The Success Code is a book about selling yourself and projecting your character with confidence, written for people who hate this type of thing. Concepts covered include career networking, sales pitching and self promotion.
The Success Code by John Lees
The Success Code is a book about how to advance your career with self projection.
It’s an easy read, with bullet points for key takeaways at the start and finish of each chapter.
Personally, I think it’s a little limited. For a start it measures success purely as traditional career progression, which alot of people don’t strive for anymore. But there is some good stuff here in any case.
Below are some of the key insights I took from this book:
Key Insights
- Authentic self projection is a better goal then mere self promotion.
- People like being listened to, not sold.
- You are always self projecting. Even when not consciously selling.
- Personal branding is a fact. So be impeccable in thought and deed.
- You need to have explicit intention to create an effective personal brand.
- Face to face matters more than ever. Find a way to be remembered.
- Showing beats telling. Listening beats selling.
- Work with communication structures. Plan and practice. Experiment
- Networking is necessary. Start small but keep building out.
- Start with the end in mind (Seven Habits) when making soft connections.
- Use the Zone System (Support > Feedback > Mapping > Experiment > Exploration > Encounter > Commitment) to deepen contacts over time.
- Always communicate with clarity in the most personal medium available.
- Visualise, simplify and style every presentation. First three sentences by heart.
- Don’t do politics. Be consistent. Focus on what’s important to all.
- When looking for jobs. Be the standout candidate (Linchpin) so you can forget about trying to convince someone you are good.