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Making A Habit Of..... Starting From The End
This is the second in our new series of seven articles based around Steven R Covey’s excellent book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” In each of the next few issues of 5 Minute Insights, we will be looking at each of these habits to show how they can be applied in the world of insight.This may at first seem to be a strange habit, but it’s all about having the end in your mind whenever you’re embarking on a new process or a project. Covey states that this requires a clear vision of both your current position and your destination. You can then clarify what needs to be done so that you can reach that destination.
He goes on to explain that an effective way of getting into the habit of ‘beginning with the end in mind’ is to write your own mission statement, philosophy or creed. This will act as the foundation upon which decisions are made on a day-to-day basis. It can also help with setting both long-term and short-term goals.
There are at least three ways in which the habit of ‘beginning with the end in mind’ can be applied in the insight world:
A sense of mission
Insight teams can be very busy, and it can be all too easy to spend time just focusing on being efficient: churning out the results. But ideally, you should step back and look at the overall mission of your team to make sure that they are concentrating on the issues or tasks that will create the most value. Having a sense of mission involves having a vision of delivering insight that is integral to your company’s decision-making, so that you’re really making a difference.
Plan before you present
Whenever you have a report or presentation to make, spend time planning it first. Don’t just sit down and start writing it. Many good authors work in this way – they prepare a good skeleton of what they want to say, which they can then flesh it out with the details as they go along. So, what is the main message you want to get across? What evidence do you need to support it? Your final report or presentation will be a lot more coherent if you have a clear vision of the whole item before you even begin.
It’s all in your mind’s eye!
Visualisation is a classic idea. It involves envisaging your success before it happens – just as the top athletes do. Covey comments that research has shown that almost all world class athletes and other peak performers are visualisers. The typical application of this approach in terms of the insight world involves visualising a successful presentation – and then delivering it.
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