Think of the one skill in your professional work that, if you took it up to the level of mastery, would SIGNIFICANTLY elevate your performance, results and reputation.

🔹 Choose your skill. Bring it to your mind.
🔹 Now ask yourself: “What’s my practice for that?”

Practice is your unfair advantage. Unfair because no one else is using it!

Most nonconsciously attribute it to musicians, performers, sportspeople, children, novices. Not for grown-up professionals. So, they don’t even think to use it.

Of the few who do think to use it, most choose not to. Too-high risk; too uncomfortable; and they don’t like what they make “practice” mean about themselves.

The rare few willing to practice become sought-after.
Are you willing? 🤔

🔹 If you’re an individual contributor … how could you incorporate elements of this key skill into your working week?

🔹 If you’re a leader of projects and teams … how could you build in an element of practice to the project plan that has the team develop the key skills you want to see?

🔹 If you’re responsible for L&D … what percentage of your learning programmes are given over to practice versus instructing?

p.s. Be sure to make your practice DELIBERATE. That is to say: purposeful, targeted, structured, systematic, balanced.

There’s no sense grooving bad form by working on the wrong things, in the wrong way, because we’re past the point of good concentration.

Emulate the principles of any favourite sportsperson famed for their practice regime. I’d start with Ben Hogan …