Breakthrough Results are like overnight sensations

by Coachcubas

March 5, 2015

Breakthrough Results are often like overnight sensations.

We all know or heard of people who have come “out of nowhere” and were the next big thing.

In figure skating, things aren't always as they appear

Stop there—Not true.

It’s like figure skating; we don’t see the spills and bruises, just the end result of the training and preparation. Truth is, they’ve been at whatever talent they possess or developing a product over time that bursts onto the stage or into a market.

Think when Steve Jobs was on hiatus (fired from Apple)—John Sculley headed Apple at the time. In particular, for you “youngin’s” out there, he introduced the Newton PDA. Huh? Yes, the term Personal Digital Assistant was coined by Sculley.

(Apple image)

Newton was a window on the future although a dismal failure at the time of release in 1993.—It was the precursor to the smartphone. Conditions contributing to the failure: The market didn’t rely on computers then, like today, so it was not ready to receive Newton. There wasn’t enough installed computer base for the everyday user to create a tipping point.

So, breakthroughs depend on timing. My experience teaches me that Preparation + Openness + Willingness to learn and adapt = Opportunities; which give you the power (POWA) to achieve your goals. We must be prepared to meet our greatness™. Yet, there must be capacity and openness to receive what may fly in that isn’t planned—serendipity some call it. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was such a breakthrough after years of chasing a cure.

Passionate people drive innovation; innovation creates breakthroughs. These types of people ignore time, food, hygiene sometimes, to stay in flow, what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi documented with athletes and his study of happiness. Csíkszentmihályi described flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” The reference is from Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi).

More recently, Csíkszentmihályi’s work centers on motivation and the success factors contributing to challenging experiences. In fact, he created a new personality “construct” called work orientation, characterized by “achievement, endurance, cognitive structure, order, play, and low impulsivity.” —All these factors contribute to breakthrough results.

What is important to note is the role preparation plays in a breakthrough. Finding all the ways that don’t work are the blueprint building blocks to get to what will. It’s the “keeping at it” that leads to the breakthrough. We can take a lesson from stalwart entrepreneurs who have a vision and won’t stop until it manifests.

Performance matters, but it is the lead up TO the performance that determines the breakthrough outcome. MC

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Coachcubas

As a credentialed business coach and analyst, one of my primary functions is to work with individuals and company managers to clarify where they are presently, where they would like to advance, and what tools they have and need to achieve their desired outcome.

I use a variety of tools to assess perceptions including Platinum Rule instruments, my experience and training in assessing behavior. My preferred tool is the EQ-i®, emotional intelligence inventory. I have specialized training on the EQ-i® and DISC Inventories and access to multiple other sources including a company culture index. I prefer the EQ-i® because it is the least judgmental instrument I have found. It focuses on strengths and areas of development related to the goals set by the individual. For example, people are more likely to apply the EQ-i®’s information rather than label themselves by the Myers-Briggs categories.