I read a performance book over the weekend.  This is not my usual fare, nor have I ever blogged on such a thing.  It was a good book, though, Change Anything.  And when I read a bit in a chapter entitled “How to Get Unstuck at Work”, it struck me as being highly applicable to this being-a-novelist enterprise.

So here it is.  I’ll omit quotation marks and ellipses, but these are all taken from two consecutive pages in a single chapter of the book.  I’ll let you make the application to your own writing efforts.  I’m certainly making the application to mine.

1.  Know Your Stuff.  Top performers put regular effort into ensuring that they are good at the technical aspects of their jobs.  They work hard at honing their craft.

2.  Focus on the Right Stuff.  Top performers contribute to tasks that are essential to the organization’s success.  They are intensely interested in understanding where the organization is going (with emphasis on the key challenges).  They equip themselves to make their best and highest contribution to the core elements of where their company is going.

3.  Build a Reputation for Being Helpful.  People describe them as experts who are generous with their time.  Taking time to help their co-workers puts top performers at the hub of important networks.  Top performers are widely known and respected by others not because of their frequent contact, charm or likability, but because they help others solve their problems.

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