FranklinCovey Consultant Blogs | Todd Wangsgard | Principle

Fear Breeds Opportunity

Monday, May 4th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

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In his recently published biography, “The Snowball,” investment guru Warren Buffet is credited with offering the following advice:

 ”Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”

You can change the word “greedy” to anything you like better. Eager. Aggressive. Risky. It means just about the same.

Anyway you look at the current economic milieu, it clearly represents a profoundly poignant opportunity for people and organizations to capitalize on principle-centered thinking and action. Here are just a handful of pairings between popular 7 Habits principles and crisis-driven actions that you and I can use to strengthen our organizations.

  • Production/Production Capability: Invest in the best people who might be nervous and go hire the best people who have lost work elsewhere. Your talent edge will continue to sharpen while the competition loses its.
  • Emotional Bank Account: Assure your best customers and suppliers of your loyalty. Reinforce abundance. See this as a chance to bolster relationships of trust that may have been stagnant or malnourished.
  • Begin With the End in Mind: Redefine what you and your organization need to look like on the tail end of the recession. This allows you to begin aligning your reality with your newly formed vision – now.
  • Put First Things First: Hone your ability to focus and execute on your highest priorities. Use this time to build highly motivated teams toward making significant weekly contributions that are documented during regular accountability session.

Sure, there are less noble actions that fear can breed, such as the chance for the clever and strong to take advantage of the ignorant and the weak. However, that’s exactly why I emphasize “principle-centered.” Only by operating on true principles of effective human behavior will our actions from these difficult times sustain the kind of rewarding relationships we are seeking over the long haul. More and more, people can read our intentions like a book and will judge us by the outcome. We can’t afford not to make principles the centerpeice of every action.

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Principles Are the Permanent Bail-Out

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

speed-of-trust

As congressmen contemplate how to stimulate a stubbornly sluggish economy, you already know the answers to recession-proofing your career and life. I can’t tell you how many times our FranklinCovey principles have crossed my mind this past week as we watch lawmakers work towards compromise.

  • Create Transparency
  • Clarify Expectations
  • Right Wrongs
  • Get Results
  • Talk Straight
  • Listen First
  • Keep Commitments

Just to name a few.

When the Conference Board released its 2008 CEO Challenge report (Financial Crisis Edition), I was struck by the sudden rise in rank, from 34th place to 9th, of the respondents’ perceived need for more Business Confidence.

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