One Path to Proactivity

   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.  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.