successful advice
Advice from Top Performersby Sonja Carberry, Investor's Business Daily
A shaky economy has everyone watching their bottom lines. It's no different at work. Persistence helps make you a top performer. Tips from work-a-day winners are outlined below.
Stop Worrying
Wes Moss wrote "Make More, Worry Less" to tell the stories of people achieving extraordinary success by bringing an entrepreneur's mindset to their run-of-the-mill jobs.
One thing they do, Moss says, is work without fear of failure.
One worry-crushing technique? "Ask yourself what the worst-case scenario is," Moss told IBD. "Once you accept that, you can move forward and focus on the task at hand."
Keep Track
Moss calls himself a "corporate entrepreneur" because he works full-time as a certified financial planner at UBS Financial Services while writing business books and hosting a financial radio show on the side.
Moss makes a habit of writing down his successes in a "value log." It helps him frame his accomplishments so he can announce them at work. "If you're great at something, it doesn't matter if no one knows about it," he said. It also helps him track his strengths so he knows where to dedicate his energies.
Close the Door
Ralph Olson was a financial analyst at Pepsi-Cola when a project no one wanted was tossed his way: create an affordable plastic soft drink container consumers would love.
Olson grabbed the corporate hot potato and mentally closed the door on failure. "My thinking was, 'I want it because I think I can make it work,'" he said in Moss' book.
With no turning back, Olson drove the project forward. The now-ubiquitous two-liter plastic bottle led to Olson's promotion to vice president -- the youngest in company history at age 32.
Never Say No
Buddy Newell told Moss he always loved fine timepieces. To excel at selling them, Newell decided he'd always deliver exactly what his wealthy customers wanted.
What they wanted were diamonds. But his employer, PK Time, balked at adding rocks to their watches. So Newell talked the designer into making just one.
Newell sold the diamond-encrusted watch in 10 minutes.
The company developed a jewel-heavy "Buddy" line in his honor, and Newell ticked ahead to vice president of sales.
Perfect Your Image
Ed Cortese decided to operate his career like his own little company, he told Moss.
To project a confident product -- himself -- Cortese dressed flawlessly and used his posture and demeanor to communicate a calm expertise. That approach helped him land his dream job as marketing director for luxury magazine Robb Report.
Just Work Harder
Linda Raab was living paycheck to paycheck as a beverage manager at a Steak 'n Shake restaurant when a customer suggested selling Aflac insurance. Raab lacked contacts because she was new to the area, so she decided to knock on more doors than anybody else -- even selling a policy in a gas station parking lot.
Moss says that's how Raab went from having $456 in the bank to earning a six-figure income.
