Dr. Covey is best known for his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” His books have sold more than 20 million copies in 38 languages and “Forbes” named the 7 Habits book one of the top 10 most influential management books ever written.

“Dr. Covey’s life’s work has been to teach principle-centered leadership and that is a key part of what we do here at the Huntsman School of Business,” Anderson said. “We know the work we will do with him will leave a legacy in the lives of our students.”

  Dr. Covey said, “Because of its deep commitment to the long-term promotion of universal, timeless principles of success in life and business—principles such as integrity, trust and service—I’m absolutely thrilled to associate myself with the Huntsman School. They understand that by instilling in today’s students a principled, new mindset and skill-set—one equal to the complex demands and challenges of today’s new global, economic, societal reality—they will produce generations of leaders who will not only serve and lead their families and communities with greatness.”

The key to being proactive is remembering that between stimulus and response there is a space. That space represents our choice- how we will choose to respond to any given situation, person, thought or event. Imagine a pause button between stimulus and response-a button you can engage to pause and think about what is the principle-based response to your given situation. Listen to what your conscience tells you. Listen for what is wise and the principle-based thing to do, and then act. Have you done this? I would love to hear how your experiences have changed.

Remember being proactive becomes much more powerful when connected and related to the other habits. The key to the habits is the power of their combined synergy and meaningful purpose.

Join my free social learning community at www.stephencovey.com

When Andrew Cherng, co-founder of Panda Express, read Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s, The 8^th Habit, he found something intriguing in the back of the book-a CD with video clip from A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Cherng already knew, firsthand, how powerful the 7 Habits could be.  But, could children as young as kindergarten be taught the timeless principles? Andrew and Peggy Cherng decided to visit the school.

The theme at A.B. Combs is leadership. It permeates everything they do and every choice they make. They do not believe that every child will be or should be a CEO. Rather they focus on leadership principles with the 7 Habits as their foundation.

Leadership principles:

• Helping students take responsibility for their lives.
• Working with others more effectively.
• Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

The 7 Habits:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive You’re in Charge
• Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind Have a Plan
• Habit 3: Put First Things First Work First, Then Play
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win Everyone Can Win
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Listen Before You Talk
• Habit 6: Synergize Together is Better
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Balance Feels Best

What would be different in your business if the children of today/your future employees came to you with these principles already firmly established?

“When we recruit leaders, we like to see people who are able to project their passion, who have self-confidence, and who have the right attitude to really face the unknowns and the uncertainties that we all face every day in our personal or career lives. I saw all those traits in the children at A.B. Combs.” – Peggy Cherng.

Andrew and Peggy Cherng decided to sponsor six schools in their community.

Since then Panda Express has committed to sponsoring three additional schools and many other businesses have seen the potential in The Leader in Me and decided to sponsor schools.

We only get one chance to prepare our students for a future that none of us can possibly predict.  What are we going to do with that one chance?

 For more information, go to www.TheLeaderInMe.org or call (800) 272-6839.

 Author: Judy Yauch, FranklinCovey Education Solutions

 

One of the great opportunities this downturn has created is the selling of how to do something in a crisis.  I get many emails a week offering to educate me on how to do something I thought I knew how to do, but no apparently do not because we are in a crisis and everything is different.  ‘How to lead in a crisis’, how to project manage in a crisis’, ‘how to sell in a crisis’, ‘how to buy a car in a crisis’, ‘how to make French onion soup in a crisis’ (well, that one wasn’t real).    While everyone is on the bandwagon, they are with good cause.  The crisis demands at times new actions for new challenges.  However, at other times, what it demands is a recommitment to what has always worked, but was less understood in good times.  This is the case with leadership.

Given that our job as leaders is ultimately to get results through our teams, and given that declining results are one of the big problems in this economy, then our problem to solve is results.  And, given that we need to achieve results through people, our challenge is to help a group of people who are bombarded daily both in the workplace and the press with dour forecasts for the future, feel motivated, energized and engaged. 

The good news is not only is it possible, it is probable if the leader does the right things.  A crisis sets the stage for the leverage and changing of the most powerful force over behavior in an organization – culture.

Culture is at work every moment.  It is the influence that causes us to behave one way or another, consistent with direction, or against it.  If we want to lead in a crisis, we need to understand that everything we say, ask and do will be processed through this filter called culture.  There is no way around it, and no way to force your way through it.  Culture will have its way with you. 

That does not mean you can’t affect it.  In fact, you affect it with everything you do.  Understanding it, and leading in a way that positively impacts it will create the most significant impact possible. 

On our webcast, which you can access for free at www.franklincovey.com/webcasts, we discussed 10 ideas for positively impacting culture.  They grouped into four main categories – imperatives in fact – that a leader should observe if they want to lead effectively.  They are:

• 1. Building trust
• 2. Clarifying purpose, both long range and near term
• 3. Aligning the systems of the company to help everyone get their job done
• 4. Unleashing the talent there is there, today, in your organization, ready to help.

I encourage you to listen to the webcast and try out at least one of the ideas mentioned to help your team help you on through the crisis.