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Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times

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If there is one thing that is certain in business, it is uncertainty; still, some companies perform reliably and with excellence in spite of changing circumstances. Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times is about four essentials for getting great performance in good times and bad.

(1) Excellent Winning companies have simple goals with clear targets and strong follow-through. All team members know what to do about the goals and they execute precisely.

(2) High Trust Levels with All Low trust slows you down and raises your costs especially in times of turmoil. But when trust levels rise, everything speeds up and costs go down.

(3) Achieving More with In tough times, everyone tries to do more with less, but the real question is more of what? Winning companies focus on giving more value not just cutting back.

(4) Transforming Fear into Unpredictable times create anxieties that distract you just when you need total focus. Winning organizations entrust people with a mission and strategy they can believe in, channeling their anxiety into results.

These principles can help companies win regardless of the turbulence of the ride or the shock of overwhelming change.

110 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2009

28 people are currently reading
300 people want to read

About the author

Stephen R. Covey

642 books6,272 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. In 1996, Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University (USU) at the time of his death.

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5 stars
48 (25%)
4 stars
65 (35%)
3 stars
52 (28%)
2 stars
16 (8%)
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4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
5 reviews
March 4, 2025
Muy claro y sencillo. Va al grano, y con muchos ejemplos reales, para hablar de los puntos clave para que una empresa llegue a buen puerto en momentos complejos. Anecdóticamente, pone como ejemplo de buen hacer a Lance Armstrong y su equipo para ganar en las etapas de montaña del Tour. Si el libro hubiese sido publicado solo un poco después tendrían que haber eliminado el ejemplo debido a la falta total de limpieza y honestidad de esa manada de tramposos sin escrúpulos... Por lo demás, es aconsejable su lectura. Siempre podrás ver ejemplos aplicables para tu caso particular.
Profile Image for Ugur.
18 reviews3 followers
April 25, 2022
Book tries to relay its message through an analogy of how successful the US Postal cycling team and Lance Armstrong was on the mountain stages of Tour De France.

They used doping like hell. Everyone who was associated with the team is banned from sports. Lance became He who shall not be named of the sports.
Profile Image for Arsalan.
31 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2024
درود بر همه شما عزیزان براتون شکوفایی میخواهم و در سختی ها پذیرش .

فقط به میزانی که شایسته آن هستید به شما اعتماد خواهد شد 🌹

Greetings to all of you, dear friends. I wish you growth and flourishing, and resilience in times of hardship.

You will only be trusted to the extent you are worthy of it. 🌹
Profile Image for Jared.
49 reviews14 followers
November 11, 2019
Top 5 Business Book I've Ever Read!
Short but dense!
Great examples and illustrations via words that enable you to grasp the concepts quickly.
Highly recommended
Profile Image for Rogier van Zijderveld.
7 reviews
July 8, 2020
Veel nuttige adviezen maar net zoveel open deuren.
Soms kort door de bocht, dan weer een tikkeltje langdradig.
Echter, overall een aanrader voor leiders met weinig tijd.
Profile Image for Ulises.
80 reviews
August 7, 2020
Muy buen libro, aunque juega en contra lo de Armstrong. Fuera de eso, muy útil para los tiempos que corren.
620 reviews48 followers
July 19, 2010
Covey’s encouraging tips for managing during tough times

When the going gets tough…well, most people freak out! Faced with immediate threats and an uncertain future, they react tentatively and unpredictably, which only makes bad matters worse. Stephen R. Covey, who wrote the blockbuster The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and co-author Bob Whitman, CEO of the FranklinCovey consultancy (writing with Breck England, the firm’s top consultant), offer a clear, doable strategy for maintaining and even improving your business during tough economic times. Their four-part formula is compact, encouraging, straightforward and actionable: “Execute priorities with excellence. Move with the speed of trust. Achieve more with less. Reduce fear.” The only mild caveat is that the book is so elemental it may leave the reader – particularly the less-experienced manager ¬– wanting more. When hard economic times threaten to rock your boat, getAbstract suggests reaching for this book to help steady your craft in the storm-tossed seas.

To learn more about this book, check out the following web page: http://www.getabstract.com/summary/13...
31 reviews1 follower
June 6, 2011
I often find Covey books too cerebral and give up part way in. This book was the perfect length and contained just the right amount of information about how businesses can align their workforces to focus on simple goals and weather difficult times. This book is broken into four (4) sections and each contains exercises and a discussion guide (for the reader to educate someone else on the topic, and thereby learn more through the process). Real life analogies are utilized throughout, including competitive cycling, Formula One racing and mountain climbing. Corporate examples are also utilized to illustrate the principles, including Xerox, Polaroid and Cannon.
Profile Image for Stacy.
238 reviews5 followers
June 26, 2015
It took me awhile to get into reading this book (I started to read it three separate times before the timing was right for me to want to finish it).

Outside of the slow start, there are some great points in this book. I liked the conversation about on goals, and how awareness of goals impacts execution. How will people work towards a goal if they don't know what it is? Seems like a simple question, yet the answer isn't always so simple. Or is it?

The Teach to Learn section at the end of each chapter is great, also.
Profile Image for V Narayanan.
168 reviews18 followers
February 10, 2016
This Book is summary of 4 Books.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution is summarized in Part 1

Speed of Trust is summarised in Part 2

Achieve More with Less - Is some what summary of First Things First and is the Part 3

Reduce the Fear - may be linked with Man's Search for Meaning and forms the Part 4 theme

Thus these 4 Books are in one.

Easy, Simple and Dotted
However lacks explanation for many things which can come only when we discuss and discover ourselves.

Yours
VN
Profile Image for Захарченко Віктор.
Author 1 book66 followers
February 25, 2011
Кови опирается на 4 простых правила для лидеров в тяжелые времена. Книга была очень актуальна в период кризиса, но остается полезной и в более благополучные времена. Всегда нужно четко знать свои цели и задачи, строить процессы на доверии, добиваться большего за счет меньшего и бороться со страхами людей.
Profile Image for Annie.
517 reviews2 followers
August 10, 2009
If you like non-fiction business books, this is really good. It is reader friendly for everybody in any organization, you can easily read it in a sitting (111 pages), and it's relevant to today's unstable business world. This book will help you get control and get the important work done.
Profile Image for Ahmed Atia.
40 reviews
March 27, 2014
The best thing about Stephen R Covey is his simple way of explaining.
Still, in my opinion, this book depends entirely on the character of the leader more than it is something you learn separate.
You to develop yourself entirely to become that leader. To become that person.
Liked it..
Profile Image for Mohammad alshawan.
196 reviews4 followers
September 15, 2016
the book expains how can we leave our fears and perform well with others and build trust can give maximum results without a crises.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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