Why your definition of success matters

Recently, my book Naturally Successful became an international Amazon bestseller.

These were the results in different categories and locations:

Amazon Australia
#1 in Sustainable Business Development
#2 in Business Leadership
#3 in Sustainable Development
#6 in Environmental Economics

Amazon US/Global
#8 in Sustainable Development Economics
#25 in Sustainable Business Development
#74 in Personal Success in Business

Many people know that these ranking are very transient and for most books only last a few days or even a few hours. There are very few books that are consistently at the top. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 principles of highly effective people is one of those classic books. I believe it’s a book that every leader should own and review from time to time.

When I started planning my book, I did some market research on which leadership books are already out there and how my book will be different. A very worthwhile exercise. Number one “competitor” on my list was Stephen Covey’s book. Here’s what I wrote in my planning document:

Most of Covey’s book is about self-leadership and habit 7 is about self-renewal. I’ll expand on the concept of self-care in my book. Covey’s language is quite performance- and male-oriented. I’m using a softer tone of voice. I’ll go beyond the typical science approach and add timeless wisdom from different wisdom traditions.

This description became one of my benchmarks during writing. You can’t imagine how happy I was when I saw the following happening on Amazon:

Becoming a #2 bestseller in Business Leadership behind my hero book felt like the ultimate success. Who cares about the other #1 bestseller ranking or that it only lasted a couple of days? To me, it felt like “mission accomplished”. It looked like as if I was attracting a similar audience as Stephen Covey – at that point in time. Great! I celebrated and moved on. I have now started to figure out how to make this a sustainable positioning ;)

My key points for you here are:

  • How do you define success?

  • How do you know you have achieved something that’s great in your eyes?

  • When was the last time you were highly excited by achieving something and actually celebrated this?

As a leader, success starts with you

You can only give what you have got. The truth is, the people you lead sense whether you have the right energy levels to inspire them. By understanding how to manage your energy, you can create better conditions for others to succeed.

Your definition of success influences others’ wellbeing

Success can mean delivering a specific result, or it could mean focusing more on the process. A definition of success that focuses purely on the end result can cause unnecessary stress and frustration. Often, it is not sustainable. Remember, success is built upon many small steps.

As a leader, you must manage your expectations of success and those of your people and stakeholders. The great thing is, you can share a sense of possibility and create the conditions for success, step by step.

Your definition of success matters to how you feel, how your team performs and what type of positive impact you will create in your environments. Make it a conscious choice!

Naturally yours,

Ingrid