Dr Stephen Covey's inspirational book - 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People®

Dr Stephen Covey is a hugely influential management guru, whose book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, became a blueprint for personal development when it was published in 1990. The Seven Habits are said by some to be easy to understand but not as easy to apply. Don't let the challenge daunt you: The 'Seven Habits' are a remarkable set of inspirational and aspirational standards for anyone who seeks to live a full, purposeful and good life, and are applicable today more than ever, as the business world becomes more attuned to humanist concepts. Covey's values are full of integrity and humanity, and contrast strongly with the process-based ideologies that characterised management thinking in earlier times.

Stephen Covey, as well as being a renowned writer, speaker, academic and humanist, has also built a huge training and consultancy products and services business - Franklin Covey which has a global reach, and has at one time or another consulted with and provided training services to most of the world's leading corporations.

Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People®

habit 1 - be proactive®

This is the ability to control one's environment, rather than have it control you, as is so often the case. Self determination, choice, and the power to decide response to stimulus, conditions and circumstances

habit 2 - begin with the end in mind®

Covey calls this the habit of personal leadership - leading oneself that is, towards what you consider your aims. By developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities you will build a platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful.

habit 3 - put first things first®

Covey calls this the habit of personal management. This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the aims established in habit 2. Covey says that habit 2 is the first, or mental creation; habit 3 is the second, or physical creation.

habit 4 - think win-win®

Covey calls this the habit of interpersonal leadership, necessary because achievements are largely dependent on co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose.

habit 5 - seek first to understand and then to be understood®

One of the great maxims of the modern age. This is Covey's habit of communication, and it's extremely powerful. Covey helps to explain this in his simple analogy 'diagnose before you prescribe'. Simple and effective, and essential for developing and maintaining positive relationships in all aspects of life.

habit 6 - synergize®

Covey says this is the habit of creative co-operation - the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which implicitly lays down the challenge to see the good and potential in the other person's contribution.

habit 7 - sharpen the saw®

This is the habit of self renewal, says Covey, and it necessarily surrounds all the other habits, enabling and encouraging them to happen and grow. Covey interprets the self into four parts: the spiritual, mental, physical and the social/emotional, which all need feeding and developing.

Stephen Covey's Seven Habits are a simple set of rules for life - inter-related and synergistic, and yet each one powerful and worthy of adopting and following in its own right. For many people, reading Covey's work, or listening to him speak, literally changes their lives. This is powerful stuff indeed and highly recommended.

This 7 Habits summary is just a brief overview - the full work is fascinating, comprehensive, and thoroughly uplifting. Read the book, or listen to the full audio series if you can get hold of it.

In his more recent book 'The 8th Habit', Stephen Covey introduced (logically) an the eighth habit, which deals with personal fulfilment and helping others to achieve fulfilment too, which aligns helpfully with Maslow's notions of 'Self-Actualization' and 'Transcendence' in the Hierarchy of Needs model, and also with the later life-stages in Erikson's Psychosocial Life-Stage Theory. The 8th Habit book also focuses on leadership, another distinct aspect of fulfilment through helping others. Time will tell whether the The 8th Habit achieves recognition and reputation close to Covey's classic original 7 Habits work.

N.B. Various phrases on this page are registered trade marks belonging to Stephen Covey.

Stephen Covey's principles are protected intellectual property and feature strongly in the Franklin Covey organization's portfolio of products and services.

The Power of Repetitive Marketing

By Al Lautenslager  »  Marketing Tactics  »  July 19, 2011

What two things do the following quotes have in common?

“I did a mailing once and never got any business.”

“I sent a press release once and never got published in the newspaper.”

“I attended a chamber of commerce meeting once and never got any business from it.”

The first common element is that these are actual quotes I’ve heard – numerous times – from business owners, entrepreneurs and independent business professionals. The second thing is they all contain the word ‘once’. Doing something once is an event. Doing it over and over again is a process. The reason those entrepreneurs made the statements above is because they viewed marketing as an event. But marketing isn’t an event – it’s a process, something you’ll need to do over and over again if you want to achieve results.

Direct marketing guru and Entrepreneur columnist Dan Kennedy is a famed proponent of the use of sequential mailings. His recommendation, one that has been proven over and over, is that a series of three mailings that have crafted messages with irresistible offers will attract potential customers. Other experts say it takes six to eight times of ‘touching’ a prospect before they get in purchase-readiness mode. This puts you at the forefront of their awareness so when the time comes for them to want or need your product, they immediately think of you.

Be seen and heard

Let me explain how it works. Many times, I’ll show up at a networking event and hear this from the people I meet: “I see you everywhere.” What these people mean isn’t that they literally see me everywhere, but that they hear about my networking events, they see our company’s name in the paper as a result of a press release, they see an ad for a seminar I’m presenting on direct marketingor guerrilla marketing, or they’ve received a postcard or letter from me.

If you add these efforts up, I’ve most likely touched a prospect at least four or five times before they start recognising my name. They think they see me every-where because I put my marketing messages where my target market happens to be, and I do this over and over – creating a true marketing process.

Do I get business when I hear that my prospects have seen me everywhere? Not necessarily, but it provides confirmation that my marketing efforts are working, it’s one more touch my prospects will remember, and when that person wants or needs my services, they’re going to think of that person or company they “see everywhere.”

Don’t get discouraged if the response you get from one of your marketing initiatives is lower than you expected. Do it again – your response rate will go up. And plan your marketing efforts so there’s this sense of repetitiveness.

Jay Conrad Levinson, my co-author in Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, told me once that 90% of all marketing decisions are made with a customer’s subconscious mind. And the way to approach and get into this subconscious mind is through repetition. This has been proven by both researchers and practitioners. I’ve certainly experienced it in my own direct mail programme and when I network.

And it all goes back to Direct Sales 101. There you learn that it takes a minimum of six times of contacting a prospect before they’re ready to purchase. You’ll also learn that most salespeople stop after just three contacts. Look at the gap of potential business represented there.

Consistency pays

Marketing works the same way. I’ve literally gotten business from prospects who have contacted me after many, many months of sending them mailings, and they tell me, “You’ve been mailing something to me every month for the past year. It’s time we do business together.” This never would have happened if I’d stopped my mailings at three.

So take my advice: Plan out your marketing efforts, keep the idea of repetitiveness in mind, put your activities on a calendar, and measure the increased activity you’re sure to see results from as you work through your marketing process.

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About the Author

Al Lautenslager is a marketing and PR consultant, guerrilla marketing coach and direct-mail promotion specialist.

http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/marketing/marketing-tactics/the-power-of-repetitive-marketing/