Applying Covey’s 7 Habits to Your Channel Marketing Program
Posted by
Bill Kelly on Fri, Jul 20, 2012 @ 03:07 AM
The late Dr. Stephen Covey is the author of a number of acclaimed books, including the international bestseller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which has sold more than 20 million copies in 40 languages throughout the world. When it was published in 1990 it became a blueprint for personal development.
What do the 7 Habits have to do with channel marketing programs?
The book introduces the concept of 'habits' that we need to learn to do automatically. Most of us have habits we are not even aware of and probably do not remember how we learned.
Stephen Covey suggests that this model is a process of learning new habits, and learning a new habit is not easy. It takes time and practice. But if you're willing to make the time and put in the practice then the 7 Habits is the best place to start.
When we look at the definition of a habit we can easily see the correlation to channel partner attributes that we all strive to foster. As defined, a habit is the intersection of Knowledge, Skill and Desire. Knowledge is ‘what to do’ and the ‘why’. Skill is the ‘how to do’. And Desire is the motivation, the ‘want to do’. By combing all three - knowledge, skill, and desire - we can break through to new levels of effectiveness in our channel marketing programs.
How can we apply the 7 Habits to Channel Marketing Programs?
The 7 Habits are said by some to be easy to understand but not as easy to apply. The 7 Habits described in Covey’s book are habits of effectiveness and are effective because they are based on core principles, helping to maximize long-term beneficial results. But these habits are not intended to be a formula that we can just apply and be "better" but rather build and improve on each in turn to increase the effectiveness of channel marketing programs.
Intrigued? Want to learn more?
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a powerful book containing effective principles for personal change and for leading change in organizations. Other authors and commentators have noted that the equivalent of an entire library of success literature is found in this one volume and that there are many more than seven good reasons to read this book.
So, dust off your copy and re-read it. If you have never read this book get yourself a copy.