May, 2011 | It's Worth Noting

There is a great book written by Stephen M.R. Covey, son of famed productivity author Stephen Covey, entitled The Speed of Trust. Covey argues that the lack of trust in business is extremely costly. All the due diligence, exhaustive contracts, monitoring and the like slows business down and increases costs. Alternatively, what if you trusted the person on the other side of the table? How much quicker and more easily could you do business? I wholeheartedly agree with Covey’s thesis. I do not suggest being naive, but I do advocate and practice aligning with customers, vendors and employees one can trust and stepping away from those one cannot. My strong conviction wasn’t birthed out of the book though. For me, the seed was planted many years ago when I was a young boy attentively observing my father conduct business. My father manages ranches raising registered cattle. He’s what people have…

What are your note taking habits when you listen to a speech, sermon, presentation or similar? I find that most people fit into one of three camps. Which one describes you? You take a note or two, whether mental or written, but the content goes in one ear and out the other. You take some written notes, but rarely reference them later. You take written notes, identify how the content applies to you and consistently review your notes to evaluate action taken and catch any items you missed. The problem with habits #1 and #2 is that they have a similar outcome. Hours or days later, only broad themes are remembered. Weeks later, little to nothing is remembered let alone applied. In a relationship, sometimes you need to listen just to listen, but not when you sit in the crowd listening to a speaker. If you listen without purpose, without…

May 2011

Operating at the speed of trust

What type of note taker are you?