Message of the Week 16 - 20 January 2023

Success plan for 2023: tiny changes, huge results

Contrary to what many may think, it isn’t the once-in-a-lifetime transformations that ultimately lead to success, but rather the continuous application of beneficial habits. You just need to look at your financial wellbeing (or lack thereof), weight (healthy or unhealthy) or knowledge base to realise that each of these is the result of your financial, eating or learning habits. If the habits are constructive, the results are beneficial, but if the habits are detrimental, so too are the results. It shouldn’t, therefore, come as a surprise that you get what you repeat.

Unfortunately, when times are uncertain, most people will “play it safe” or worse yet “freeze”, so that nothing can change. At KDZA, we don’t believe that this is an acceptable response – and we’re guessing you don’t find it satisfactory either. What we all need is an unshakeable and scientifically proven success plan to form helpful habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviours that lead to remarkable results.

According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, every time we perform a habit, we execute a four-step pattern: cue, craving, response, reward. So, if we want to form new habits, we need to make them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

Atomic Habits draws on scientific research and real-life examples, it shows how tiny changes in behaviour can result in the formation of new habits that help you achieve big things. No matter your goals, Atomic Habits lays out a scientific framework for staying focused on continuous improvements and shows how:

1. Small habits can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your life.
2. Habits are automated behaviours that we’ve learned from experience.
3. Building new habits requires hard-to-miss cues and a plan of action.
4. Humans are motivated by the anticipation of reward, so making habits attractive will help you stick to them.
5. If you want to build a new habit, make that habit as easy to adopt as possible.
6. Making your habits immediately satisfying is essential to effective behaviour change.
7. Create a framework to keep your habits on track, using trackers and contracts.

Atomic Habits speaks directly to our philosophy of Amoeba Management, which is a key component of Kyocera’s strength. The philosophy is based on the belief that a small-group system serves to clarify the responsibilities of each member, ensures transparency in every detail, and enables accurate measurements of efficiency. Each and every member of the team has an important part to play, and their personal actions and habits are as important to the group and company as the collective business actions and habits.

A great way to measure progress and stay on track with building and keeping helpful habits going is to make use of a habit tracker. It is a fun way to keep you moving towards the results you want. Let’s make 2023 a year of excellent habits!

Lee Ann Kellner - Interim Head of Sales - KYOCERA Document Solutions South Africa