All of the problems cited in this area relate to lack of focus,
lack of alignment, and particularly lack of a mission
statement. Following is one way to address this.
Steven Covey, who coined the word "proactive", wrote books like
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", and
"Principle Centered Leadership", offers the best framework
for realizing the goals cited above. Tom Peters offers good
ideas, and so do others, but none of them have the vision
and breadth of Covey's work. You can order a free guide for
developing mission statements, his free unique weekly time
prioritizer and planner, &c. from 1-800-255-0777.
For example, when I called training "sharpening the saw",
from Covey's retelling of the old story of the man too busy
cutting wood to sharpen his tools, my boss instantly
understood my point.
The proactive things I do, few as they are, never fail to
delight and amaze clients. They stare at me in disbelief
that a government employee would not only want to satisfy
their request, but even ask questions to understand their
needs better and meet them better.
I wish my Department used his training, in place of the
expensive stuff they have now which all staff disregard.
His stuff very nicely ties everything discussed here in one
neat package. We do so many piecemeal, negative goals. We
need "big-picture" goals that "grab people in the guts",
that engage their emotions, that make them want to throw
their hearts and souls into their work. Covey offers a path
to proactivity. I want to work in an office where more than
half the people put their hearts into their work, where they
stay a little later, willingly, where they willingly do
job-related stuff at home because they like their jobs so
much, where the surprises I run into involve proactive
groundwork bearing fruit instead of undone work with nasty
surprises. Covey offers the only path I've ever seen.
I was in a workplace which was run similarly. We did things
our bosses imagined were impossible. We saw potential where
they didn't. But that is it, isn't it, one must first see
the invisible in order to do the impossible.
We can do that in the Federal Government. I want to be
proud I work here, and to have people excited about our
CLEARLY-DEFINED mission.
Last Updated: 12/20/94 07:56:13 (EST)