Strategic Serendipity

I mentioned yesterday that I taught Franklin Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Signature program this week. I love the concept of shifting your paradigm and behavior to get different results.  After all, Albert Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Covey's first habit is "Be Proactive" and the underlying assumption is that "I am free to choose and am responsible for my choices."  Obviously, this idea of choice has been on my mind a lot lately. When we get stuck in a constant reactive pattern, we feel like a victim of our circumstances.  And let's face it, no one wants to follow a victim. So how do we make the shift to proactive leader?  We choose to.  For those out there saying "you don't understand, in my job I have no authority to be proactive."  Actually, I do understand (as I sit here writing this on a furlough day).  And while I understand th...

I spent the first three days of the week teaching Franklin Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Signature Program) for the first time.  As with any content, I swear I learned from the class.  I had an amazing group of senior leaders and it was one of those experiences that you wish you could meet with that group of people over and over in a think tank because you just know the world would be a better place if you did. As they all go back to their lives and jobs, I am still struck by one particular point in the class when we simply asked the question..."I am at my best when..."  I even saved the flip chart paper with the answers we came up with.  This is not my independent work, but the work of some brilliant leaders I had the honor of teaching.  I dare to say, there isn't a work environment in the world that wouldn't benefit from these qualities. I have a sense of pride and accomplishment in our work. I am healthy. I am busy but not stressed....

Are you the type of person who likes to start one thing, finish it, and move on to the next? If so, I truly admire you! If not, I feel your drive (and sometimes pain) to be in the middle of many multiple projects all at once. People with this quality have to watch out for two major detailers - not finishing anything and losing track of things. Before I got pregnant, I rarely kept a solid calendar and made lists only when I was feeling overwhelmed. Call it mommy-brain or call it exceeding my capacity to remember things (or call it way too much Diet Coke) but now if something exceeds three things I have to make a list. Considering that I am usually juggling multiple types of projects at work, multiple volunteer commitments, multiple home-based businesses, a pile of bills that always seem to add up to more than my income, and raising a 17-month old son this new "rule of three" means everything goes on a list. 1. Consolidated Source for Lists My favorite way to do this...