FranklinCovey Blog | Control
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
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
Five tips to reduce your stress: TIP #2
Have some of your colleagues been laid off recently? Are you being asked to pull up the slack and do more with less?
You’re not alone.
I mean, there are still other people in your organization, right?
Tip#2: Embrace Others
Odds are, when you’re working fast and furious, there is probably someone, somewhere in your organization that may have some downtime, or they’re worried about not being aligned with strategic projects. Find them. Grab them. Capitalize on their skills. And have them chip in. People are generally happier when they’re engaged and contributing. Sure, quality might slip a bit and it might take longer for you to get that project done. But there is a huge feeling of relief when you delegate a task to someone and you go back to your office and are able to tackle something else. And there is an even better feeling when they come back to you and the project is finished and better than if you did it yourself. › Continue reading


