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FranklinCovey Blog | August, 2009
Rule 1: Embrace Change
Embracing change begins with desire. Without the desire to change it is inevitable that change will not occur. Desire is the first step in the 7 rules for positive change (more about the remaining rules to come.) This desire needs to spring up from you and you alone-no one can do it for you. It lies deep with in the recesses of your own heart and soul.
I have found that desire can come from:
1. A bold vision of a better future
2. You’re unhappy with where you are right now (emotional pain)
3. Learning from your behavior and evaluating the results (trying to get better)
Let’s explore each of these. › Continue reading
Becoming a Trim Tab at Work
Imagine you are at the helm of a huge ship moving forward at high speed. You’re the driver, you control the direction of this ship. Now, how is it possible for a single, small person to change the course of something so massive?
To change the ship’s course, you move a steering wheel that operates a rudder, which then turns the ship. But the rudder itself can be enormous, perhaps even ten stories tall on some ocean liners. So what moves the rudder?
A tiny second rudder called a trim tab, which is attached to the big rudder. › Continue reading
Focus Your Mind
The only way to enjoy an experience is to actually be there for it, mentally as well as physically. I’ve been at high school football games where every parent in the stands is “there” physically, but thumbing away on their Blackberry. Guess what? Everybody, including the kid you’re there to watch, knows you aren’t “there.” And how much fun are you having? You didn’t see the spectacular catch at the 10 yard line or the cheerleader stunts on the sidelines. You didn’t smell the hot dogs or feel the breeze. You sat in the car taking a call during halftime and missed the high school band version of Led Zeppelin hits. But hey, you were “there.”
I know, I know, you’re already trying to eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep, all while leading in the workplace, your family, and the community, and now I’m telling you that you must actually be mentally present for all of that? Yes. What difference does it make what you’re physically doing if you’re not experiencing it?
Unfortunately, being mentally present is no easier that staying physically fit. It takes effort. In its natural state, your mind operates much like a car radio on “scan.” It plays a little bit of one station then goes to the next station, jumping about from one song to the other. Another way to think about it is your mind is like a stream, always rolling along from one thing to another. If you stay on the surface of the water, when the winds pick up, you will be rocked about with the rapids. But if you have invested the time necessary to focus your mind, to remain present and focused, when the winds come you can dive to the deepest part of a pool, down deep where everything is still despite the rapids on the surface. And you’ll actually experience things!
Executive Mamas recognize it requires tremendous discipline to maintain mental focus on the present moment and they work at it. A couple of resources I’ve found particularly helpful (not endorsed by FranklinCovey Company, simply recommendations from Jennifer Colosimo among the many existing options) are books, audio, and practices taught by Eckhart Tolle and Eknath Easwaran.
Author: Jennifer Colosimo, Vice President of Sales and Delivery Effectiveness at FranklinCovey
What gets in the way of change?
Greetings, great ones. Have you every wondered what really gets in the way of people changing and improving their own lives? Most New Years resolutions end in failure; close to 90% of the goals we set fail by the end of the year. What gets in the way our good intentions? Well an understanding of why most people resist change can help us all change.
Over the years I have discovered 5 key barriers that keep us from making the progress we want to make.
1. Fear of the unknown and general uncertainty:
At times we allow ourselves to lock-up with fear and become paralyzed with uncertainty. Because change is happening so rapidly we fear the potential negative effects of what is going on around us.
Fear and worrying about things we cannot control, will waste much of our energy. We will never regret putting our energy where our biggest leverage points are in our life, and focusing on the things that we can control instead of those we cannot. › Continue reading
Simplification Reduces Uncertainty
On July 11, Apple celebrated the first anniversary of the App Store. One year and more than 1 billion downloads later, the App Store has revolutionized the software market and chalked up a wildly successful year in the middle of one of the deepest downturns in business history.
They did this by applying a key principle from Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times: focusing simply on the job real customers want done. Clearly, the App Store is successful because it allows customers to get exactly what they want immediately and in a simple and inexpensive way. As we said in the book, “Simplification reduces uncertainty. You can get more predictable results if you focus on simple, high-value offerings for the customer.”
Is the App Store simple? Absolutely. Search the catalog for what you want, and buy with one click.
Is the App Store “high-value”? Absolutely. You get low-cost applications that solve such pesky everyday problems as remembering your schedule, counting calories, and checking the weather, as well as giving you instant access to your favorite music.
We agree with the comment from Domonic on our previous post, who contributed this insight: “One of the biggest challenges I see is that people are focused more on what they have to offer than really identifying the needs of the market. They are telling the market what it needs instead of listening to clients and letting them identify what the true need is.” So true.
So many organizations just don’t get it. They are, as Domonic says, focused inwardly on what they have to offer while deluding themselves that they are customer focused. In crazy, unpredictable times, customers are very careful, but they do know a good deal when they see it.
If the App Store can solve one of my problems right now and for 99 cents, I’ll buy. And, it so happens, so will a billion other people.
So what are you doing to focus more on your customers in these wild times? Is it paying off for you? We’d love to hear.
Check out videos and tools from the book Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times
Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times
If there’s one thing that’s certain in the business world, it’s uncertainty.
Who would have thought a couple of years ago that giant corporations would be toppling overnight? That gas prices would rise sky high and then collapse again within a few days? That the economic boom would implode into the worst recession in 50 years?
But even in unpredictable times like these, some companies still perform with excellence. How do they do it? What principles do they follow? This blog is a place where we will discuss exactly that. It is a place where we can share insights and successes.
The book Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, a new book by Stephen R. Covey and Bob Whitman, chairman of FranklinCovey, captures four key principles for getting great performance in good times and bad.
First, winning companies slim down to a few key simple goals with clear targets and careful follow-through. Everybody in the firm knows the goals and what to do about them. › Continue reading