Recipe of Bill Clinton was right during his 1st term as US President and therefore, he got success in getting elected for 2nd term, during which he apparently got addicted to it. Therefore, he failed to notice which ingredient of that recipe was going wrong and got into serious troubles in his relationships! Michael Dell made a great beginning when he founded Dell Corporation. His approach had all ingredients to make Dell an iconic company and that happened. But, what is happening to it for last few years shows that ingredient of “confidence and conviction” in Michael Dell’s recipe have become excessive in proportion and therefore, he overlooked how tablets and smart phones are changing market dynamics. That is proving to be very regressive for “Once a great Corporation!”
This happens with most Celebrities most of the times. They do it right when they start, get success, name and fame. And then, land up in rehabilitation centers!!
What really happens, when recipe starts giving results
Success of an individual, group, company, institution or country does not come just by a single parameter like luck or fluke; but by a bunch of parameters. These parameters or ingredients form what I have called here as recipe. When it is right, it gives success; conversely if you get success, your recipe, in other words your efforts have to be necessarily right.
Look at the recipe of a successful leader –
- Focus and ownership
- Courage and ability to take challenges or risks
- Confidence and conviction
- Perseverance and ability to create impact
- Open to change and listening to others
Recipe of a successful expert –
- Focus and ownership
- Attention to details and analytical
- Confidence and conviction
- Passion and diligence
- Taking no chances and drive for perfection
Both leader and expert (in any field – engineering, medical, science or philosophy) are bound to get success with above recipe, provided proportions of above 5 ingredients are correct in each case. But, when either of them get addicted to this recipe, then some of the ingredients would be thrown out of proportion.
As an example, with series of successes, a leader’s ownership would go up and turn into obsession and becoming excessively protective or control freak. Confidence of both leader and expert would change to over-confidence and move further to arrogance! Passion of an expert would prompt him/her towards insanity and inflexibility. Leader’s prominence or popularity would attract people and his courage would encourage him to establish new but wrong relationships!
Right recipe has risk of addiction
A right recipe, which gives great returns, is like right mix in making a cocktail and you can easily get addicted to it, unless you are conscious or mindful! Addiction always boosts your appetite!! That’s when your gains go into your head and feet go above ground!!!
Paradox is that you definitely need a right recipe to get success; but then you also run the risk of converting success into failure!
Right recipe has risk of creating confusion!
Don’t be surprised at this! This is true!!
Success breeds successes. If you do it always right, you would get more of successes. It is like having one great idea and then the doors of many more getting opened. You would get confused, which one to get in and which ones to let go.
I have witnessed many (people) and for myself that when successes start, a series of those would queue up. Those can choke your way; you would get overwhelmed and get confused how to manage them.
You can look around the world and you would find that successful people are always on the run, falling short of time and finally, they run out of ideas when their downfall starts!
Main pitfall from above is that you get distracted from your eventual goal/s and get diverted from your other priorities. That would deliver a blow and not blessing!
The Remedy
- Develop taste for Efforts, not for End-results!
- Put your belief in ingredients i.e. your qualities/characteristics and their right mix. That automatically leads to right recipe and then results.
That would keep you free from Addiction and Confusion! - Emulate a good Chef, whose focus is on right ingredients and creating a good mix including bringing contrasts (of colors, hardness, flavors etc., which is synonym of Change) and he tastes the dish for end result (customer delight); but does not develop the taste for the dish by itself!
It only then that you can create or innovate new dishes i.e. new levels of your successes!!
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