This
blog is titled, “On Effectiveness and Entrepreneurship,” two
long and important words. These are two words that I am constantly reflecting on.
Effectiveness may not be the most sexy word in the world. But, its
byproducts are super sexy.
We are a
country that is obsessed with success. Which is not a terrible idea.
However, I believe a focus on success misses the point.
The
difference between success and effectiveness is very subtle. Indeed,
drawing such a distinction may seem artificial. It may seem to make
no difference. But, there is a difference.
Success
is a subjective, value-laden idea. What you define as success may be
very different from what the next person thinks. In turn, it is very
hard to have a discussion when people do not even agree on
definitions.
For all
of is lack of sex appeal, the word effectiveness is something we can
agree on. Merriam-Webster defines effectiveness as, “The power to
produce a desired result.”
Effectiveness
is value-neutral. Meaning, the result you desire is completely up to
you. And, whatever that result is, I support you in achieving it.
To
produce/achieve your desired result, effectiveness is how you will
get there. I strongly believe effectiveness is a sexy and important
word.
The
other day I pulled out my copy of Stephen Covey's seminal book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I first read Covey's work
about ten years ago and it had a profound effect on me.
Any
reader of this blog must know that I am a huge fan of Peter Drucker.
What you may, or may not, know is that Covey himself was a loyal
disciple of Drucker. So, not surprisingly, The 7 Habits
forever changed the way I look at things.
Going
forward I want to spend some time discussing Covey's seven habits.
For obvious reasons, I will connect effectiveness to
entrepreneurship. As we hopefully agree, entrepreneurship is not the
end-all-be-all. But, it does provide the opportunity to give useful
examples.
In my
next post, I will discuss Covey's first habit. To Covey's way of
thinking we must first win private victories before we can win public
victories. Stated differently, the first three habits are
private/personal. And, the second three habits are public, meaning
they involve other people. In case you are a stickler, the seventh
habit is universal.
Stephen
Covey's first habit is, “Be Proactive,” an idea that sounds so
simple as to be mundane. However, the more I reflect on the idea of
being proactive, the more I realize how far it is from the mundane.
I will
get into it next time. For now, I would encourage you to contemplate
what it means to be proactive.
