: We have all the same amount of time available: exactly 24 hours a day. 

The only difference between the people and their success is what they put into this time to produce results. 

Now you may think: that's all very profane! And you’re right: It is! However, as in the book quoted at the outset, there is a huge discrepancy between understanding and implementation. So, here are some ideas about "time pirates" and "time wizards": 

Time pirates (they steal productive time): 

• TV
• Newspapers
• Meetings
• Internet
• ...