5 C's for Success!!

For the first time in several years I was asked to teach the Corporate Finance course for Southwestern College this fall. As I prepared I was reminded of the 5 C’s of credit that banks and other financial institutions use to determine credit worthiness of potential clients. The 5 C’s of credit are character, capital, capacity, conditions, and collateral. Success in life or in the business world also has 5 C’s. We’ll take some time and visit about the 5 C’s of success.

First, in order to succeed in the long term we must realize that each day is a series of choices. Ultimately those choices determine who we are and what we do in life. While some choose to study and work to get ahead others choose a recreation priority. Our great country has attempted to provide equal opportunity, we have mistaken that to include equal outcome. Outcomes are determined by the choices made when given opportunity.

The second key to success is becoming consistent in applying the things we learn and the experiences we have gained. To be able to perform something well once is not enough. We must practice until performance at a high level is a repetitive almost monotonous activity. Consistency in performance is developed by good habits: good habits are developed by finding successful methods and using them over and over.

Communication is the third C on the journey to success. We can never rest and think that our individual or corporate communication has arrived. Having worked with approximately twenty companies of various sizes in my consulting business yielded one thing they each had in common. No matter how well they appeared to communicate, a company survey always revealed a need for communication to be improved.

The day of the “lone wolf” is almost gone in our society. The need for our fourth C, collaboration, becomes more important as time goes by. Little is accomplished today by singleness of effort. In families, businesses, churches, and schools much can be gained by working together. Collaborative effort makes possible Steven Covey’s “third alternative” where two or more people come together with ideas that are blended into a superior final consensus that can be used and adjusted where necessary.

Effective use of the first four C’s positions an organization or an individual to be successful in using the final C, making a contribution. That contribution can be to our family, our company, or even to our society but it becomes much larger than it might have been. Ultimately we are largely judged by the contribution we make to the organizations we align ourselves with. By keeping in mind and developing the C’s of success we can maximize our contribution to the causes we choose as worthy of our time.