With the advent of technology, there are so many distractions in our work lives. How do you really put First Things First?
That is one of the key questions. There are so many distractions and so many things that are urgent, but they are not really important. Research shows that most executives spend half their time doing things that are urgent but not important. And they end up neglecting their families, their personal life. Their community service suffers and their organizations are not as productive.
Most people are confused about what to do with their lives. They just trudge along and take what comes along their way. How do we discover the inner purpose of our lives?
You have to ask the question: What is it that you love doing and that you do well, and that serves a human need and that you feel called to do almost by your conscience. When those four things overlap - talent, passion, conscience and need -then people would have found their voice. But most people are never asked those questions. They are more told (what to do). They are given a job description.
How does an individual incorporate the seven habits in daily life?
Most people have never found their voice. Seriously they are in jobs where they just go through the motions. They have not moved to complementary teams where people's voices or strengths are made productive and weaknesses are made irrelevant through the strengths of other people. And unless they get a new mindset in moving towards this kind of open, genuine communication, they won't find their voice. Consequently, they won't do quality work which they otherwise could. And they don't like it. In most cases most of the people at the lower ends of organizations don't even know what the strategic goals are. And they don't even care. Helping a person find his or her voice takes more than just interpersonal skills. It takes formalization of principles inside the structure, systems and organizations. Otherwise, it's not going to be durable. It will not endure.
You advise people to be proactive but governments are always reactive. Is there disconnect between organizations and the advice?
There is disconnect and that's true with governments and with organizations that do not have competition in the marketplace. But those who are proactive can make great things happen, can anticipate problems, can get into a preventive mindset rather than just reacting to problems as they come up. Successful people are opportunity-minded and not problem-minded.
Can you name any companies that have moved successfully to the knowledge age?
I was just with Toyota over in Japan, and they are so far ahead of Ford and General Motors and Chrysler, who are still buried in the Industrial Age. Toyota is moving so much more rapidly towards the Knowledge-Worker Age. They have more of a complementary team where strengths are made productive and weaknesses are made irrelevant through the strengths of other people, less top-down, less authoritarian, more empowerment and more synergy, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
And that is why Toyota is succeeding all around the world.
We have seen several US financial services firms go under. Is this because of their failure to observe these habits that has caused this?
Definitely! And it also comes from people not living by principles. Now the trust has gone down so low, that people have very little confidence in them. So they need to focus a great deal on how to inspire trust and to do that you have to live by principles and have the organization live by principles. Once you have people inspired and trust is very high, then you can involve them in coming up with a common vision and mission and value system. Then they align all the structures and systems based on principles.
Then you help people find their voice. Every person has the opportunity to do what he or she loves doing and, if they do it well, that serves the needs of the organization. So we will focus on those four imperatives of leadership: inspire trust, verify purpose, align systems and unleash talent.
What kinds of leaders have really internalized the habits you have talked about?
Look at Mahatma Gandhi. He never held a position and was the leader of the largest democracy in the world. I just had a great personal visit with Nelson Mandela down in South Africa. He got his moral authority in prison. And then (Frederik Willem) de Klerk opened the path for him to be released and become the first president of the new South Africa. Leadership is moral authority whereas management is formal authority that is conferred from the top. But leadership is earned from below, based on high trust and getting people emotionally connected with the strategic goals because they were involved and they understand them and they emotionally connect to them.
Do you have a personal hero, who would embody these things?
Gandhi
What about Barack Obama or John McCain, the political leaders who fought the presidential election in the US?
I don't have the same level of confidence in the cast that had been put up to the American public today. But I do believe that whoever it is, they have to have a more synergistic approach towards their relations with other people and other nations. I have trained over 35 heads of states. I have trained their cabinets, their advisors, and their legislatures and also their supreme courts and judiciary. So I see what builds trust and what destroys trust. When trust is high, speed goes up tremendously, productivity grows up. When trust is low, speed and productivity go down.
Any one message that you would like to give to our readers?
I would say for your body: assume you would have had a heart attack. Now eat and exercise accordingly. For your mind: assume that the half life of your profession is only two years, so prepare accordingly. For your heart: assume that everything is shared by another person; they can overhear and now speak accordingly. For your spirit: assume you are going to have a one-on-one visit with your creator every three months. Now live accordingly.
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