Last night, our group found ourselves brain-storming the main habits, or skills we each considered vital to achieving success. We set out to include any field of endeavour, but then we moved into our business of Internet Marketing. There were a fair number of offerings – focus, goal-setting, basic understanding of fundamentals,  consistency, leadership, respect, creativity, mind-set, vision… the list could have been as long as the night if we hadn’t wanted to get home, but eventually, we decided that we would concentrate on the following few.

Focus, Effective Goal setting, Mind-set, Understanding of Basic Fundamentals, Leadership, Respect and a strong sense of Team. (in no particular order)

We also concluded that no matter what we were doing, the same attributes were required, perhaps modified, to suit the circumstances.

We included Team, because this resonates with Attraction Marketing and because for years some of us have understood the advantages of working collegially and have done so whenever possible. Managing in this style allows everyone some input to the process in which they are invested and shows respect for their ideas and for them as individuals. This boosts self-esteem and encourages enthusiasm and innovation, while enriching the ‘ideas bank’ in the organisation. This is not to say that the ‘leader’ steps back. It is her job to listen, prioritise and clarify, providing a strong focal point for the group’ and the place where ‘the buck stops’.
It was a great night and when I got home I decided to give Facebook a flick and see what was going on.

Now I am a New Zealander and to those of you who know anything about anything, you will appreciate that this is an exciting time for most of us. So – my FB is full of videos and pics, articles and jokes about rugby, the World Cup and The All Blacks. What a bunch!

The AB’s are the current epitome of success and I started thinking about our list and how it could be applied to them. These guys have every trick in the book at their finger-tips or at the very least, an army of coaches, doctors and mentors to guide and advise them. Now, after years of success, they have even greater success – they have absolutely nailed the whole damn lot!
I have come to believe that they live what we would like to practice.

For example: they set goals. Not just ‘we will win next week’ goals, but lots of little goals, at every level. The reaching of these goals is constantly assessed and the results evaluated so that they may be tweaked if necessary. Sound familiar? This means that they always know what they are doing and they can set to work immediately improving areas of weakness.

They treat their fans (read customers) with respect. They know what the fans want and the AB’s deliver. They respect each and every player. This is an ‘open’ culture and the ideas of every player are taken into consideration.

Here are the words of Steve Hansen, their coach.

”Sitting down and working out how you can make a player better – and including the player in the conversation – is something we have got right. The most important thing in the whole thing is the player.” Sound familiar?

They work on fundamentals. For example, from childhood, children in NZ are taught the skills of ball handling, such as catch-pass and throwing to the left and the right. Gradually,the more rugged aspects of the game are introduced. This is full on and part of PE in schools and Rugby Clubs. The deep understanding of the core skills necessary to play a winning game are instilled well and truly over the years so that players can operate almost on autopilot when it comes to those skills. Some of the ‘little goals’ mentioned above relate to these.

They are creative – as can be seen when they hurtle down the field making decisions on the fly, grabbing success from imminent defeat on numerous occasions during the game. Their creativity is a major component of their ambition to please their fans – they are presenting games that are brilliant, edgy and fast, with great spectator appeal. This is a trait of all successful entrepreneurs.

The Team Spirit of the All Blacks is legendary and I guess that everyone involved in this team’s life, strives every day to develop the mind set and the characteristics of success that lead to domination of their niche. The result is best shown in this video that prompted me to think a bit harder about the way these guys work.  Please – sit down, relax and enjoy.

  Click the link for access.           This is one of the faces of success.