Image via Flickr user Kris Krug

When you spend decades working with executives and business leaders, you really can’t help but observe what works and doesn’t work over the long haul.

Naivety. Granted, we all start out sort of wide-eyed and gullible, but the sooner you convert that to savvy and skeptical, the better your chances of coming out on top.

Panic. High-pressure situations are common in the business world. Things almost never go according to plan and oftentimes they go terribly wrong.

Fanaticism. Passion is a big success driver, but when you cross that line and become over-the-top fanatical, that works against you.

Laziness. Those who are driven to achieve great things also know one fundamental truth: It takes hard work over the long haul.

Quick-fix mentality. Steve Jobs said, “Half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance” and if you’re not passionate about what you do, you won’t stick with it.

Acting out. Whatever feelings you have trouble dealing with – jealousy, shame, inferiority, entitlement – transferring them to people you work with and acting out in anger won’t just make you and everyone around you miserable, it’ll kill your career, too.

Selfishness. If you act like the world revolves around you, you’d better have the talent to back it up. Even so, being overly self-centered will diminish your effectiveness.

Living in the past or future. Granted, we can learn from the past, but dwelling on it is self-destructive.

Lighthearted indifference. You hear phrases like “whatever works,” “it’s all good,” and “no worries” a lot lately but you’ll rarely hear them from highly accomplished people.

Oversensitivity. If you’re so thin-skinned that any criticism makes you crazy and every little thing offends you, you’re going to have a rough go of it in the real business world.

One last thing. If any of this offends you enough to want to write an angry flame comment, you’ve got at least two or three issues to work on. Then again, look at the bright side. At least you’re not indifferent.

by Steve Tobak

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