Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
November 11 - November 15, 2020
A member of your team who is habitually late can cause tremendous harm to other players.
People often procrastinate because they don’t have a clear picture of what’s important.
there are two things I look for in every key employee. They are character and performance.
In today’s business environment, companies simply can’t afford to have any last-minute managers in their ranks.”
it simply requires reflection. We want you to think deeply about who you are, why you want to be here, how you can contribute in greater ways, and how your being here will enrich your own life, our company’s success, and our customers’ satisfaction.
the best companies first and foremost help their people become more than they ever aspired to be. Everyone who leaves our company for another should have more to offer their new employer than when they started here.”
“Second, the best companies serve their customers by delivering exactly what they promise—and even more than promised.
“What do I have to do to help the company reach its objectives?”
“The people who work here need to understand their priorities. They can never, ever forget them.”
1. Please rank the following personal and business priorities in order by placing numbers from 1 to 7 in front of them (1 being the most important). _____ Health and Fitness _____ Faith/Spiritual Life _____ Career _____ Spouse and/or Family _____ Friends _____ Education/Knowledge _____ Recreation/Sports
2. Please rank these events according to their priority in your life today. In other words, which one of these responsibilities would rise to the top of your “to do” list, assuming they were all on your list at the same time? _____ A personal doctor’s appointment you’ve had for three weeks _____ Your child’s (or niece’s or nephew’s) game, concert, or recital _____ A family health emergency _____ A meeting scheduled at the request of your employer _____ An appointment with an important customer _____ A long-planned evening out with friends _____ A “date” with your spouse or significant person
pri-or-i-ty (1) being earlier or more important, precedence in rank or order, the right to be first; (2) something that is more important than other items or considerations.
three fatal traits of last-minute managers.
“procrastinators delay taking action regarding their priorities. They keep busy, but often on the wrong things. They put off action on important things. As a result, the high priority items are often delayed. It becomes a lateness issue.”
“Second, even when they do get to the point of establishing their priorities, they jump from one task to another, believing that it’s important to keep all the balls in the air at the same time. Eventually, they complain about having too many ‘loose ends’ to tie up. That becomes a quality-of-work problem. “Finally, whether procrastinators want to admit it or not, they cause stress for themselves and others. They cause stress for themselves because they run around and try to get things done at the last moment. They cause stress for others who are forced to worry about deadlines to bail out the
...more
the issues for procrastinators are lateness, poor quality work, and causing stress for themselves and others,”
Priorities are constantly shifting. It’s impossible to make a list and have it stand for all time. The list is going to change.”
“We’re going to expect everyone at Algalon to ‘triage’ every activity. That way, they’ll always handle the important things—the priorities—first, instead of dealing with things on a first-come, first-served basis.
Yes Maybe No Want to do and have to do Want to do but don’t have to do Don’t want to do and don’t have to do Have to do but don’t want to do
“Our goal is to make certain that everyone who works here understands that priorities change. Our guiding principle is that we must know what to do and when to do it.”
“I thought I would be more valuable to Algalon if I acquired volumes of knowledge from as many sources as possible, so that’s why I read all of those magazines. But my job isn’t to glean all of that information, it’s to manage a production process.”
“There are three components. First, it means ‘the quality or state of being proper or suitable.’ Second, it means ‘correctness of behavior or morals.’ Finally, it means ‘conformity with accepted standards.’ ”
PROPRIETY: THE BILL OF RIGHTS Do the right thing. Do it for the right reasons. Do it with the right people. Do it at the right time. Do it in the right order. Do it with intensity. Do it for the right results.
“I personally discovered last night that ‘propriety’ not only helps us determine what our priorities should be, but also what needs to be done to ensure that what we do is high quality,”
‘Two rights don’t make a wrong.’ No matter what decision is facing you, if you can apply two or more of the ‘rights’ to the situation, you’ll seldom go wrong. The more rights you bring to the situation, the better the outcome will likely be.”
The Ethics Check,”
1. Is it legal? Will I be violating either civil law or company policy? 2. Is it balanced? Is it fair to all concerned in the short term as well as in the long term? Does it promote win-win relationships? 3. How will it make me feel about myself? Will it make me proud? Would I feel good if my decision were to be published in the newspaper? Would I feel good if my family knew about it?
Last-minute managers often do everything possible to avoid personal pain, but true leaders do what needs to be done to alleviate the pain of others.”
One of the first things he did when he stepped into the position was to trim the hundreds of rules down to a few essentials that fit on a single sheet of paper. Another key action was to give each employee a card that offered seven guidelines for firefighter empowerment, along with eight essentials of customer service.”
“Chief Brunacini has communicated to his people that they are there to serve people—not just save buildings.”
It encompasses much of the Three P Strategy. The priorities are clear. ‘Prevent harm’ is the first priority. ‘Survive’ is right behind that. And ‘be nice’ is crucial to customer service. It’s all there in five words.”
“Those five words also say something about propriety. The Phoenix firefighters are doing the right thing—preventing harm—for the right reasons—saving lives. They are also doing it with the right people—their comrades who share in the vision and who also seek to prevent harm. Obviously, they’re doing it at the right time, but they also do it all in the right order. Their equipment is maintained properly so that it can help them perform on the job. When they respond to a fire call, they deploy the equipment properly—they use it to save lives first and save buildings second. Ladders before
...more
when the vision is unclear—or fuzzy—the results are fuzzy.
People tend to procrastinate when they don’t have a clear picture of who they are, where they are at this moment, and where they want to go. After all, if they don’t know where they’re going, they have no clue whether the next action they take—the next activity they engage in—will help take them there.”
A compelling vision will be grounded on our past but focused on our future.
Intensity is part enthusiasm, part passion, part skill, and part unwavering devotion.
Last-minute managers allow things to happen to them, while on-time, on-target managers make things happen.”
They lead by example. They serve others. They ask for the things they need from others. They welcome and appreciate the contributions of others.
“Last-minute managers get so focused on the immediate moment that they lose sight of the big picture. The small defeats sap their intensity and they simply fail to perform. The intense players are focused on the game plan. They keep coming back into the game, determined to move the team toward the ultimate goal. Toward the win.”
PROBLEMS
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
PRIORITY:
PROPRIETY: The Bill of Rights.
the Three P’s as Priority, Propriety, and Commitment,
Not knowing the difference between commitment and interest causes a lot of stress for last-minute managers and the people who are counting on them.”
“YA GOTTA WANNA.”
“What do ya gotta wanna do?”
And “Why do ya wanna do it?”
What do I wanna do? And why do I wanna do it?
