I have two editors for this blog: my wife and one of my best friends. They have both commented on my lack of advice on how to be a +1. This is because I generally believe if you aim for zero, and are then a reasonably competent person, you will become a +1. But my wife specifically told me, after the Aim for Zero post, that I should address people’s concerns that they feel they NEED to be a +1 in order to get the position they want.
So, I started writing some posts about how to excel as a student, intern, resident, and faculty member. They slowly began to morph into a series of posts which, when taken altogether, would lead you on the path to become a +1. This is an introduction to that series, following my post about Aiming for Zero. This series includes the following topics:
- Aim for Zero
- Answer Emails
- Be Appreciative
- Have a Growth Mindset
- Show Up
- Smile
- Kaizen
- Be an RFHB
- Self-Reflection and Self-Honesty
- Being an Introvert in an Extrovert World
- Give People Timelines
- Fail
- Aim for Zero Inbox
- Be On Time
- Be Constructive
- Pay the Price
- Be Optimistic
- Don’t Gossip
- Be Humble
- Be Honest
- Be Prepared
- Self-Care
- Admit Mistakes
- Accept Feedback
- Circle of Control
- Follow Through
- Listen
- Be Considerate
I’m sure more will come up as I think, read, and continue to counsel clients on their career progression. My initial thought was that being successful was pretty simple but, the more I thought about it, the more I found was important to articulate. Why?
I shared the Aim for Zero post with some professional friends and it apparently resonated. The next day, one of them told me, “Oh my god, why don’t people know this? I get ridiculous demands from students all the time and they have no idea how this is affecting their career.” So, evidently, lots of people don’t do these things. That means it needs to be spelled out, hence this series. I hope you enjoy.