Across the years, I’ve suggested the following success formula to my students and to those with whom I have consulted. Over time, the formula has undergone a number of iterations to reflect the increasingly greater uncertainty, complexity, and difficulty of internal and external cultures and their demands on leadership and organizational success. The formula also reflects ongoing research and new observations about the role of learning good lessons from bad leaders.

PD + HW + E + GL = GS

v1.0

Proper Direction + Hard Work = Success

Morphed to:

v2.0

Proper Direction + Hard Work + Enablers = Success

By enablers, I mean that additional elements such as new talent, market changes, signed contracts, funding, new discoveries, or helpful PR when they positively coalesce to provide a tailwind and propel an organization toward success. Yet, even with powerful enablers, the extensibility and accuracy of the formula will only have limited success without an ability to learn, integrate, store, and recall good lessons.

Most recently, the formula has been revised again to read:

v3.0

Proper Direction + Hard Work + Enablers + Good Lessons = Good Success

Although the complexities of personal or organizational success can’t be reduced to a simple formula, v3.0 does, however, reflect the critical components through which success is most likely to be achieved. Learning good lessons controls for the inevitable chaos bad leaders create through their miscues and misadventures.

Additionally, v3.0 reflects the following support propositions:

· Proper direction is determined by market need not by wishful thinking.

· Hard work in the wrong direction is just hard work, and it’s wrong.

· Combining focus and passion will not compensate for improper direction.

· Enablers have limited shelf lives.

· Organizational culture supersedes the long-term benefit of enablers.

· Without learning and integrating good lessons, proper direction, hard work, and enablers will not sustain success.

· Networking alone will not create career momentum and advancement.

· Teamwork alone will not create organizational health.

· Good timing and opportunity do not justify unwise resource expenditures.

· Compelling facts trump exciting presentations.

· Success is driven by learning good lessons, and good lessons are best deployed to eliminate personal and organizational chaos.

· Be as aware of the implications of success as you are the implications of failure.

Yours in Learning Good Lessons,

Woody