Customer Reviews

8 Ways to Great: Peak Performance on the Job and in Your Life

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My inbox is awash these days with thoughts on New Year's resolutions. It's either from friends telling me what theirs are, asking me what mine are (here's a hint - I don't make any) or from people promising a mystical way to make New Year's resolutions manifest.

It's all wonderful from the standpoint of tradition.

However, I think many people are once again being set up for their annual disappointment when their quest for the best job ever, the best weight-loss results ever or their "best whatever " initiative fails to manifest for another year.

As a strategy advisor to Fortune 25 companies, I have watched many companies and projects also set out to achieve their best project ever, only to fail for the same reasons.

As human beings, we are more predictable than we would like to believe.

So when I first took a look at Dr. Doug Hirschhorn's book "8 Ways to Great", I thought "uh huh - another self improvement book to go into the pile of books promising me eternal youth, unlimited wealth, dinner with the Queen and the Pope and just about anything else people dream up."

How wrong I was.

Dr. Hirschhorn is a performance coach and executive trainer who works with high achievers in the trading business. He has conducted workshops at financial institutions and corporations across the US and has been a guest on many TV programs, including the Today show, The Big Idea, Fast Money and Power Lunch. His background is as a trader AND a sports psychologist - a powerful combination when it comes to personal improvement. This book is described as "hard hitting and pragmatic".

With my many years on Wall Street, this background and description intrigued me. My ultra-left-brained outlook on personal improvement needed to know more. After all, I like to give others an occasional cranial defibrillation - I was overdue for one myself.

I was not disappointed.

As a matter of fact, it was Dr. Hirschhorn's pragmatism as well as his deep insight that makes this book so powerful.

He opens with a powerful self-exploration of what your life passion is. In other words - "Why do you think you are on this planet?". He doesn't focus on what you think you do well, After all, many of us do things well that we absolutely hate and therefore wouldn't want to be trapped into a lifetime of doing it. If I just inadvertently described you, then you REALLY need this book.

As the author notes:

"There's nothing magical about why why works. It's all a matter of perspective. Knowing why you want to do something shifts your perspective from the negative to the positive. Instead of getting that sinking feeling in your stomach because you're asking "How am I ever going to be able to do this?" you'll be buoyed up by knowing "I have to do this because .....""

In essence, if you can't get passionate about it, how will you ever put the energy and action into it to produce the results you want and what will give you the fuel to persevere when you encounter challenges and obstacles?

All things being equal, your passion will carry you across the goal-line.

Having determined your "why", the author walks you through the steps to translate your "why" into goals that follow the CHAMP® system. Dr. Hirschhorn suggests that your goals must be:

Controllable
Hard
Accountable
Measurable
Positive

What a breath of fresh air this system is. Most people go about setting goals that are fuzzy, indefinable, immeasurable or rely on some alignment of the stars or their personal connection to the cosmos. No wonder when you meet these people every year, they are still working on manifesting the same goals (and you hear "but this year, it's going to be different").

Dr. Hirschhorn brings us back to reality - a way of defining goals that are within our ability to achieve.

In the rest of the book, he guides you through the steps to bringing your goals alive, to move towards them with unwavering precision and to grow your inner confidence as you achieve your goals and aspire towards greater ones.

As he guides you, he enlightens you on what he believes are The "8 Ways to Great":

1. Let your true passion be your core motivation.

2. Develop self-awareness and use what you know about both your strengths and weaknesses.

3. Set goals and game plans-and learn to love this process, because it is all about the process.

4. Identify your competitive advantage-what sets you apart and what will turn the odds in your favor.

5. Develop inner confidence that keeps you from judging yourself based on other's standards and expectations.

6. Keep your cool-and don't let emotions dictate your decisions.

7. Take risks yet act intelligently with imperfect information.

8. Be accountable.

They are powerful when applied effectively!

Having this book at your side is like having a high-priced, high-performance coach sitting there with you, guiding you through the process of lifting your life to a new level.

What I also appreciate is that Dr. Hirschhorn is not just spouting off some goal-setting mantra that so many authors re-hash and cast off as something new.

He is sharing a process that he has repeated over and over with successful people. His track record is impressive.

Who wouldn't want to have access to a personal coach like this?

After my many years of providing strategic and tactical guidance to corporate leaders, I found much within "8 Ways to Great" that I didn't know.

For that, I am grateful for Dr. Hirschhorn's book.

I think you will be as well once you have read it.

Harry

Thoughts on "8 Ways to Great" by Dr. Doug Hirschhorn.

I am a 52 year-old trader and have read countless books on the psychology of proprietary trading. Dr. Doug's book was the best for me because it encouraged me and helped me know me.

My favorite parts of this short course to a better career game-plan include:

ENCOURAGEMENT: If you know your "why" and love what you do, you will be doing it when your abilities or methodology become best suited for success. Others will have quit long ago. However, being an individual does not guarantee your success. Rather, looking at the world in a way different than most is necessary but not sufficient for future success. Do something because you love it. Success may not be immediate but it will likely come. In the meanwhile, doing something you love will not be not work.

HELPING ME KNOW ME: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Understanding your own strengths and what the attendant weaknesses are the key to choosing a career path. What is unique about you that you can emphasize and hone to create abilities like few others? This approach helped prepare me for my decision-making inflection points. Now my trading decisions are more of an out-of-body experience and more fun and I usually do not repeat mistakes.

Dr. Doug has found that the great traders often are/have
Aggressive
Analytical - The thought process is what makes great traders great
Calm
Careful about making decisions
Confident
Consistent
Courageous
Curious
Disciplined
Does not have a large ego
Focused
Goals - controllable, hard, accountable, measurable, positive
Keep a journal
Learn from your mistakes
Methodical/organized
Plan - make one and stick to it
Resilient
Self-aware
Smart
Trusts their instincts
Wants to learn
Work to enhance and emphasize your positive traits

Jack Welch said "If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete."
Abraham Lincoln said "I do the best I know how and I mean to keep doing it to the end."
Benjamin Franklin said "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

Dr. Doug's book is simple, profound, and elegant in its ability to get right to the core of what we can do -- if we so choose! -- to find our place of Great. This is not a self-help book as much as a primer for getting past good and moving confidently in the direction that most people only dream of, and that's greatness. Clearly this guy knows how to harness greatness, as he writes with authority, clarity and wisdom. Reading this book won't make you feel good; however, if you follow Dr. Doug's advice, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish, and through your actions, you will surely feel great. The perfect book for our times. 8 Ways to Great is just that, GREAT. Thank you.

Note: This review appeared originally on CR4: The Engineer's Place for News and Discusion in two parts.

Part 1
[...]
What do hedge fund managers really have in common with engineers? And why would someone who advises Wall's Street elite want to develop a dialog with a community of technical professionals? In 8 Ways to Great: Peak Performance on the Job and in Your Life, Dr. Doug Hirschhorn provides a practical, hands-on approach to career development. By putting these principles into practice, workers from all walks of life can reach the top of their game.

A performance coach, executive trainer, and television personality, Dr. Doug Hirschhorn is also a part of the CR4 community. Last year, at the height of the financial crisis, Dr. Doug blogged with us for the first time - and met his share of resistance. Anger at Wall Street burned hot, but Hirschhorn kept his cool. By engaging our engineers in extended conversations, the former trader refused to be a victim of guilt by association.

Hirschhorn's ability to reach an audience beyond Wall Street is also evident in 8 Ways to Great. In the book's introductory chapter, he challenges readers who ask what they could possibly learn from "the same guys who blew up and lost billions of dollars in the recent stock market meltdown." Some traders are better than others, of course, and Dr. Doug's clients are an experienced elite who "not only survived but even thrived" during the darkest days of the Great Recession.

The Eight Principles

In just over 110 pages, Dr. Doug Hirschhorn outlines eight important principles.

Principle #1: Find Your "Why?"

Why do you do what you do? What is your "core motivation", as Hirschhorn calls your "why"? Even for high-flying Wall Street traders, the "why" involves more than making money. Challenge, excitement, and job satisfaction are powerful drivers. So stop asking "how" and start asking "why", Dr. Doug advises. First, figure out what's "driving your engine". If you ask the "how" questions for starters, you'll only feel "deflated" at what's involved.

Principle #2: Get to Know Yourself

Passion puts elite traders on a path to peak performance, but it's their "high degree of self-awareness" that enables them to "make the most of their strengths and minimize the impact of their weaknesses". In this chapter, Dr. Doug asks readers to list their own pros and cons - and then muddies the water to offer a fresh perspective.

For example, difficulty delegating tasks may be your weakness, but you can leverage this trait to demand (and receive) only the best from your employees. Conversely, your ability to work long hours may be your strength, but job-related burnout is also your Achilles heel. With self-awareness, however, Dr. Doug argues that can maintain your equilibrium.

Principle #3: Learn to Love the Process

According to Hirschhorn, there are two types of goals: long-term "outcome goals" and short-term "process goals". Then there's clarity of vision. Before beginning your journey, you must learn to see through a glass darkly. Where do you want to be in one year or ten? The future is uncertain, of course, but you need a vision for yourself so that you can set appropriate short-term goals.

Dr. Doug's prescription is an acronym called C.H.A.M.P.® where the letters stand for controllable, hard, accountable, measurable, and positive. Controllable means that the goal is completely within your control and not at the mercy of external variables. Hard pushes you to the limit while accountable requires you to take responsibility for your actions. Measurable means metric-able and positive emphasizes the possibility of reward.

Principle #4: Sharpen Your Edge

A double-edged sword is better than a single-edged sword, but not if you fall on it. In this chapter, Hirschhorn likens "gaining a competitive advantage" to a well-honed, two-sided sword. To sharpen the side that represents your internal skills, start "by doing more of what you're good at and finding a way to neutralize what you're not so good at". To sharpen the side that represents your external knowledge, "gather as much information as you can and use it to make the best decisions."

Still, there are no guarantees. So when you're taking a risk, Dr. Doug recommends thinking like a casino rather than a gambler blinded by glitter and glitz. Engineers may work far from Wall Street, but they can "do the math" as well as any trader.

********************************************

Part 2
[...]

Why is losing sometimes better than winning? What does it mean to live on the left side of your but? And why would workers far from Wall Street listen to an adviser to traders about the importance of "accountability"?

In 8 Ways to Great: Peak Performance on the Job and in Your Life, Dr. Doug Hirschhorn shares career advice he's given to elite Wall Street traders. "This book", the performance coach and TV personality explains, "is about how super-successful people think".

Critics will complain, as Dr. Doug notes, that these traders are "the same guys who blew up and lost billions of dollars in the recent stock market meltdown." Hirschhorn's clients are "coming straight through the eye of the storm", however, he says, and the lessons of 8 Ways to Great aren't limited to one occupation. In fact, for almost a year now, Dr. Doug has been part of our engineering community here at CR4.

Yesterday, Part 1 of this series described the first four principles of 8 Ways to Great. Today's installment reviews the final four lessons.

Principle #5: Be All That You Can Be

What does an old recruiting slogan for the U.S. Army have to do with career success during the Great Recession? Plenty. "Confidence," Dr. Doug explains, "should come from within". Today's headlines may be filled with news about layoffs and Wall Street bonuses, but worry is no more productive than envy - or anger.

Don't compare yourself to your colleagues, Hirschhorn recommends, and remember that "the elite in any field are independent thinkers." Stay positive in the face of adversity, but don't rest on your laurels either. Outcomes are important, but "how well you performed" during the process matters, too.

Principle #6: Keep Your Cool

"When you're making any kind of decision," Hirschhorn advises, "the most dangerous thing you can do is to allow yourself to become emotional or to get overly invested in the need to be right". In a sense then, ego and emotions are a double-edged sword that rivals the one forged of skills and knowledge in Principle #4: Sharpen Your Edge.

Principle #6 also explains how losing is sometimes better than winning. To win when you're losing, "you make the decision you need to make instead of the one you might want to make," Dr. Doug writes. For example, consider the case of a seller who needs to unload a home for a job-related move out-of-state. No one wants to sell a home at a loss, but a wise worker might conclude that in a down market, such a sale is part of the price of making a fresh start.

Principle #7: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

"Traders know they're operating in a world with erratic highs and lows," Hirschhorn writes, but who likes to be uncomfortable? In this chapter then, Dr. Doug dismisses the illusion of "the perfect moment" in life. "Success is a game of probabilities," he explains, and anything worth doing is worth doing now. After all, you can't succeed if you don't try.

The left side of the brain is your logical one, so don't let irrational fears lead to inaction. "All those 'buts'," Hirschhorn writes about excuses, "are what keep people sitting on their butts instead of getting up and doing something to get themselves where they say they really want to be". Learning from your mistakes and using volatility to create opportunities are keys to professional success. The career of Warren Buffet, one of the world's best-known and most successful investors, illustrates Dr. Doug's point.

Principle #8: Make Yourself Accountable

Accountability and discipline aren't words that many readers associate with Wall Street these days, but both principles are paramount for Dr. Doug Hirschhorn and his clients. "Word without action are just philosophy", this holder of a Ph.D. in psychology explains, and mere goal-setting is not enough.

"What if you can't find a compellingly positive reason to change?," Hirschhorn then asks. "You may need to find your motivation in the unpleasant consequence of not changing," he answers. All of Wall Street won't learn Dr. Doug Hirschhorn's lessons, of course, but now workers in other walks of life can.

This is a must read for every trader and investor.
Traders ought to keep this book within reach for quick stimulus, centering your mind and focus, and gaining ah-ha insights in good, mediocre and bad times.
I have recommended it to every trader and investor I know.
Readers also will find inspiration for putting the author's words into productive action.

Traders and non-investors alike can profit from reading and implementing Dr. Hirschhorn's eight principles for success.

Many of the authors discussions and examples are based around his coaching and consulting work with the Wall Street traders, but all of his tips apply in any other context: find your why (your passion), develop self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, set goals, be accountable, be cool under pressure, and the list goes on. It's a light read and a good one if you are looking to reinvigorate your own thinking and your performance. However, at the same time, if you have already picked up some books in the "self improvement" genre, then you probably won't find these ideas remarkably new.

I picked up this book mainly because the premise seemed simple and practical, and it didn't disappoint. Whether you use this in your personal or business life, there are a lot of gems in this little book. I think it's going to be one that I'll read at least a couple of times a year. Well worth the time.

I read A LOT of business books, 8 Ways to Great is definitely at the top. Unlike many biz authors, Hirschhorn doesn't just offer tips and "helpful" hints, but instead delivers a new way to think about moving ahead in your field and in your personal life. I found it interesting to learn about the trader's thought processes (e.g. they are definitely not gamblers) and how to apply that logic to other areas of life. The book is very well organized and full of helpful (and entertaining) anecdotes and case studies. The section on how to approach the sale or acquisition of real estate was especially memorable. The book will definitely encourage you to re-think the way you think. Extremely well written and reasoned.

This book is well written but is full of really industry specific analogies and advice.

It does have 8 concepts that can be applied to making your life more effective but a lot of the content is driven around what it is like to be a rockstar trader. I wouldn't say that this is the life that everyone wants. To be fair, the author does go on to point out ways that his principles can be applied to everyday life but in general I left reading the book without being inspired to make immediate change.

I could have saved the time I read the book by reading the last couple of pages. Meh, oh well....

I have read dozens of self-help books and this is one of the best. In Summary most of the books that I have read all say the same thing: Set goals and work to achieve your goals but they do not say how you can get yourself motivated to succeed which is the "Why" in this book. You then break down who you are and then try to find your edge which is what will help you make better decisions, and help better market yourslf or your product/service. You are also taught to have no limits and ignore what the guy next to you in doing and focus on doing your very best. Finally, you need to create a way to be accountable to yourself or someone else to make sure you do what you need to do every day. This book is a quick read with a great framework to get yourself on track for success in any endeavor or occupation. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read another self-help book and didn't know how to use the book to accomplish their goals.