Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Third Alternative

Stephen R. Covey has just released his new book "The Third Alternative".

This is one of Dr. Covey's principle-centered approaches to interpersonal relationships and group dynamics first introduced by him in his book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".

Now, many years later, we have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate this concept that Dr. Covey has been sharing and espousing for over 2 decades in more detail.

The idea is simple, but the power of fully engaging this concept and process is immense.  Basically, you have your viewpoint or opinion, others have theirs.  Sometimes you may want to push your ideas or decisions through, sometimes someone wants to impose their idea or decisions on you.  The 3rd Alternative is all about coming together, sharing ideas or potential decisions openly, honestly and safely with one another.  Discussing these things respectfully and, from that process, discovering a different choice, plan or decision altogether new and better, is "The Third Alternative."

So, as you go about your work life and personal life, keep this concept in mind - You have an opinion and a way of doing things, or a way you want to do things. Others have theirs.  Nobody's is necessarily superior or better, and if we are secure enough within ourselves to share our viewpoints, and to allow others to share theirs, we might just discover something new and better - a Third Alternative.

It's all about the idea of "synergy" that Dr. Covey often refers to.  The third alternative is a great example of synergy where you and I, together, create something greater than the sum of our parts, or greater than the sum of what we bring to the table (thoughts, ideas, talents, skills, opinions, decisions, plans, strategies, programs...).

To learn more, please click here

VIDEO: To watch Stephen R. Covey, himself, talk about the concept of "The 3rd Alternative" please click here.

Monday, August 15, 2011

The 5 Choices: Global launch continues. Improve your Productivity.

The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity

The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity teaches you how to achieve extraordinary results. This solution will empower you to achieve outcomes that have previously been outside your reach. It will enable you to make day-to-day decisions that are focused on your most important outcomes instead of focusing on the gravel that gets thrown at you constantly. You will learn to eliminate the activities that distract you from achieving your most important goals. The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity will guide you to a new paradigm of your roles, effective weekly and daily planning, technology mastery, and energy renewal for truly extraordinary achievements.

 

ACT ON THE IMPORTANT
don’t react to the urgent

FIND OUT HOW

 

GO FOR EXTRAORDINARY
don't settle for ordinary

FIND OUT HOW


 

RULE YOUR TECHNOLOGY
don't let it rule you

FIND OUT HOW

 

FUEL YOUR FIRE
don't burn out

FIND OUT HOW

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

FranklinCovey Launches a New Program - The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity

Franklin Covey is launching a new Productivity workshop focused on overcoming today's challenges with productivity and technology.  The workshop is called "The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity".

You are welcome to Click the link at the bottom of this posting to register for a free preview near you.

Find Out if You Are an Urgency Addict
You're an "Urgency Addict" if…
  • You sleep with your phone…and check it throughout the night.
  • You are upset if you don't get an immediate response to your email.
  • Every 15 minutes you check your phone for a new text.
  • You finish people's sentences for them…and sometimes you start them as well.
  • Complex problems are solved by the next commercial break, or you have a meltdown.
  • You mute a conference call to answer your cell phone.
  • You have ever answered your phone in the restroom.
  • An Air Force test pilot has less stress than you.
If you answered yes to three or more of the statements above, you are an "Urgency Addict." The average person spends 51percent of his or her time on urgencies.
Learn how to break your "Urgency Addiction." In FranklinCovey's newest solution, The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity™, you will learn how to transform your life by using five fundamental choices to dramatically increase your ability to achieve the most important outcomes.
Break the Addiction—Register Today!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Abundance, short video

There seems to be a lot of interest in the concept of Abundance and what it means to have an "abundance mentality".
Leadership Author and Speaker, John Maxwell, has a nice, short clip this week that examines the concept of Abundance.  You can find it here if you click on this link: http://johnmaxwellteam.com/abundance/
Make it an excellent week!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Relationship & Solution Selling Sales Training

Selected by http://www.trainingindustry.com/ for the 4th year in a row, Franklin Covey's "Sales Performance Practice" solution sales training is helping sales people, sales teams, and most importantly their clients, win and achieve what matters most, across North America and around the world.

As the article at this link highlights "Franklin Covey's Sales Performance Practice was selected because of their continued excellence in training sales professionals on selling skills and selling processes,"

"The practice's Helping Clients Succeed(TM) sales process breaks down dysfunctions in selling and buying and gives sales professionals the strategy, tools and skills to become trusted advisors to their clients."

For more information on this exceptional Solution and Consultative Sales Training, please click here.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Creating a Culture of Execution - Getting from Strategy to Results

Do you want to create high performance teams to achieve specific business results, or specific measurables?

Are you a leader with an excellent strategy, but don't know how, or can't get your people, to execute on that strategy?

Are you a leader or manager with challenges getting your people to focus on, and execute on, what is most important to you and your team or organization?

Do you have a great plan or strategy, but you can't implement it because the "day-job" or the "whirlwind" of day to day tasks, interruptions, firefighting, and regular responsibilities keeps getting in the way of making progress?

If you answered "yes" to any or all of the above, you're not alone.  Overcoming the above challenges is something almost every organization, or team, struggles with at one time or another, or perhaps constantly.

Franklin Covey has spent the past 9 years researching Organization & Business Execution in-depth.

The good news is, as a result of this research, we've found the answer, and the process, for achieving excellent execution, over and over again.

We call the solution "The 4 Disciplines of Execution"  click here to learn more

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said:
"I wouldn’t give a farthing for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."

This is a classic example of arriving at "simplicity on the other side of complexity".  And, oh, what a joy it is for hundreds of organizations who have adopted this simple, yet powerful process.

But don't be deceived by the simple model the 4 Disciplines presents.  As Chris McChesney, our Execution Practice Leader, often quotes, in the words of a client, "The 4 Disciplines says 'easy' but it does 'hard'."  What the client meant by this is that these disciplines read like "Business & Common Sense 101".  But what is common sense is often not common practice, and getting everyone executing on the most important goals, and pulling the right levers, all at the same time, is a challenge in any environment - whether at work or in our personal lives and families.

If you are a leader responsible for the activities and results of others and you would like to learn more about this, we have executive showcases across North America where you can go and learn more about this revolutionary new process.

In Ontario, our next sessions will be April 28 in Mississauga, and June 22 downtown Toronto.
Please click here to learn more

Please email me to register: steve2010@hotmail.com


A recent survey of more than 200 CEOs found that the top two challenges faced by executive leadership in today's economic environment are:

1. Excellence in Execution.
2. Consistent Execution of Strategy by Top Management.


There is no doubt that in a challenging economy, an organization's ability to execute its top strategic priorities is at a premium. Recent research on the topic of Strategic Goal Execution by Gallup and Harris Interactive Polling shows that:

  • Only 10% of managers are truly focused on what matters most to their organization.
  • 90% of managers are typically either distracted or disengaged from key priorities
Information workers typically devote only about 40% of their time to organizational priorities or tasks directly related to the organization's mission-critical objectives

As Ram Charan says in his book "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done":

"...the gap that nobody knows. It's symptomatic of the biggest problem facing corporations today... These are good companies. They have smart CEOs and talented people, they have inspiring visions, and they bring in the best consultants. Yet they, and many other companies as well, regularly fail to produce promised results. Then when they announce the shortfall, investors dump their stocks and enormous market value is obliterated. Managers and employees are demoralized. And increasingly, boards are forced to dump the CEOs."
Reference: "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done", by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, p.4, Crown Publishning, NY, NY, 2002

Is this a problem worth focusing on?

You bet it is.

To learn more about how to achieve excellence in execution with your team, division, or organization, please contact me at steve2010@hotmail.com