Page 172 - stephen covey The seven habits of highly effective people

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE Brought to you by FlyHeart

why you are using this approach and how it will benefit them as well. In doing so, you are beginning
to train your people to think long-term, to be responsible for completing staff work or other desired
results, to creatively interact with each other in interdependent ways, and to do a quality job within
specified deadlines.
Product "X" and quality control. Now let's look at item number eight regarding product "X," which
didn't pass quality control. The Quadrant II approach would be to study that problem to see if it has a
chronic or persistent dimension to it. If so, you could delegate to others the careful analysis of that
chronic problem with instructions to bring to you a recommendation, or perhaps simply to implement
what they come up with and inform you of the results.
The net effect of this Quadrant II day at the office is that you are spending most of your time
delegating, training, preparing a board presentation, making one phone call, and having a productive
lunch. By taking a long-term PC approach, hopefully in a matter of a few weeks, perhaps months, you
won't face such a Quadrant I scheduling problem again.
As you go through this analysis, you may be thinking this approach seems idealistic. You may be
wondering if Quadrant II managers ever work in Quadrant I. I admit it is idealistic. This book is not
about the habits of highly ineffective people; it's about habits of highly effective people. And to be
highly effective is an ideal to work toward.
Of course you'll need to spend time in Quadrant I. Even the best-laid plans in Quadrant II
sometimes aren't realized. But Quadrant I can be significantly reduced into more manageable
proportions so that you're not always into the stressful crisis atmosphere that negatively affects your
judgment as well as your health.
Undoubtedly it will take considerable patience and persistence, and you may not be able to take a
Quadrant II approach to all or even most of these items at this time. But if you can begin to make some
headway on a few of them and help create more of a Quadrant II mind-set in other people as well as
yourself, then downstream there will be quantum improvements in performance.
Again, I acknowledge that in a family setting or a small business setting, such delegation may not be
possible. But this does not preclude a Quadrant II mind-set which would produce interesting and
creative ways within your Circle of Influence to reduce the size of Quadrant I crises through the
exercise of Quadrant II initiative.
Sky, Land, River.