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Be ruthless
PLUS: Doorway affirmations
For the next 5 minutes, let’s elevate your career.
In today’s email:
Doorway affirmations
Exit meetings well
Be ruthless with your projects
Most things work
Safra Catz’ career wisdom
ON YOUR CAREER
Doorway affirmations
Michael Phelps won 23 Olympic gold medals as a swimmer. And he experiences anxiety and depression. One technique he uses to improve his mood and confidence is to say a positive affirmation as he passes through doorways.
Doorway affirmations can be useful to any of us. Before walking into a sales pitch, mentally saying, “I can add a lot of value for these guys.” Before opening the door to a challenging meeting, “I’m good at solving problems.”
This simple technique prompts mindfulness and is habit-forming. It delivers multiple opportunities for positivity each day. And bolsters our self-efficacy.
It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
COMMUNICATION
Exit meetings well
❌ I’ll let you get back to your day
✅ We’ve made some good progress today
❌ You have my details if I can be of service
✅ I’d enjoy working with you
❌ Thank you for your time
✅ Thank you for your insights
PRODUCTIVITY
Be ruthless with your projects
Peter Drucker said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” So true!
Some of our projects add little value. We commenced them with good intentions and high hopes. But we made a selection error. They weren’t a good use of our time or resources.
There is no point getting better at an irrelevant task. We can’t reclaim the lost time. We can only better use our time in the future.
We need to be ruthless with our projects. Both in their selection and abandonment.
Just because it’s said with authority, and just because it’s in a PowerPoint, doesn’t make it true.
1 MINUTE TO HAPPINESS
Most things work
Most things work, most of the time. We have food, shelter, and electricity. Our devices work. And we get paid.
We can choose to be happy with the reliability of everyday things.
CAREER WISDOM
Safra Catz
Safra Catz (1961 — ) moved to the United States from Israel aged 6. She completed her undergraduate studies at Wharton and law degree at the University of Pennsylvania. After a 14-year career on Wall Street, Catz joined Oracle in 1999. She became a board member in 2001, co-CEO in 2014, and sole CEO in 2019.
Under Catz’s guidance, Oracle has focused on cloud computing and technological innovation. Her financial acumen has earned her consistent recognition from Forbes and Fortune as one of the most powerful businesswomen.
Catz’s total compensation from Oracle in 2022 was USD 138 million, making her the sixth highest-paid CEO in the US. She is known for her quiet leadership style and operational excellence. Some of Catz’s career wisdom:
I like to say it's an attitude of not just thinking outside the box, but not even seeing the box.
You can recover from being stupid, but you can never recover from being a liar. Integrity is a perishable asset, and once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
What are the most important qualities to be successful? The most important quality is courage.