Make luck work for your organization

Some people cite bad luck as a reason for why their business failed. But what exactly is luck? Is it really a series of random events? Or can it be targeted and overcome?  And if so, how can you make luck work for your organization? Richard Wiseman, psychology professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, studies lucky and unlucky people in order to isolate the lucky traits and demystify them so that anyone can emulate them. According to Wiseman, lucky people have a way of dealing with chaos and complexity that unlucky people do not. And unfortunately for some, chaos and complexity are prevalent in nearly every organization. Wiseman also says that lucky people are good at noticing and capitalizing on opportunities. They act on gut feelings or hunches but, only after honing their intuition. On the other hand, unlucky people tend to be narrowly focused. They concentrate only on what they are working on in the present and ignore other opportunities. According to David McRaney, author of You Are Not So Smart, luck is not an uncontrollable, random phenomenon but more of a behavior that happy, successful people employ. McRaney says that good luck is the ability to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. And “bad” luck is an unwillingness to try new things. However, people can learn how to overcome bad luck. Do not let randomness or “bad luck” discourage you. Be open to change and don’t quit till you find a plan that succeeds. The best leaders have the ability to revamp business plans, change old ideas that don’t work and explore other options. A great quality in a successful leader is that they don’t give up when one plan fails, they jump back in and try something different. The ability to bounce back after hundreds of failures may be the biggest ‘luck’ factor of all. Source: Business Week]]>