Ten Preconditions To Personal Development

1.  

Intellectual Curiosity

A passion to understand the changing forces swirling around you, an eagerness to learn them faster, and a recognition that learning is an unending journey.

2.  

Humility

A pervasive acknowledgement that no one can have all the answers. You must have a willingness to learn from others.

3.  

Self-Criticism

A logical extension of humility. A constant questioning of conventional wisdom and a keen awareness that success invariably sows the seeds of failure.

4.  

A High Tolerance for Ambiguity, Complexity and Change

Learning is experimental. Thrive on change; don't allow yourself to be intimidated by its rough and unpolished exterior. Complexity and ambiguity are simply part of the 21st Century condition.

5.  

Experimentation

It is only by experimenting with new approaches, monitoring the results and incorporating the feedback into new initiatives that learning takes place.

6.  

A Hunger for Feedback

A genuine eagerness to reach out and get performance feedback from a variety of sources, and a willingness to listen to it and make changes.

7.  

Learning by Doing

Have a bias towards action. The use of real-world tests is a much more fertile source of learning than abstract speculation.

8.  

An Appreciation for Failure and Mistakes

Learning is more a product of failure than success will ever be. View experiments as desirable, mistakes as inevitable and failures as the raw protein necessary for success.

9.  

Systematic Methods of Data Collection and Distribution

Intellectual capital is rarely created and shared by accident. Conscious mechanisms must be put in place to, acquire, disseminate, and leverage knowledge.

10.  

Creative Self-Destruction

No advantage lasts forever. Render yourself obsolete before others do it for you. It's the price world-class innovators gladly pay for staying ahead of the pack.