The following is an edited excerpt from my book, Consulting Essentials: The Art and Science of People, Facts, and Frameworks.
Dr. Edward de Bono is widely considered the father of modern creative thinking. He pioneered numerous practical thinking tools, used worldwide in schools and businesses. One of the most famous is the Six Thinking Hats.
Sometimes in this game called life you actually have to stop and recognize that you are human and that you have limits. We all want to accomplish everything today, but we’re just begging to be overwhelmed.
Mindful achievement is a practice that focuses on being aware of our limits and our strengths, and setting ourselves up for success.
If you want to succeed in business, you must always be sharpening yourself. Part of this means being systematic about how you set goals and improve yourself, but the other part is this:
You need to constantly consume new information that teaches you new skills, and expands your expertise
Riddle me this: what is it that you can’t touch, see, or feel, but may influence your consulting career more than anything else?
It may be the most important real-world skill in existence, but young professionals lack it in droves.
And it causes them to fail interviews, delay promotions, and in some cases, stagnate their careers.
Outworking everyone is one way to reach your goals.
It’s how I advanced early in my career. Except, that wasn’t a sustainable strategy and it only got me so far in what I could produce.