In case you’ve missed it, we’ve been covering Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. You can find the first three posts here:
Next up is “Think Win-Win”.
Thinking win-win is a mindset. The individual who thinks this way is constantly seeking strategies and results that are beneficial and satisfying for themselves and any other party involved. Rather than achieve success at the expense of someone else, these types of people hope to achieve success through partnerships with others.
Most of the time, people think of business as competition. And the only way to succeed in business (or any other competition really) is to outperform other competitors.
I win when they lose. I lose when they win.
But success shouldn’t be thought of in terms of a finite quantity. It isn’t a pie that, once its slices are handed out, there is no more for anyone else. The goal should not be to get the biggest piece possible so that no one else is allowed any at all.
Take our industry for example.
If one of our competitors creates a game-changing system of doing things, many would see that as a win for them and a loss for us. However, thinking win-win, we see it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Sure, they created it. But now all of us can use the new system or tools to be better at our jobs. When we do this, it benefits our agents. And when our agents have better information, better tools, and are more efficient, it’s our consumers who prosper most.
When they win, we all win.
Individuals and companies who possess this win-win frame of mind typically share three characteristics:
- Abundance Mentality There isn’t just one pie. There are multiple pies—enough to go around for everyone.
- Integrity Stick to your true feelings, your values, and your commitments. You’ve committed to ensuring all Americans have coverage regardless of where they get it. You value “the competition”. You feel for them, knowing they too have a job to do, families to take care of, etc. When everyone wins, everyone is taken care of, and that’s a great thing.
- Maturity Share your ideas and feelings and consider the ideas and feelings of others too.
Lastly, many think that you must either be nice or be tough.
Those who think win-win shed “either/or” for “and”. They can be nice and tough. They are courageous andconsiderate; empathetic and confident. These types of individuals have found a balance that allows them to succeed with and through others to maximize their potential success.
