One of the best kept secrets in business, is something I call reduction. It’s a strategy I share with my clients and today, I’m going to share some of it with you.

Less can be more

Ineffective business owners strive to do more and more. They focus on productivity hacks, growth hacks, life hacks and short-cuts. As an unavoidable result, they become increasingly busy, increasingly stressed and increasingly frustrated.

The most effective business owners use a different approach. They’ve discovered that the biggest wins come from doing fewer things. Less is more.

For example:

• Fewer unfinished projects, equals more clarity.
• Fewer social media interruptions, equals more focus.
• Fewer repeated errors, equals more progress.
• Fewer dodged decisions, equals more respect.
• Fewer missed deadlines, equals more trust.
• Fewer hours wasted, equals more productivity.
• Fewer angry words, equals more happiness.
• Fewer broken promises, equals more belief.
• And fewer excuses, equals more achievement.

If you find yourself stressed, working long hours and making too little progress, don’t add even more to your workload. All it will do is create unnecessary, additional stress.

Instead, focus on reduction. Because with the right strategy, less can be more. So much more.

P.S. Here’s another reason why you need to stop working so hard.

Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of business owners. Some of them are massively successful. I soon noticed that these super-successful people shared certain habits. They did things, which the average business owner didn’t do.

I decided to learn from them… to acquire their habits, to see if it would help me. It did. It really did. In big, meaningful, measurable ways. Today, I’m going to share some of what I learned from them with you.

Let’s go.

1. They personalize their business, so it’s uniquely theirs. One of a kind. Rare and valuable. This is true, regardless of their industry or profession.
2. They are driven by a passion to do something big. Something that motivates them AND those around them.
3. They know success is about more than money. Because if you’re rich and unhappy, you’re still broke.
4. They show people, rather than tell people. Anyone can claim anything, so they walk the walk.
5. They out-care their competitors. And it shines through everything they do.
6. They out-smart their competitors too.
7. They set standards, extremely high, self-imposed standards. Then, they achieve them.
8. They throw away the manual and write their own rules.
9. They focus on what they want, not what they fear. Sounds obvious, yet it’s the polar opposite of what small business owners do.
10. They are excellent decision makers. They get the information required, study it, request advice if needed, then decide. This is one of the master skills for success in every area of life, not just business.
11. They avoid those costly detours, which come disguised as shortcuts to success. Warren Buffett often says a key reason for his amazing results, is his commitment to get rich slowly.
12. They do all the work required. You can’t sleepwalk your way to the top. Or even the middle.
13. They also relax. If you work smart during work time, you can relax when it’s family and friends time. In fact, it’s essential.
14. They seldom watch TV. None (zero) of the most successful people I know, bother with much TV.
15. They are extremely selective who they associate with and who they recommend. Your associates have a huge impact on what you think and your expectations.
16. They lead. The world already has enough followers and the followers need leaders.
17. They manage their time extremely well.
18. They deliberately build a valuable network of people — before they need them.
19. They are willing to stand out. They know it’s the only way to be outstanding.
20. They summon the courage to do what’s required, rather than what feels comfortable.
21. They make promises and keep them. They know it’s a superb way to build trust and earn a great reputation.
22. They look for opportunities to over-deliver. I call this approach radical contribution. I’ll cover it in detail, in a future post.

I hope you find those observations useful. More importantly, I hope you decide to turn at least one of them into a habit.