Covey--Results Matter

M.L.Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), says "Results Matter." (p. 112).

No surprises here.

Covey gives three "key indicators" by which people evaluate results: past performance, current performance, and anticipated performance.

What you've done in the past is sort of like a lagging indicator. What you are doing is a kind of current indicator. And anticipated results is a analogous to a leading indicator.

What are results and how do people evaluate them, we'll unpack that in a later post.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and publishing and read my mystery for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

How to Increase Your Capabilities

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), has on pp. 104-107, three ways of increasing your capabilities:

1. "Run with Your Strengths (and with Your Purpose)."

2. "Keep Yourself Relevant."

3. "Know Where You're Going."

He says:

To know where you're going and have the capabilities to get there is another way of demonstrating competence, and with that confidence, coupled with character, creates a credible leaders whom others will follow--not because they're forced, but because they're inspired to do so.

What more can we want.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and publishing and read my mystery for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

Fifth Dimension of Capability: Style

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), says: "Style represents our unique approach and personality." [p. 94]

Writers call this our voice. It's all the things that make us, us. It's what gets people reading. It's what keeps people reading. In entrepreneurship, we have a voice too. It's what gets people buying our stuff and buying into our vision. It can also be known as our brand or our reputation.

Here are the questions Covey would have us ask us about our style:

How effective is my current style in approaching problems and opportunities and interacting with others? Does my approach facilitate or get in the way of accomplishing what needs to be done? What can I do to improve the way in which I do things?(p.100)

Again, if you aren't sure, or even if you are to get an outside opinion, see what others think.

Also think back to the times when you didn't get what you wanted. Try to see what the reason for that might have been. Was it related to your style? And how should that have been different? You'll never know for sure, but you can at least use the exercise to help you think about your style.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and where you can read my mystery for free, download it for free or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

Fourth Dimension of Capability: Knowledge

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), says: "Skills represents our learning, insight, understanding, and awareness." [p. 94]

Covey would have us ask the following about our knowledge:

What is my current level of knowledge of my specific field? What am I doing to stay current? What other areas of knowledge am I pursuing? (p.99)

He goes on to tell us that increasing our knowledge is key in today's economy. I heartily concur. We have to know more and more about more and more.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and where you can read my mystery for free, download it for free or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

Third Dimension of Capability: Skills

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), says: "Skills are our proficiencies, what we can do well." [p. 94]

Here are his questions for you, on p. 96:

What skills do I currently have? What skills will I need in the future that I do not currently have? To what degree am involved in constantly upgrading my skills?

I disagree a little bit. I think you should ask yourself what skills will make you into the kind of person you want to be. Then when a future arrives, you'll be Abel to tweak yourself to take advantage of it.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and where you can read my mystery for free, download it for free or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

Second Dimensions of Capability: Attitude

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), says:

Attitudes represent our paradigms--our ways of seeing, as well as our ways of being. [p. 94]

He says to ask yourself the following questions:

What are my attitudes about work? About life? About learning? About myself, capabilities, and my opportunities to contribute? Are there more productive attitudes and paradigms I could embrace that would help me create better results? [p.96]

You can ask others about these to give you a view that may be blocked by your blind spot. Then collate the answers and see what they say. Do you have to do anything about it? If so, set your goals and objectives and develop an action plan whereby you are going to change your attitude.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and where you can read my mystery for free, download it for free or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.

First Dimension of Capability, Talents Continued

Covey, in The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006), p. 94, gives us four questions we can ask ourselves about our talents:

1. What are my unique strengths or talents?

2. What is the highest and best use of my talents?

3. How can I better maximize the talents I have?

4. What talents might I have that I have not yet developed?

These are questions which you should ask yourself. Then go to family, friends, and colleagues who know you well and whom you trust to give you an honest opinion, and ask them for their opinions. If you think you have a talent for archery, your friends and family and colleagues think so, and you've done well in archery events, or people have said you're good at it, then you can probably count that as a talent you should at least consider.

Use the Red Green test. Red Green is a writer and commedian you see on public broadcasting sometimes. He comes out of Canada and satirized Canadian attitudes and behaviors regarding men and manhood. He says if you doing something and no one has complemented you on it or you haven't won any awards your not good at it, you're just at it. Words to live by.

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy. For my ideas on connection strategy, go to my new blog www.Connecting.blogspot.com.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and where you can read my mystery for free, download it for free or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.