Habit 2 - Begin With The End in Mind

To be effective we must begin with the end in mind. Without a clear goal or objectives how will you know when you have achieved success? We need to set a clear destination so that we can make sure the steps we're taking are in the right direction. Always plan everything you do in your life to the end.

The Worker, the Manager and the Leader

People often ask me what the main differences are between employees, managers and leaders are. When they do I take them to the lessons learned in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Leader: Sets the vision of where the company should go.

Manager: Manages resources to make sure the company is going towards leaderships vision.

Employee: Does the work to the best of their abilities, following the guidance of management.

Taking an example directly from the book - yard work.

Leadership: A leader provides goals and a vision. A Leader will say the yard should be "Green and Clean". That's it. No specific guidelines. The vision is simple.

Management: Is responsible to plan the path needed to achieve the vision of "Green and Clean". They would make sure they hired the right employees, bought the right tools and gave clear instructions on the work that needs to be performed. It's managements responsibility to achieve the vision in the most cost-effective manner.

Employees: Are responsible for coming in and performing the day-to-day tasks. Management and operational responsibilities should not fall onto individual employees.

Does it work this way for most companies? Unfortunately not. Those in leadership roles often give vague goals and mission statements, and often the vision changes too frequently.. A moving target is difficult to hit. Without clear goals management doesn't know what they need to build towards and often don't provide their employees with the support and guidance they need. Everything begins to fall apart. Do you see how important planning to the end is now?

This post is part of a series. If you are interested in reading the book it's on Amazon and is free with Audible "How to Talk to Anyone" by Stephen R. Covey