How to get ahead faster

No matter what you do, getting ahead shouldn’t depend on lucky breaks, favoritism or even hard work. It should be in our control. To make that happen, certain behaviors will help you stand out from the crowd. Here are eight of them.

n Be suspicious. No one likes getting blindsided, yet it’s all too common in business. More than anything else, a little paranoia helps avoid the sucker punches.

Getting ahead means keeping your antennae up. It’s not being afraid to ask, “What does this mean?” It takes being suspicious. Just keeping your head down and “doing your job” doesn’t work. Remember, beagles never make it across a busy street alive.

n Make it easier. Complexity means confusion and that kills sales. It drives customers away. A woman arrived at the dealership to pick up her car after a recall repair. Even though she followed the signs, at first she couldn’t find the right counter since it was blocked from view by an open door. “You’ll have to go upstairs and get the paperwork and bring it back here,” the clerk told her. Not very customer-friendly to say the least.

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n Express ideas clearly. What we write and say creates a legacy that stays with us – and one that influences how we’re perceived. Our emails, text messages, presentations, proposals, letters, memos and conversations say something about us.

Great messaging comes down to always coming up with the one idea that makes sense to your recipients. If you do, you’ll be noticed.

n Challenge assumptions. “I assumed …” are the most dangerous words in business, since they can derail companies and drive careers off a cliff. Yet, we hear them every day. Why? Assumptions save time by short-circuiting the thinking process.

For example, common sense may tell us that young people spend the most on Apple products. If so, it’s way off the mark. It turns out that men over 65 are the big Apple spenders, averaging $976, according to Slice Intelligence. Make it a rule never to get pushed into doing something before making sure it’s supported by the facts.

n Find your “sweet spot.” It’s where you’re an expert – where you’re known as the go-to person. To put it another way, it’s where you can showcase your competence.

n Cultivate creativity. Everyone has a creative potential, but most of us are afraid to let it show. We hold back, not sure what someone might think. When college senior Meredith Parmalee was getting ready to run the New York City Marathon, she wanted to do something that would help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Having worked for We Are Knitters, she lit onto the idea of knitting a scarf while running.

At first, everyone, including Meredith, saw it as a joke. It wasn’t. She let her creativity go to work, she attracted attention for We Are Knitters with more than 49,000 Facebook “likes,” and raising 101 percent of her goal.

n Consider the consequences. Far too many business decisions, initiatives and campaigns self-destruct. When it happens, someone is sure to say, “Well, we can learn from our failures.” While that sounds good, it never happens and we get the same miserable results time and time again. It takes courage to ask “What if?” questions.

n If there’s no plan, don’t do it. Here’s the rule: Don’t get sucked into anything that doesn’t have a plan. If you do, your fingerprints will be on it, and that’s not how to get ahead.

If your goal is getting ahead faster and making sure you stay there, standing out from the crowd is the best way to make it happen. •

John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategist-consultant and business writer. Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or johnrgraham.com.

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