Page 170 - stephen covey The seven habits of highly effective people

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for the executive in charge.
In most meetings, Quadrant II items are usually categorized as "other business." Because "work
expands to fill the time allotted for its completion" in accordance with Parkinson's Law, there usually
isn't time to discuss them. If there is, people have been so beaten and smashed by Quadrant I, they
have little or no energy left to address them.
So you might move into Quadrant II by first attempting to get yourself on the agenda so that you
can make a presentation regarding how to optimize the value of executive board meetings. You might
also spend an hour or two in the morning preparing for that presentation, even if you are only allowed
a few minutes to stimulate everyone's interest in hearing a more extended preparation at the next board
meeting. This presentation would focus on the importance of always having a clearly specified
purpose for each meeting and a well-thought-out agenda to which each person at the meeting has had
the opportunity to contribute. The final agenda would be developed by the chairman of the executive
board and would focus first in Quadrant II issues that usually require more creative thinking rather
than Quadrant I issues that generally involve more mechanical thinking.
The presentation would also stress the importance of having minutes sent out immediately
following the meeting, specifying assignments given and dates of accountability. These items would
then be placed on appropriate future agendas which would be sent out in plenty of time for others to
prepare to discuss them.
Now this is what might be done by looking at one item on the schedule -- the 2 P.M. executive
board meeting -- through a Quadrant II frame of reference. This requires a high level of proactivity,
including the courage to challenge the assumption that you even need to schedule the items in the first
place. It also requires consideration in order to avoid the kind of crisis atmosphere that often
surrounds a board meeting.
Almost every other item on the list can be approached with the same Quadrant II thinking, with
perhaps the exception of the FDA call.
Returning the FDA call. Based on the background of the quality of the relationship with the FDA,
you make that call in the morning so that whatever it reveals can be dealt with appropriately. This
might be difficult to delegate, since another organization is involved that may have a Quadrant I culture
and an individual who wants you, and not some delegatee, to respond.
While you may attempt to directly influence the culture of your own organization as a member of
the executive board, your Circle of Influence is probably not large enough to really influence the culture
of the FDA, so you simply comply with the request. If you find the nature of the problem uncovered
in the phone call is persistent or chronic, then you may approach it from a Quadrant II mentality in an
effort to prevent such problems in the future. This again would require considerable proactivity to
seize the opportunity to transform the quality of the relationship with the FDA or to work on the
problems in a preventive way.
Lunch with the general manager. You might see having lunch with the general manager as a rare
opportunity to discuss some longer-range, Quadrant II matters in a fairly informal atmosphere. This
may also take 30 to 60 minutes in the morning to adequately prepare for, or you may simply decide to
have a good social interaction and listen carefully, perhaps without any plan at all. Either possibility
may present a good opportunity to build your relationship with the general manager.
Preparing the media budget. Regarding item number two, you might call in two or three of your
associates most directly connected to media budget preparation and ask them to bring their
recommendations in the form of "completed staff work" (which may only require your initials to finally
approve) or perhaps to outline two or three well-thought-out options you can choose from and identify
the consequences of each option. This may take a full hour sometime during the day -- to go over
desired results, guidelines, resources, accountability, and consequences. But by investing the one hour,
you tap the best thinking of concerned people who may have different points of view. If you haven't