I read a lot of leadership and management content. It’s my way to keep the tools in my toolbox sharp. I recently came across Richard St. John’s TED Talk, “8 Secrets of Success,” where he distills 500 interviews with successful individuals into eight key principles. These insights align perfectly with our mission, map to our core values, and define the qualities that make GovCon leaders thrive:
1. Passion: Love what you do, and success will follow.
2. Work: Embrace hard work and have fun doing it.
3. Focus: Channel your energy into mastering your craft.
4. Push: Overcome self-doubt and push through obstacles.
5. Serve: Provide value to others, as true success comes from serving.
6. Ideas: Cultivate creativity and innovative thinking.
7. Persist: Persevere through challenges and setbacks.
8. Success: Implement these principles to achieve your goals.
As GovCon CEOs, we face unique challenges that require dedication, resilience, and a commitment to serving our clients and teams. After watching this TED Talk, it was fulfilling to see how well our mission and core values encompass many of those “success secrets”. I believe this is key to our ability to attract top talent, win contracts, and deliver exceptional results.
At ICS Inc., we find that our core values align closely with Richard St. John’s secrets to success:
• Our value Grit (passion, and perseverance for long-term goals) resonates with the secrets of Passion and Persistence.
• Our value GSD (Getting Stuff Done) relates to the secrets of Work and Focus, as we work smart, hard, and channel our energy into achieving results.
• Our value of Selfless Service aligns with the secret of Serve, as we prioritize the needs of our customers, company, and team before ourselves.
• Our values of Excellence and Uncompromising Integrity foster an environment where we can cultivate and execute innovative Ideas while maintaining the highest ethical standards.
By embracing our core values and incorporating the secrets shared by Richard St. John, we position ourselves for success as GovCon leaders. When you have strong core values, you’ll find that they naturally map to proven success “secrets.”
I’d love to hear how your mission and core values map to these proven “success secrets” in the comments below, as we continue to build a supportive community of GovCon leaders.
