Success is a tricky topic as I’ve covered here before. It may have even become the topic I write about the most. It’s been top of mind as it’s one of the biggest mindset shifts I’ve gone through going from being a consultant to the corporate side of the house. When you are a consultant, success is relatively straightforward because it’s tied to projects; it’s highly measurable. Success on the corporate side is different, it’s much more difficult to measure and occurs over a longer period of time.
The measuring of success can be tricky. Do you tie it to personal, group, or corporate success? If a combination, how do you weight the various elements? If you are doing something new, how do you define success? If you are working cross-functionally, how does your success tie to other groups?
There is no right answer to the topic. The hard part is stopping to actually think about it. Stopping to think is a critical step in the process. Stopping may feel unproductive but often it is the most productive time you can have.