{"id":263,"date":"2010-04-08T04:53:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-08T04:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.renando.com\/blog\/?p=263"},"modified":"2021-01-15T21:55:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T21:55:19","slug":"coveys-seven-habits-keeping-the-end-in-mind-the-java-jedi-mind-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/coveys-seven-habits-keeping-the-end-in-mind-the-java-jedi-mind-trick\/","title":{"rendered":"Covey\u2019s Seven Habits for the Digital Agency \u2013 Habit 2: Keeping the end in mind (the java jedi mind trick)"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have dealt with anyone you have considered a “client” or “customer”, you join millions who have followed a fairly typical five-step approach.\u00a0 You 1)<\/strong> define objectives, 2)<\/strong> work out how (or if) you can meet those objectives, 3)<\/strong> apply effort towards meeting those objectives, 4)<\/strong> deliver against those objectives, and 5)<\/strong> look back to see how you did.\u00a0 As we continue our studio journey through Covey\u2019s 7 Habits with “Habit 2: keeping the end in mind”, we ask ourselves what it would look like to do step 5 on both ends.<\/p>\n

\"End<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Covey\u2019s second habit speaks to \u201ckeeping the end in mind\u201d and promotes the concept of always having two ends to any endeavour: the one you imagine or envision before you start the task; and the result you achieve after the sum of all effort has been applied.\u00a0 To test the approach, let\u2019s apply this to something generic like making coffee.\u00a0 Using our five-step approach, we can say: 1)<\/strong> customer wants a latte, 2)<\/strong> you confirm the size, type, etc., 3)<\/strong> you make the latte, 4)<\/strong> you give the customer the latte, and 5)<\/strong> you ask if they want anything else before sending them on their way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/p>\n

However, I suspect your end goal is not just that single cup of coffee to that one customer.\u00a0 I imagine your real end goal is to serve more customers, and perhaps serve that same customer again.\u00a0 The problem is that simply following the five steps above gives the one customer his caffeine and you are done with it.<\/p>\n

Java Jedi Mind trick<\/h2>\n

\"Java<\/p>\n

What if you were to articulate your actual end goal before starting the process? What if, as soon as you make eye contact with the customer, you were to say: \u201cGood morning!\u00a0 I am going to give you the best coffee you have tasted this week.\u00a0 My smile will make you forget your cares. As you drink your caffeinated gold, you will consider how to repay me with tips, repeat business, and telling your friends they should never buy from anywhere else.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 You could even do that Jedi hand motion to drive the point home.<\/p>\n

Sounds bold, I know, and perhaps a bit corny.\u00a0 Yet if you translate the statement to whatever it is you do, it is also quite confronting.\u00a0 To state our true end goals up front holds us accountable.\u00a0 We no longer have an escape clause, articulating the standard both you and the customer know you aspire to but suspect you might not achieve.<\/p>\n

In the studio, we are asking what it would look like to develop case studies at the start of the project rather than as a review when the project is out the door.\u00a0 What if we stated business objectives to the detail (\u201cThe project increased revenue in the business to business channel by 25%\u201d) and even put words in our clients mouth through testimonials (\u201cThe project was one of the best experiences of my life\u201d)?\u00a0 We would then work at every stage to make that case study true.<\/p>\n

What would it look like in your position to start with the end in mind?\u00a0 Are we setting ourselves up for failure, contrary to a sentiment of \u201cjust do your best\u201d? Or is this an opportunity to achieve the potential we aspire to achieve?<\/p>\n

Other posts in the series:
\nHabit 1: Be Proactive<\/a>
\nHabit 2: Finding and Keeping your Centre<\/a>
\nHabit 3: Putting first things first<\/a>
\nHabit 4: Win-Win or No Deal<\/a>
\nHabit 5: Seek first to understand, then be understood (no one wants a web site)<\/a>
\nHabit 6: Synergy<\/a>
\nHabit 7: Sharpening the saw<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have dealt with anyone you have considered a “client” or “customer”, you join millions who have followed a fairly typical five-step approach.\u00a0 You… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[184,185],"tags":[99,100,117,123],"ecosystem_role":[],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-organisations","category-about-you","tag-personal-development","tag-personal-potential","tag-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-people","tag-stephen-r-covey","bwp-masonry-item","bwp-col-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7627,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions\/7627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263"},{"taxonomy":"ecosystem_role","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ecosystem_role?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}