The keys to success are often deceptively simple, yet they must be implemented.

One of those keys to success is as simple, yet as powerful as doing a great of follow-up.

Test that idea yourself.

Recall three of your greatest successes.

Imagine them in some detail, including the path you took, the challenges you met, and the pinnacle of achievement and how great it felt.

Now recall what made you successful in each of those situations.

How much did excellent follow-up have to do with success in each case?

It’s the same thing for almost any company, team or individual pursing a significant goal.

All elements of success can be present as the work begins, including:

- A clear mission

- A strong vision of the desired success

- A great leader

- A great plan that’s well-communicated and well-understood by everyone who has to implement it

- Talented, energetic people in every job, each person clear about his or her responsibilities, and the customer-focused quality he or she is expected to produce

- All the money and resources needed for success

Yet with all that preparation for success, poor follow-up can lead that team or company directly to failure.

And when it does, many problems begin to occur.

These include communication that goes awry, precious resources that are wasted, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Plans go off the rails and never get back on track.

Ultimately, the best intentions and opportunities fall apart in those cases or fall short of the mark, no matter how good the initial preparation was for success.

Why is great follow-up so hard?

I’ll address that, and the way to create a good follow-up process in future posts.

For the moment, enjoy some of your greatest achievements of the past. And in the process, recall lessons you learned about great follow-up and how essential it is for success.

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When leadership changes in a seemingly sudden, seemingly seismic way, questions naturally arise about whether that change is a good thing.

Two Bay Area companies, Google and Apple, will soon discover if their business wizardry will continue to thrive with changes in top leadership.

There’s a lot at stake for these companies, and for their customers, investors, suppliers and more.

They’ve been more than market leaders. They’ve been market makers.

They’ve envisioned and brought into being entirely new lines of business. Some of their products and services, once hard to imagine, have become essential and everyday tools for many of their users.

What if Larry and Tim came to you for advice at this time of change?

What would you tell them that might help them lead their large organizations so that they avoid the oft-experienced large company fate, that of becoming a lumbering or market-lagging also-ran?

Here are a few thoughts I would share with them, if they asked:

1. No matter how good a leader is, he or she can usually improve.

The best ones know it, and act on it in positive ways. They seek honest, actionable feedback and use it productively.

2. Leaders who fully engage their followers have the best chance of long-term success.

These leaders make the most of all resources, including the many talented people who choose to work for them.

They attract and engage their employees’ best efforts in many ways. A few of these include the use of a powerful and compelling vision, clear flows of information, decision-making, action and follow-up. They use fair, motivating and effective measures of customer-focused action and outcomes, and clear communication that’s easy to understand and follow.

3. Learn from the experience of great leaders from the past.

Not all leaders who are well-regarded will appeal to you. Choose one or two leaders whom you respect for what they accomplished, and how they did it. Learn from their experience. Apply the best of those lessons to improve your own leadership processes.

4. Listen well.

If you don’t know how to listen well – and not a lot of people don’t – take the time to learn. Then practice and improve. Listening well is an important life skill. It’s even more important in leadership.

5. Observe objectively.

You may have preconceived notions about various things in your leadership realm. These preconceived notions – if you have them – may be based on a variety of things, such as assumptions and prior experience.

Set those preconceived notions aside. You’re working in different circumstances and different times. Keeping your long-term goals in mind, work with what you really have in play, where you are, at any given time.

6. Get good data and information. Then use it.

Some companies gather lots of information and never use it. Pay attention to your intuition, of course, but use the good data and information you have, and can gather.

7. If you’re like many technically-oriented leaders, you’d do well to brush up on your soft skills.

Your customers and constituents know you know your stuff, technically. They’re looking closely now to see if you know your stuff, in a leadership sense, as well. That means they’re looking to see if you have what are usually referred to as the “soft skills.”

Your company’s short- and long-range success relies more than you might guess on your ability to bring out the best in the people around you, and to convert their individual strengths into something far more powerful than simply the sum of those talents.

8. One of your greatest leadership strengths will be the ability to combine confidence with humility.

You have to have the confidence to lead your company and leadership team through thick and thin.

And at the same time, you have to have the humility to know that you don’t have all the answers, yourself, and you never will.

Give the very talented people who were drawn to your company the compelling reasons they need to continue to choose to work there, and not somewhere else. Make full use of their strengths and let them know you appreciate them.

9. Be strong enough to ask for help.

You are not alone in what can be a very lofty, but lonely spot at the top.

10. Take time regularly to review and reflect.

When you do, consider your organization, your leadership, your life. How are things going? What do you need to do more of? What do you need to do less of?

11. Find good ways to step away from the job now and then.

If you’re not careful, the company and job could chew you up and spit you out (yes, even if you started the company, as many entrepreneurs learn). The weighty responsibilities of your new role will go with you everywhere, at all times, if you let it.

Find good ways to regularly regenerate and refresh, in large and small ways.

You will discover, if you haven’t already, that one of the best and most powerful ways to work, and to lead is with the fresh energy and objectivity that comes with “fresh eyes” and the clear, “beginner’s mind” you get when you can step away for a bit.

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On a whim one recent Monday morning, I brainstormed a list of words to inspire and challenge myself as I tried to get the day and week off to a great start.

It was an accolade and aggravation-filled list, as you’ll see, below. It helped me prioritize and refine my plans…and amused me, too…all in the space of about 3 minutes.

See if this brief exercise works for you, too. If the words I chose don’t work for you, replace them your own.

Here are a few guidelines to make this exercise work best:

- Keep the list short.

It’s a rapid-cycle brainstorming exercise to get yourself warmed up for the day or week.

- Use words that you react to, either positively or negatively.

Success is made up of the ability to respond well to positive and negative situations. You’ll be better prepared or more adaptable if you consider both types of circumstances, right from the start.

- Fill out the list quickly.

You may be surprised at what you learn in this rapid-cycle check-in with yourself. That surprising information may be the spark of energy, or the note of caution that makes all the difference in how you focus and invest your day or week, and the results you produce.

These were the words and questions that I used. Use these, or create your own list, if you like the idea of this exercise, but know that other words and questions will work better for you:

1. Admiration
What can I do to earn my own admiration today? This week?

2. Aspiration
What do I aspire to do or be today? This week?

3. Accomplishments
Do I have any accomplishments that I’ve taken for granted so far?

4. Accolades
Are there accolades I should be giving myself for great work done recently? What’s an appropriate way to recognize or celebrate them?

5. Action
Are the actions I planned for today still the right actions, given what’s most important right now? What are the 1-3 most important things I must get done, if nothing else?

6. Angst
Are there things I’m worrying about? What can I do to make the situation better?

7. Acceptance
Are there things I need to accept but have not, so far?

8. Admonitions
Are there warnings I need to pay attention to, or information I need to get? Are there assumptions I’ve made, but had better double-check?

9. Aggravations
Are there problems that I need to clear away through a process improvement? Is there a task that I need to delegate?

10. Avoidance
Are there things I’m avoiding that I really need to attend to? Is there important information that I’m trying to ignore?

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Do you get the urge to purge in January?

Many people do.

It’s the urge to get rid of excess and waste – wasted time, money, energy and attention, among other things.

And it often leads to fixing process problems you haven’t, or haven’t been able to solve before.

It’s the January urge to be free to focus on and enjoy your work and life much more.

If you’re eager to cut excess and waste, here’s a quick five-step way to start:

1. Get a piece of paper. Create three columns for the brainstorming exercises that follow.

2. In the left hand column, list all the things you’d like to change.

Brainstorm.

Dump.

Drop your problems – on paper at least. Dump everything out on the table, so to speak.

What are the parts of your life or work life that are more painful than they have to be?

What doesn’t work now?

What good intentions are you tired of carrying around? Which ones are you ready to turn into great results?

3. Circle the top three problems on the list.

They’re the main problems that weigh you down, hold you back, keep you stuck in place, caught in a spin cycle from which you can never seem to escape.

What are the top three?

When you get these out of the way, you’ll free up time, energy, money and attention that you can direct toward things you really want to do and create.

4. In the middle column, brainstorm possible causes of those top three problems.

What are the possible causes of those top three problems?

Once you eliminate the causes of problems – if, in fact, you’ve figured out the real causes – you’ll eliminate the problems.

If you know how to use a cause-and-effect or fishbone diagram, you can also use one of those at this stage. I’ll share information about that, and other useful problem-solving tools in blog posts in the next few weeks.

5. Now, in the far right column, brainstorm ways you could just begin to eliminate the causes of the top three problems.

This isn’t a complete and exhaustive list you’re creating.

It’s just the beginning of a path you may be able to take to eliminate the top three problems that burden your work and life today.

By thinking of early steps, and envisioning yourself taking those first steps successfully, you’re building a bridge to problem-solving…and getting those problems out of the way.

This quick five-step exercise won’t solve your problems. But it helps you start to organize, prioritize and see seeming barriers in a new way.

Get on with greater ease and excellence.

Don’t wait for tomorrow…or next year.

Try a January purge.

Start today.

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The year is still fresh.

And yet…

Expectations for 2011 that were so high just a few weeks ago may already be starting to wane.

That’s because the cold reality of January often (usually) shines a spotlight on all the hard work between here and achievement of your goals or dreams.

How do you create and maintain the momentum you need to see yourself – and if you’re part of one, your team – through the work ahead, all the way to success?

Here are a few ideas that have worked well for other people and teams. Choose one idea and try it:

1. Write down your top three priorities.

Post them in a prominent place and look at them every day.

The list of your top three priorities helps you to focus. It helps you choose the best way to spend – and invest – your limited time, energy, money and attention when many alternatives come charging your way.

2. Ask for help.

Are you trying to do too many things yourself?

Are there things best outsourced or delegated to others?

Do you have all the skills you really need for the success you seek?

It’s a sign of strength, not weakness, to be honest about the help you need.

Accept that you can’t do it all on your own. Then take action.

A project manager, assistant, trainer, coach, virtual assistant or other resources may make all the difference in reaching success.

Consider that possibility, at least.

3. Break big goals into smaller chunks. Then set a milestone for each.

Take the insurmountable down a notch.

Work toward your goals, step by step. Celebrate success in reaching each one in an achievement-appropriate way.

Then travel each day’s portion of the journey that day and let go of the rest.

Each step will get its due attention and effort when the time is right.

4. Spell out the rules of your game.

This is especially important if you’re working as part of a team. Spell out the rules of your game before the game gets too far underway.

Keep the rules simple, easy to remember, and easy to play.

Include each of these, at least:

– What constitutes success (make sure it’s consistent with your customers’ standards for success in the work you’re doing for them)

– How the quality of work will be measured

– What each person’s role and tasks are in achieving success

– How you’ll communicate, as a team

– How and when you’ll check in to see how things are going, and adjust your plan, if need be

5. Turn down the volume.

Turn down the criticism, cynicism, negative self-talk, and fears about what might go wrong.

Concentrate.

Expect the best.

Then do the best you can.

Complete the task.

Move on.

6. Focus on what’s going well.

Create an “Applause, Applause!” list for yourself at the end of each week.

Seriously.

Try it for just a month and see what positive changes it brings.

It’s easy, and you don’t have to share it with anyone else if you don’t want to.

Take five or ten minutes sometime each Friday. Write a simple list of what went well that week.

This simple exercise gives you a moment to reflect, reinforce what you learned, and enjoy the glow of the things that went well.

These achievements and small signs of progress are ones that you might not even notice, if you skip this simple, yet powerful exercise.

You can do this exercise as a team, too. Write down your “Applause, applause!” lists individually, focusing on your own, and your team’s accomplishments that week.

Then take a little relaxed time, as a team, to compare notes.

The shared exercise is likely to lead to greater enjoyment of your experience, increased learning, great stories and a little laughter, as well.

It all builds momentum and inspiration that can buoy you through the challenges of the next week.

End your week on a high note with a little “Applause, applause!”

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You know the moment, I’m sure.

It’s that unsettling point when you realize that:

1) A big problem has cropped up.

2) You have to solve it.

3) You have three choices. You can:

- Hire someone to get the job done.

- Get someone to guide or advise you as you find and create a solution.

- Learn how to solve it and then do it yourself.

We’ll get back to some of the issues of delegating problem-solving another day.

It’s that last category we’re addressing today. I call it “emergency learning.”

And I’ve had my share of emergency learning, too.

Usually it happens because:

- I didn’t see the problem developing. Suddenly, it was there.

- I knew there was a problem, and hoped I could wait for a convenient time to learn and make improvements.

But not all problems will wait. And not all can be foreseen and prevented.

And you can’t hire a solution to all problems.

Sometimes you do have to do rapid-cycle learning and improvement, yourself, to solve a problem.

Use the following questions to help guide you through your next experience of Emergency Learning.

They may help you cut the confusion, cost and consequences of getting the rapid-cycle solution wrong.

As you’re trying to understand what’s going on and organize a solution, ask yourself:

1. What’s the problem?

2. What’s the impact of it?

3.  What’s causing it? How do you know?

4. Do you have enough information to select a solution and implement it?

5. Do you have the right information to select a solution and implement it?

6. Are you getting distracted or overwhelmed as you try to get the job done? How can you make the situation feel less chaotic so you can work as quickly and calmly as possible?

When you select and implement a solution, pay attention to how it’s working as you make the changes and improvements. Ask yourself:

7. Is the solution working? Would your customers say the solution works for them, too?

When the solution is fully implemented and you know it works, ask yourself:

8. What did I learn from this experience that will help me:

- Prevent emergency learning in the future, when I can?

- Improve emergency learning in the future, when I must do it again?

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It’s not easy to return to work after the fun and distraction of multiple holiday breaks.

And as we get into the full swing of a new work year, I’ve heard more than a few people say they don’t mind getting back to work, but they dread their managers’ return.

Managers’ example, and the role they play in creating a high-quality, highly effective work environment is far greater than they may realize.

And leadership of any type is FAR from an easy job.

Here are a few of the specific concerns I’ve heard recently:

“We’re subjected to a daily roller coaster of her moods and whims,” said one woman in her late 20′s at a service company.

“I hate meetings with my manager,” said a senior manager at a large manufacturing firm. “I dread meetings for a week ahead of time. I have a hard getting anything done the day before. I’m relieved when the meetings are cancelled, although I shouldn’t be,” she added. “That’s no way to work.”

“He gets in the way,” said a high-performing employee at another company.

Most of us have had at least one manager we didn’t understand, who didn’t understand us, either, no matter how hard we both tried.

And when that happens, it’s less likely that we’re doing our best work.

My own experience includes a few difficult managers, too.

I’ve written about how to improve leadership and manager-employee relationships in prior posts, and will write about it again in the future.

For now, pause and think back on the best managers you ever had, and they impact they had on your work and life:

When I think of the best managers I ever had, these things come to mind:

- They saw more in me than I saw in myself at times.

- They gave me opportunities to learn and grow.

- They gave me the gift of high standards and high expectations. They expected me to become better and more valuable to the company than I was when I joined their team, and I did.

- A few weren’t necessarily “nice,” but they were very good at what they did. I knew that I could learn a lot from them.

- Many knew how hard our jobs were, and clearly appreciated our hard work, because they’d had jobs like these at an earlier stage in their careers, too.

What made them your best managers so good?

1. Did they understand you well? How do you know?

2. Did they challenge you to become more than you were when you first started working for them? How did they do this effectively?

3. Did they provide you clear direction and feedback? How?

4. What did they say or do to motivate you most effectively?

5. What are the three top things you learned from them?

6. How were you different – or better – after you’d worked for them?

7. If you’re a manager, yourself, how are you a better manager or leader because of what you learned from them?

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I was caught in an endless loop the other day.

Do you know the feeling?

It’s when you’re stuck in an unproductive cycle, but you can’t seem to escape it.

It can happen in many different ways, such as when:

- A process doesn’t work…or no longer does…and you have no idea why

- A job or career is one you don’t enjoy but it’s one you can’t seem to leave

- A habit or attitude causes problems but you assume it can’t, or won’t ever change

- A relationship is unsatisfying and you think it will always be that way

My latest endless loop experience was a simple one, really.

I was trying to get to an event in a very unfamiliar part of San Francisco. It was in the dark and distracted traffic of a December rush hour.

I thought I was correcting a few navigational errors I’d made as I circled various city blocks.

At some point, I realized in frustration that I was making the same mistakes repeatedly.

What lessons did I take from this endless loop experience?

1.  First you have to notice that you’re in an endless loop

Usually this happens when you have that feeling of déjà vu.

It’s the experience that Bill Murray had in the movie, Groundhog Day.

Until he recognized that the pattern of each day was repeating itself – and would until he corrected some of his decisions and actions – he was going to endlessly experience Groundhog Day.

2.  Know where you want to go, instead

Having a clear goal, and a specific path to reach it – if you have that information – helps get over, around or through any barriers you experience.

And if you don’t know the specific path to your goal yet, having a specific and compelling goal is a powerful and important step.

3. Notice when the loop begins to repeat itself

When you know you’re in an endless loop, tune up your awareness of when the loop is starting.

Pay very close attention. Notice what signs you can see thatthe pattern is beginning.

Then notice what happens just before that.

You’re trying to see the details you missed or disregarded in the past which are your first clue that you’re traveling down that same old unproductive path.

4. Look for good alternatives to what you’ve done in the past

Tune up your awareness of alternatives.

And keep in mind that not all exits are good exits. Some may take you down a far worse path than the one that you currently on.

Consider if you need to do more work to find, or create better alternative courses of action.

5. Choose and take a new path

You can’t just hope that change will occur.

And when you’re caught in an endless loop, it is sometimes easier to follow the same old, weary and worn path.

But you have to act.

You have to take the initiative to change the course. You have to create and travel a new path to have a better experience and better outcomes than you’ve had in the past.

6. If need be, experiment to find your best course of action

Sometimes the safest and easiest way to change is to plan and make well-planned experiments.

And if you knew the right direction to go, it’s likely you might have chosen to travel that path, instead.

If you don’t know for sure what direction is the best one for you to take now, experiment until you a good alternative becomes clear.

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