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

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.

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."

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

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 obst