Summary – The 8th Habit – From Effectiveness to Greatness – Stephen Covey<\/p>\n
In summary, the 8th Habit is all about finding your voice as an
\nindividual, as a team and as an organization.<\/p>\n
There are four disciplines which can help close the gap between
\nfocus and execution for any organization:<\/p>\n
1. Always focus on the one thing that is wildly important.
\nPeople are naturally wired to be able to do only one thing
\nat a time to a standard of excellence. Therefore, have just a
\nfew goals which are of the greatest strategic importance and
\nwhich will provide you with maximum leverage.<\/p>\n
To decide your organisation’s top two or three “wildly
\nimportant” goals:<\/p>\n
Use an importance screen
\nAsk: Which goals, if not achieved, would render all other
\ngoals to be of little or no consequence?
\nUse a stakeholder screen
\nAsk: Which goals are the most important for your
\nstakeholders?<\/p>\n
Use a strategic screen
\nAsk: What is the most consequential thing that can be done
\nto advance your strategy?<\/p>\n
2. Create a compelling scoreboard everyone will want to use.
\nPeople play differently whenever they know a score is being
\nkept. With this in mind, it’s vital that you create a scoreboard
\nwhich is highly visible and which will reflect how you’re
\ndoing. Your scoreboard needs to be highly visible and must
\nreflect progress towards your wildly important goals. It must
\nbe visible, dynamic and accessible. It also must be updated
\ndaily to reflect the impact of current events.
\nYour scoreboard may be in the form of a bar graph, a trend line,
\na pie chart, a Gantt chart or it might look like a thermometer
\nor speedometer. For example, a scoreboard for a services
\ncompany might look like this:<\/p>\n
3. Translate lofty goals into very specific actions.
\nThere’s always a vast difference between lofty goals and
\nwhat’s happening at the front line. The stated strategy is
\nwhat leaders talk about. The real strategy is what people do
\nevery day. Close the gap by explaining exactly what everyone
\nis supposed to do about the organization’s goals.<\/p>\n
Usually, this will take some creativity. You’ll have to identify
\nthe new and better behaviors needed to achieve your goals
\nand then translate those intentions into specific weekly and
\ndaily tasks. This is necessary, however, if you want the people
\nat the front lines to be suffi ciently empowered.<\/p>\n
4. Hold each other accountable for results all the time.
\nPeople need to meet together frequently – monthly, weekly
\nor daily – to account for progress on goals. These sessions
\nshould then help the organization to refocus on what’s wildly
\nimportant.<\/p>\n
To make these accountability sessions work, keep them brief.
\nFocus on three key issues only:<\/p>\n
A quick report on the vital few issues at hand.
\nA quick discussion on any viable new alternatives which
\nhave come to mind.<\/p>\n
A short give-and-take discussion where managers focus
\non clearing the path forward and removing obstacles for
\nthe people in the organization.<\/p>\n
The key to institutionalizing a culture of execution is to regularly
\nmeasure and track how well the organization is doing. Some
\npeople develop a collective measure of execution which is
\nanalogous to an IQ (intelligence quotient). This new measure
\n– xQ (execution quotient) – may be quantified by grassroots
\ninformation gathering at regular intervals. If the organization is
\ngetting better at executing, its xQ will rise.<\/p>\n
Once an organization becomes eff ective using the 8th Habit,
\nit can then use its voice to serve others. As this happens,
\norganizations will take the lead in solving some of society’s most
\npressing problems and needs. This will enhance the sustainability
\nof the organization and move society as a whole into an era of
\nwisdom that has never before been feasible. In this environment,
\norganizations will no longer be focused on “What’s in it for me?”
\nRather, the key question to be answered will become, “What can
\nwe contribute as an organization?” <\/p>\n
“I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of
\nmankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of
\nselfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.”
\n– John Rockefeller, Jr.<\/p>\n
“The surest way to reveal one’s character is not through adversity but
\nby giving them power.”
\n– Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n
“The inspiration of a noble cause involving human interests wide and
\nfar, enables men to do things they did not dream themselves capable of
\nbefore, and which they are not capable of alone. The consciousness of
\nbelonging, vitally, to something beyond individuality; of being part
\nof a personality that reached where we know not where, in space and
\ntime, greatens the heart to the limit of the soul’s ideal, and builds out
\nthe supreme of the character.”
\n– General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2005 Copyright Sound Ideas<\/p>\n
Find your voice… and inspire others to do likewise
\nFind your voice Inspire others to find their voices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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