Five Tips for Tiger Growth

While contemplating the 15 days of Chinese New Year celebrations for this new year of the Golden Tiger, it's perhaps a good time to check in on your January 1st New Year's resolutions.

My guess: in the first seven weeks of 2010, you've already abandoned some or all of these. Why?

1: inadequate checking in on Your Goals

2: insufficient leverage or accountability

3: lack of discipline to walk your talk

I'm assuming that Your Goals would have contributed positively to your life and perhaps the lives of others, so revisit them.

First: resolve to check in more frequently on Your Goals. Plan, execute, review, repeat.

Second: work with a group, an Executive Coach or someone who can hold you more accountable.

Third: increase your discipline to increase your results. Identify causes of failures, decide to shift your thinking and behaviour, and then act to achieve a clearly-defined purpose.

If you didn't make any resolutions or you'd like to add some, here are five tips to make this Tiger year a grrreat one for growth.

GrowthTip 1: Talking Tiger Hidden Learning

If you're always the expert, you're not listening and you might not be learning. Go and listen to a variety of specialists that can give you new insights and help you further grow and develop. Yes that means going to events, network, listen, apply. (Yes, I have just the event for you: the Singapore Leadership Development Congress).

GrowthTip 2: Tiger Learns From an Ambush

The collective for tigers is: an ambush of tigers. Bring your tigers together and bring in a specialist speaker. Then evaluate your common Team Goal, your Execution Timing, your location strengths and your willingness to Act On Opportunity. Procrastination almost always costs money. Example: booking an air ticket; if you leave it to the last minute, it'll cost you a fortune.

GrowthTip 3: Tiger Collaborates for Big Wins

Make this a year for effective collaboration. That means working together for mutual benefit and ROI. You with your strength, me with mine. If you want to fly somewhere, you collaborate with flying specialists as well as others who share a similar need and can share the cost. Similarly if you want to increase productivity and results, then you bring in productivity and results specialists (yes that is what I help businesses improve: increase profitable productivity).

GrowthTip 4: Tiger is Watchful and Restful

Tigers keenly observe what is going on. And they are well rested to ensure performance. Sleep well this year. Sleeping 8 hours a night increases productivity by 25%. If you sleep 6 hours a night, you might have 2 extra hours awake (or 8.33% of a day), but if your productivity is 25% less then that's a bad return on investment. Sleep on it. You can't be an Effective Leader if you're not healthy.

GrowthTip 5: Tiger seeks Courage through Faith

Tigers stand for courage and action. Be swift with your action this year. Make decisions often. Be courageous. Have faith in your purpose and your ability to succeed. When I take people through the 9 Characters to Victory in my V9 profile, it's amazing to watch people finally identify why they haven't been more Victorious. Often it comes down to their relationships with themselves, each other and, importantly, with their purpose. Have faith in your purpose.

Have a fantastic year of the Golden Tiger. Seek Victory, Listen, Learn, Collaborate, Rest, and Be Courageous.

Tim Wade, Speaker Station Asia, Singapore

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