Work from a clean desktop—I know for many of you this may seem bizarre. Here’s my story … I attended a workshop on personal effectiveness more than 30 years ago. The instructor told us a study of highly successful leaders revealed only one trait in common: They worked from a clean desk—it sharpens focus and minimizes distractions. Don’t knock it until you try it.
Organizational Habits
These are harder for me to suggest, because I don’t know your organization. However, you can imagine the potential positive ripple effect if everyone in your organization formed the habit to …
- Return phone calls from your customers within 24 hours.
- Include community building activities on every meeting agenda.
- Start every meeting with a review of the status of previous action items.
- Memorize the names of all your employees and their family members.
- Recognize the contribution of someone on your team weekly, or even daily!
- Offer a personal welcome to every guest who enters your establishment.
- Review safety data at every meeting … it worked for Alcoa.
Make no mistake, our habits are key determinants of our success. It was Aristotle who said:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
What keystone habits would have the greatest impact on your leadership in 2015? 
