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As you develop personal “awareness” you become more and more mindful of yourself and your surroundings. You pay attention to what you are doing and saying. Your actions become very refined. High levels of proficiency are achieved typically thru hard meditation, but if you do not have time to meditate, it does not hurt to do it the best you can on a day to day basis.

In the workplace, you need to have “extreme awareness” of the following:

• Your customer: Who is this guy? Or gal? What do they want? Why do they want it? When do they want it?
• Your competition: Who else is trying to get to your customer before you?
• Your capabilities: Do you have what it takes to make and keep a promise to your customer? This includes money, equipment, and talented people. Do you need hard skills? Soft skills?
• Your operations: Do you know the steps to create your product or service and deliver it to your customer?
• Your financials: What actions generates revenue? When does revenue become cash? How much cash do you need on a daily basis?
• Your risks: What events are likely to bust your business model and your bubble? Which of those events are likely to happen and when? Are there trends you need to look out for?

Just as meditation teaches you, awareness starts with “observing.” Great designers, scientists, and poets produce memorable artifacts and they all start with observation. Observe the above in your workplace to get started.

The beauty of awareness and observing is that it forces you to be in the moment. When you are in the moment, there is no time to think about failure or success. You are left only with the joy of pure performance.