Bill Gates said, “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” Couple that statement with one from former Intel Chairman Andy Grove, who said … “Only the paranoid survive. Paranoids believe someone or some force is out to get them,” and now you should have a better perspective on how two enormously successful men remained successful in such competitive, turbulent times. I think it is extremely important to be confident but not arrogant. I find arrogant people to be resistant to evaluation and challenges, have a false sense of invincibility and are especially close-minded to listening to what others might suggest.

The business landscape is littered with powerful companies who thought they were invincible only to find they were vulnerable to smaller, more nimble companies. Success teaches us that if we keep doing the same thing, the same way, we will keep being successful. That might work “until” your competition starts following everything you do to the letter, then it is time for you to raise the bar. You shouldn’t fear your competition, but you should certainly respect them.

Realize your only true security in life is …

Ø your ability to perform better than your competition
Ø your desire to improve, learn and study
Ø your persistence to constantly keep moving forward
Ø your consistency in delivering more than is expected
Ø your focusing on the most important matters

Over-confidence (arrogance) destroys even the best of the best. So, explore failures to understand what happened, acknowledge weaknesses, seek advice from others, welcome suggestions, and stay humble. There are 31 billion Goggle searches every month, 1 billion people hooked up to the internet, the top 10 In-Demand jobs that existed in 2012 did not exist in 2004, technical information is doubling every two years and 65,000 new websites are created every 60 seconds; change is rampant. So, if you keep doing what you’ve always done … you will be gone.

What are you doing this year to RAISE YOUR BAR ?