HOPE is a Strategy

I have heard that hope is not a strategy my entire career. That you can't get results through hope. So I made it a strategy using my superpower of acronym creation. 

HOPE is...

Helping Other People Everyday 

HOPE as a strategy applying these 8 elements:

Habits & Help

Opportunity & Optimism

Preparation & Purpose

Execution & Evaluation

The HOPE Model from Performance Mindset Associates LLC:

Habits & Help

In business, consistency is king. Developing habits that work for you and driving that discipline to maintain successful habits will provide the continuity required to achieve the results you desire. Now we all know that habits come in two forms, so maintain your focus and discipline on the good kind, and avoid the bad kind. 

Asking for help makes you vulnerable, so many people avoid asking others for help. They do not want to look 'less than' and would rather work longer or harder to do it themselves. Stop that way of thinking. Ask for help. Everyone loves to help. Put your ego aside and ask when you need support, expertise, new knowledge, or resources to get the job done right. Make vulnerability your new superpower. Be open and honest, especially with your inner circle, and make yourself available to help as well as asking for help when you need it. Remember, HOPE stands for Helping Other People Everyday!

Opportunity & Optimism

What opportunities do you have in front of you? Which opportunities provide the most passion for you? If there aren’t any obvious opportunities available, we need to create the opportunity. We start each new day with a plan, but many times, that plan changes as new opportunities arise. Be open to any and all opportunities that surface, and embrace new opportunities with your full attention and abilities. 

Positive Mental Attitude or PMA will differentiate you from the pack. Especially if you are consistent in your practice of PMA. Being optimistic is contagious. It allows those around you to embrace your positivity and creates a very positive and engaging work environment. Bring your PMA daily, especially in the face of uncertainty or adversity. It was not an accident that I created an Executive Coaching, Mastermind Mentoring, Performance Development, and fractional Chief People Officer firm called PMA, or Performance Mindset Associates. Your attitude, each and every day, will dictate where that day goes. 

Preparation & Purpose

Those who take the time to plan and prepare execute better than those who ‘wing it’ or ‘shoot from the hip.’ Preparation breeds success and is a key trait on your journey towards success. Take the necessary time to think, plan, and prepare. Research, collect the necessary data, analyze the data to draw commonsensical conclusions, and apply this new-found knowledge to separate you from the competition. 

You require a purpose to reach your potential. You need a direction, a plan, an objective, a goal to work towards. According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, purpose, as a noun, is “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.” Your purpose needs to become your passion. That purpose drives your discipline, your resilience, your resourcefulness, your courage, and your passion. 

Execution & Evaluation 

In any role, we are paid for our performance. Execution is the single most important item you can display when winning a new client, getting a promotion, or driving revenue. Your ability to deliver results through your ability to execute is everything. Execution becomes your Power Stories, your accomplishments, your achievements. Focus on execution by working backwards from the best possible result. Then maintain your daily focus on executing through each phase of your project or program. 

Evaluation is critical to uncover missed opportunities, best practices, and areas for improvement. You need to perform a self-assessment throughout your career, and especially following a large assignment or project to identify to good, the bad, and, sometimes, even the ugly. Being vocally self-critical and coachable are very important to your future self. Evaluate your performance, the performance of those around you, and your leadership’s performance. Develop a continuous improvement mindset with everything you do going forward. 

Now you can see that HOPE is a strategy for success. I hope you found this new strategy helpful!

Mark Krajnik, LSSGB, CPC, (The Culture Coach) is the CEO at Performance Mindset Associates (PMA). Mark is a tenured Talent Strategist, Executive Coach, and experienced people leader, and offers fractional chief people officer services. He is an Executive Talent Leader in recruitment operations, executive search, talent acquisition, L&D, culture coaching, human capital consulting, change management, and talent management. He is very passionate about people, building high-performance teams, creating retention-focused cultures, and career development. He brings a focus on performance, execution, creative problem solving, and goal achievement. Please go to performancemindset.co for more information or send an email to info@performancemindset.co.