Steve Martin’s advice is to be so good they can’t ignore you. I can imagine it still leaves some folks at a loss. Where do you focus on being good? And does it matter where you focus? Can everyone be an award winning banjo player like Martin? Be awesome at a few basics and you will stand out.

I got a wonderful note from a friend and former colleague Kelsey who let me know she just got a job at Apple and is moving to Cupertino. Although I didn’t know she was applying to Apple, her success is no surprise. She’s a star who continues to impress me as someone who embodies the “keep moving forward” attitude. She has the natural talent to eventually dominate anything she puts her mind to. Kelsey reminded me of advice I gave her long ago that stuck with her on where to focus on getting better: running a meeting, managing a project and speaking to an audience.

It seems like you should need to be awesome in something unique to stand out. Which is where this advice may seem strange. I don’t recommend finding some obscure unique skill. Nor do I think you have to have some innate talent as a starting point. I propose you focus on those things that everyone must do, and do them so well they can’t ignore you

Run a Meeting

Meetings are an unavoidable way of life in the work world. Running a meeting well will get you respect from everyone who attends it. Word will get around that your meetings are worth attending.

The basics here are simple and do not require any special skill. Here’s a short-list:

Be explicit about the purpose of the meeting in the invite
Send an agenda in advance (with topics, times and presenters)
Start and end on-time (for each agenda item, too)
Use a parking lot for off-topic subjects (and put time at the end of the agenda to review)
Distribute decisions and action items after (who is doing what by when)

I improved my meetings using these basic rules in an organization that was truly terrible at meetings. Across the organization meetings started late, ran over and had no purpose. As I followed these rules, my meetings got better. And after other leaders attended my meetings - my peers - I earned not only their attendance, but also their respect.

Manage a Project

Projects are any collection of tasks with an intended result. You don’t need to be a “project manager” to be responsible for managing projects. Whether they’re your own, or someone has asked you to coordinate a group of people to some deliverable. You need to know how to manage a project.

The basics here are based on organization and communication. It’s not difficult and it requires continuous vigilance. Here are the fundamentals:

Write down the stakeholders of the project (who is participating, who is depending on the results)
Write down the goal of the project (with as much of a SMART goal as possible)
Write down tasks that need to be done - be explicit about observable deliverables (more on that below)
Write down who is responsible for what task (assign individual names, not groups or departments)
Communicate to stakeholders the plan and the status of the plan (and each task)
Communicate to stakeholders before, during and after the project
When a deadline is missed (for a given task), set a new deadline (don’t leave missed deadlines on the plan)

Some keys to success here seem basic. Make sure you know the goal of the project. Know the stakeholders. Make sure all the stakeholders also know the goal. Write down these key facts and share them. As you’re tracking a project and things slip (they will), adjust and set new deadlines. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen projects with past-due deadlines that have become meaningless.

Be explicit about observable deliverables. Don’t let your tasks be abstract. I had a revelation when I had a project with tasks like “research new technology.” I found that I couldn’t know whether the task was complete. I found it much more effective to translate these tasks into something concrete. I changed that task to “E-mail the results of research on new technology to the stakeholders.” I knew it was done when I received the e-mail. Observe the completion of the task and you will avoid getting into a semantic discussion about whether it’s done or not.

Speak to an Audience

You will need to talk to an audience at some point in your career. You will need to share your ideas, your work, or your results. In business, we’re paid for results. It’s important to be able to share the impact of your results on the business in an effective presentation. You need to be be able to organize your thoughts and share them verbally to others so they understand.

One of the keys to an effective presentation is to become comfortable speaking in front of people. Skills and tips abound from all corners. Toastmasters is a national organization that is wonderful at helping folks speak to an audience. What Toastmasters knows and helps organize is that practice makes perfect. This organization creates a forum and progression for people to make speeches, get feedback and move forward. The more you speak to an audience, the more comfortable you become.

I had the benefit of of being in public speaking when I was in high school. I didn’t see myself as a particularly good speaker. I felt I was good at arguing, and I enjoyed debate. I decided to try its partner high-school forensics. After trying many individual events, I discovered extemporaneous speaking - an event that gave me 30 minutes to go from topic to delivering a 7-minute speech. I practiced. Every Saturday I competed. I eventually won first place in the final tournament of my high-school career. I give credit to doing it over and over.

While these three areas aren’t unique skills, they’re sorely lacking in most organizations. When you excel in these areas, you’ll stand-out. Just ask Kelsey.