Achieving Results: Todd Davis on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leadership

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Achieving Results: Todd Davis on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leadership"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Right About Now with Ryan Alford
• Host: Ryan Alford, The Radcast Network
• Episode Title: Achieving Results: Todd Davis on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leadership
• Release Date: December 3, 2024

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Introduction

In this episode of "Right About Now with Ryan Alford," host Ryan Alford engages in a deep and meaningful conversation with Todd Davis, a seasoned leadership consultant from Franklin Covey. The discussion revolves around Stephen R. Covey’s seminal work, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," exploring its timeless principles, practical applications, and evolution in the modern business landscape.

Guest Background

Todd Davis brings nearly three decades of experience to the table, having served in various capacities at Franklin Covey. Starting as a recruiter, he climbed the ranks to become the Chief People Officer, overseeing human resources and organizational development. His extensive background in HR and leadership consulting positions him as an authority on effective leadership practices and organizational culture.

Key Topics and Discussions

1. The Power of Understanding Company Mission

• Todd Davis emphasizes that when employees grasp the company’s mission, their engagement and enthusiasm increase significantly.
• Notable Quote:

  "Once everyone understands the mission of your company, it's easier to get them excited and highly engaged in doing whatever part they have to move that mission forward." (00:37)

2. Timeless Relevance of the 7 Habits

• Todd shares an anecdote about a mid-50s man whose son gifted him the book, highlighting its enduring impact across generations.
• Quote:

  "It’s a timeless classic, if you will, because it’s based on principles of effectiveness." (05:22)

3. Effectiveness Over Tactics

• Both Ryan and Todd discuss the importance of focusing on meaningful outcomes rather than merely executing numerous tactics.
• Quote:

  "The effectiveness... is like a compass over the clock. Important to get a lot of things done and it’s important to do them in a timely manner, but what are the things we’re getting done?" (04:41)

4. Evolution of the 7 Habits

• Todd explains the latest iteration, 7 Habits 5.0, which updates the application of the habits to address contemporary challenges, ensuring their practicality and relevance.
• Quote:

  "This 7 habits 5.0... what I can use it in the challenges I’m dealing with today." (30:27)

5. Personal Impact of the 7 Habits

• Todd reflects on how the 7 Habits have profoundly influenced his personal life, enhancing his roles as a partner, parent, and friend.
• Quote:

  "The seven Habits has impacted me personally as a partner or husband, as a parent, as a grandfather..." (34:53)

6. Balancing Employee and Client Focus

• Ryan raises a pertinent question about maintaining a balance between serving employees and clients, especially post-COVID.
• Todd responds by stressing that a clear mission ensures that employee satisfaction naturally leads to superior client service.
• Quote:

  "Once everyone understands the mission of your company... we are all focusing on the client because our employees are so excited to know I'm part of something." (15:52)

7. Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI

• Todd highlights the increasing importance of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, noting that these are areas where AI falls short.
• Quote:

  "Interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence. AI doesn’t teach emotional intelligence." (34:29)

8. Essential Habits for Leaders

• Todd identifies Habit 1 (Be Proactive) and Habit 5 (Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood) as critical for effective leadership, fostering greater influence and team management.
• Quote:

  "Habit one, be proactive, and then Habit five, seek first to understand, then to be understood. There’s no stopping a leader who models those habits really well." (26:26)

Notable Quotes

• "You can choose your response to any situation in a world when there's so much we can't influence or control." – Todd Davis [19:05]
• "The deepest need of the human heart is to feel understood." – Todd Davis [28:44]
• "As Jim Collins, the leadership guru says, you got to have the right people on the bus." – Todd Davis [10:16]

Insights and Conclusions

• Principle-Based Leadership: The 7 Habits provide a foundational framework that emphasizes personal responsibility, clarity of purpose, and meaningful interpersonal interactions, all of which are crucial for both personal and organizational effectiveness.

• Adaptability and Practicality: The principles remain steadfast, but their applications evolve to address modern-day challenges, ensuring that leaders can implement them effectively in various contexts.

• Emotional Intelligence: In an era dominated by technological advancements, the human-centric skills of emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication become even more vital, as they cannot be replicated by AI.

• Cultural Stewardship: Leaders must act as custodians of organizational culture, ensuring that employees are aligned with the mission and feel valued, thereby enhancing overall performance and client satisfaction.

Practical Applications

• Habit 1 - Be Proactive: Encourages individuals to take ownership of their actions and responses, fostering a proactive mindset instead of a reactive one.

• Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand: Promotes active listening and empathy, enabling leaders to understand their team members’ perspectives fully before responding, thereby improving communication and trust.

• Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw: Advocates for continuous personal and professional development, emphasizing the importance of self-renewal to maintain effectiveness.

Final Thoughts

This episode underscores the enduring impact of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" on leadership and organizational success. Todd Davis’s insights and practical advice offer listeners actionable strategies to enhance their leadership capabilities and foster a mission-driven, effective workplace culture.

For more information on Todd Davis and Franklin Covey’s programs, visit FranklinCovey.com.

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Transcript

[Matt Reynolds]

Struggling to grow or start your business or drowning in an ocean of urgency. You're not alone. I'm Matt Reynolds and my brother Chris and I have been in the trenches of entrepreneurship for nearly 40 years combined. We've built successful companies from the ground up. We're sharing our hard earning lessons and practical strategies on the build you'd business podcast. And I'm excited to say that the build your business podcast is the newest addition to the Radcast network. Learn more at Turnkey Coach Build or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

[Todd Davis]

What I have found, Ryan, is once everyone understands the mission of your company, it's easier to get them excited and highly engaged in doing whatever part they have to move that mission forward.

[Ryan Alford]

This is right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month, taking the BS out of business for over 6 years in over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping next and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now.

What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now. We're always talking about what's important now. Hey, you know, we're always right too. Well, at least our guests can be. I don't know if I'm always right, but I've always got an opinion. And, you know, here's what I know. There are some things that are tried and true and I really like effectiveness. I love it because I own business. I love for me to be effective. I like for my listeners to be effective because that's us helping you. And that's why I've got leadership consultant and he's, you know, been a part of a book and a guide and coaching. You've probably heard of this. The seven habits of highly effective people. He is Todd Davis. What's up, Todd?

[Todd Davis]

Hey, how are you, Ryan? Thank you for the invitation.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes. Hey, I like effectiveness, you know, I mean, anybody that's been with the company as long as you have has to know a thing or two about that, if nothing else, right?

[Todd Davis]

Exactly. I'm not perfect at it, but I at least have the instruction manual.

[Ryan Alford]

I know if we all, you know, what do they say? But doctors sometimes have the worst health habits. But, you know, but something tells me you've got as being, you know, the chief people officer for the number of years that you've been or were. And now, you know, leadership consulting. You know, I'm sure you apply a lot of what you teach. If I had to guess.

[Todd Davis]

I do. I do.

[Ryan Alford]

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I think myself, I'm 47, and I think our audience, we skew, we have it all over 25 to 50, you know, skews male. I think if you're anywhere in the last, in my range or around there, that book rings familiar. If not been on the reading list, I mean, it's just, it's really stood the test of time, hasn't it, Todd?

[Todd Davis]

Really has. It was. Dr. Stephen R. Covey wrote the book about 35 years ago. It has sold over 40 million copies to date and continues to sell thousands of copies every month. And I had just real quick here, I had an interesting experience two weeks ago. I was in another state and working with a client and a gentleman came up to me after and said, and this Gentleman was probably mid-50s, said his son, who had just graduated college in Portland, called him the night before and said very seriously, hey, Dad, I just read the greatest book. I'm going to send it to you. It's called the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Laughing. Because to your point, the book's been around forever, but this young college grad was just finding it so empowering and so useful today. And so, yeah, it's a timeless classic, if you will, because it's based on principles of effectiveness.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes, exactly. And I do think in a world where with YouTube, the proliferation of new media, we have all these tactics at hand, right? You know, there's all these things to do and lots of people coaching what to do, but it's, you can do a lot of things and not be effective. It's, it's, it's a really key component because I think sometimes we get in the, in the tactics habit and the check in the box. But it's like, what was the outcome of all those tactics? That's what I've always loved about the book is the effectiveness.

[Todd Davis]

So true. I like to explain it as. It's the, if you, if you visualize the compass over the clock is how we get effectiveness, in other words. Yes. Important to get a lot of things done and it's important to get things done in a, within a timely manner. But what are the things we're getting done? Are we getting those things that are really going to move our lives or the lives of our team or our organization forward? And so, and so it's the compass first, you know, the direction we're headed over the clock. Clock's important. Gotta get, you know, gotta have deadlines. But let's make sure we're, we're heading the right direction first. And that's, that's how I think of and how we define effectiveness at Franklin Covey.

[Ryan Alford]

I think, I think, you know, sometimes numbers get glossed over. I can be guilty of this. 100,000 of this, 50,000 of that. 40 million sold. I mean, go get a room with 100 or 200 people and, like, look around and remind yourself how many people that is. And then think about 40 million. What an accomplishment.

[Todd Davis]

Yeah. It's another quick story. Just because he's happened in the last couple of weeks, we are just launching. We update the content or the course, not the book itself. We don't change how many habits there are, but the application of those we update in the courses we teach about every 10 years. And we just launched our new reimagined 7 Habits. And I was in another city in a hotel, delivering an overview of it. And this woman, who is. Her name is Sylvia, a worker in the hotel, she came up when she learned we were from Franklin Covey. And she said, I'll be right back. And I thought, okay, did we not pay our bill last time we were here? What's going on? And then she came back with the Spanish version of the Seven Habits. Highly effective people. It had been weathered and used up, and she carried it around in her purse and she went on for, I'll tell you, 10 minutes telling us, my colleague and I, how this book had changed her life and how she led her family with it and how it helped her in her career. And it was just. It was inspiring. I almost thought I was being set up for a minute. It was so inspiring.

[Ryan Alford]

I'm sure. And I know there's probably countless stories of people you know, and, you know, I've seen some on your website doing research for this product, you know, this interview, and reminding myself, you know, of even some of those tenants. But, Todd, let's set the table, you know, as we get into the here and the now. But talk about me. You've been with Franklin Covey, what, 35 plus years? Is that what is.

[Todd Davis]

No, no, not quite. I'm starting my 29th year, but still.

[Ryan Alford]

Almost 30 years with Franklin Covey. You know, maybe talk about the trajectory of your career and how it just has paralleled with everything that's happened.

[Todd Davis]

Yeah, you bet. Thanks for. Thanks for asking that. So I was in the medical industry for many years. I was in a recruiting role. I recruited physicians and medical personnel for about 10 years, and then some friends and I from the small human resource outsourcing group. So we would contract with companies out here in Utah, where I live, to provide their human resource services. Now, I didn't have human resource experience, but I have recruiting experience. And then we had another friend who had done employment law, who was an attorney. We had another friend who had done benefits, and so we would contract him. What was then called the Covey Leadership center was one of our clients. And so I would recruit for them and find them consultants and salespeople and things like that. And they said one day, hey, we want to bring recruiting in house. And I thought. And I had recently read the seven habits. Highly effective people. This is like 30, you know, 30 years ago. And I thought, well, dang, I think I might want to look into that. So I joined Covey Leadership center as their recruiter or their recruitment manager. And then we. Long story short, we merged with Franklin Quest, which was the beginnings of the Franklin Day Planner that some people might remember your parents having or whatever. And we merged those two companies about 28 years ago, 27 years ago, which became Franklin Covey. And I was in various positions. And then shorten this up. Our CEO came to me about 20 years ago, and the head of People Services, or human resources had left, said, we'd like you to apply for this position. And I said, well, that's great. I don't have any HR background I've recruited, but that's. He said, I know we think you're really good with people. And they didn't give me the position, but they had me apply, and I applied with several other candidates, and I was really honored to be be selected. And so I surrounded myself with really talented HR people and for 18 years ran the human resource function of the company. And then the last couple of years now, I've been out teaching others how to implement all of these things that I had seen work so well for our clients and for our department and for other clients that I'd work with.

[Ryan Alford]

You know, we'll talk and I want to dig into, you know, how Seven Habits has what, stayed the same? What's changed? Like you said, the application. But yeah, you know, Todd, I'd love to get your perspective, Chief people Officer, you know, like, to me, that's an interesting people. I hear that term now, and I think they know, you know, like the. I'll just call you, since you're a man, you know, the king of HR in some ways, you know, and so to frame. I love the marketing spin we've put on all the titles as a marketer, but at the end of the day, what has that position been like for you like what, what makes you a people person and what. I don't know, what's been like your guiding principle in making that successful?

[Todd Davis]

Yeah, that is great. That's great context setting. You should do this for a living. Ryan, you're really good at this. No, to your point. So a few years ago, when I was still in the sheep people officer role, one of our, our publisher, Simon schuster, who published 7 Habits, they thought it would be a really cool idea to have the chief people officer of the people company write a book. So I wrote a book, became a best seller. Not because anybody knows who Todd Davis is, but because this topic was so profound. And it's the question you asked. The book is called Get 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships. That work. And my whole premise in the years that I had almost two decades experience as the chief people officer was that as Jim Collins, the leadership guru says, you got to have the right people on the bus. That's true, but it's actually. Or. And I should say not but. And it's actually the nature of the relationships between those people that makes teams and organizations effective. And so in my role as chief people officer and anybody who's head of their human resource function, I view this as you're more or less, sorry for the sports analogy, but you're more or less the quarterback of the culture. Everybody, it takes everyone to form the culture, but you're the person who really reminds people. Helps to set the vision for where you want the culture to go, including what we call things. You know, like you said, we can, we can put a marketing spin on things. But I was, I was adamant that we not call it human resources, that we call it people services, because I wanted the team that I led to be reminded every day as they came to work. They were in the business of serving the people at Franklin Covey. Their clients were all of our associates. And then I wanted the role to be chief people because I wanted to be the Grand Poobah, but because I wanted to remind myself, is this about the people? Sometimes people equate the term human resources with kind of the policy wonks or the, you know, the necessary evil. We have to have to keep all the human resource laws and guidances and all that. And those things are important, but it's really about partnering with your team, your colleagues, to move or grow the business and be as you started out, be effective in what you're doing.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. And it is supremely important. And, you know, one question I want to have for you, Ty, that may not be expected because I want to transition back to the effective. We'll get into all. But when I think about the chief people officer and me being CEO and owner of multiple companies, I see what's happened. And I've seen interesting comments from even top Google executives like the pendulum, like if you own a. When you own a company, you serve clients. Right. But when you have a company, you need your people and you need to serve them to help you serve the clients. And I've seen even a few of the executives that have come out that said, maybe it swung too far to serving the people versus the client. And talk to me about the balance of those two things. And I think it was through the lens of things that happened with COVID The work from home, the not work from home, the benefits, the nap pods to use like a Google thing, you know, where you want to take care of your people, you know, you have to take care of your people. Yeah, but at the end of the day, we got to serve the client or we don't have no people.

[Todd Davis]

You're exactly right. No, I couldn't agree more.

[Ryan Alford]

But coming from sitting in your shoes, though, I can understand the delicate balance of those things. And maybe it's just a broad question, you know, your perspective on that pendulum.

[Todd Davis]

Yeah, no, I appreciate the question. I think you just nailed it. And so in my experience, what I have viewed is that first and foremost, deciding what, you know, you've had many companies. What is the mission of that organization? What is the mission of your organization? I think it starts there. Is it worthy? Are we doing something that's adding value to the client, to the world, to our. To our society? And most companies are. I haven't met a company that isn't, but it's then refining that mission statement and that mission and vision for the company so that our associates, these employees that we want to serve as well, that they're as excited and as on board as you are, as the CEO or as the leader. So what I have found, Ryan, is once everyone understands the mission of your company, you still have to do a lot of other things, but it's easier to get them excited and highly engaged in doing whatever part they have to move that mission forward. And so it really doesn't become, in my experience, a question for the leader of do I serve the client? We focus on the client or do we focus on our employees? We are all focusing on the client because our employees are so excited to know, hey, I'm a piece of this. Whatever I do, I see how it Links to that bigger mission of the company. And so I make a difference. And when leaders can focus on communicating to their associates their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see themselves, then we have one focus, and that's serving the client. But my team and the associates know they are a critical component of that, and they find value in that. They find excitement. That, yes, they have to be paid well, and they have to have the right working conditions and have the right benefits, but their incentive and their motivation is to be a part of something that matters.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, I think that is a big part of it. And I think that clarity, because I've even known and had a lot of moments where that wasn't clear enough. And that's not. That's been ineffective. And I see it, know it. I guess just to close the book on that question, Todd, would be like, what you said is absolutely right. What do you make of those that say, though, the pendulum swung too far, that, you know, like, what. What do you think has triggered that? Because I have sensed, not with, really about my own organization. We have a small company. Like, I'm not saying that this didn't exist or something, but it just. What I see, what I hear is, you know, it's like, maybe the employees feel like, what can the company do for me versus what can I do for the client?

[Todd Davis]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. And so I guess just to close the book on that, I'd just love to know your perspective.

[Todd Davis]

No, I think that's a great question. And I know what I'm going to suggest takes time, but this is what we work with our clients with. And I've seen it produce amazing results over and over again. We have a client or situation where, in their mind, the pendulum has swung too far. And they've got a group of people, good people, that are more focused on what's in it for me than what do I need to do to serve. It's taking the time to understand those people. It's moving as a leader, it's moving your mindset from. I bet. I bet they just want an increase because they've been given awards their whole life, and they're this, you know, spoiled little, give whatever to. I wonder. I wonder why they're. I wonder why they're not more engaged in the business that we do and the work that we do. I wonder why they're not more inspired. And so it's taking the time. And a lot of leaders, I won't say don't like this answer, but they realize, okay, I got to slow down and I've got to get to know my people. What's important to you, Jim? What's important to you, Sam? What's important to you? What motivates you? And honestly, if I talk to a generator, Sam, and they say all I care about is money making money, well, they're probably not the person for my team because I want to find out what part of what we do excites them and make sure that they understand how critical they are to that. So I'm kind of going back to what I said a minute ago. But when the pendulum is way over there. To your point, point, I think you have to slow down. Dr. Covey used to say with people, fast is slow and slow is fast. Take time, understand what excites them, what motivates them, what energizes them about the business, and then make sure that they have enough of that going on so that they feel this ongoing connection with the work that you're all trying to do to move your organization forward.

[Ryan Alford]

Yep. And I think that's fair. And I do, I love the, it's actually very tactical advice of the mindset of figuring, not making assumptions and that, that one little trigger of, you know, not making the assumption. But if you presume something, you tend to make it true. You know, absolutely. Presumptions are effective for one thing, and that's, you know, verifying what you already think but not necessarily getting to the bottom of something.

[Todd Davis]

That is what you just shared, Ryan. That is the foundation for the seven habits. Before we even get into the habits, we talk about our paradigms or our mindsets. And if I, for example, if I'm a micromanager, okay, everybody can write to that or they've worked for one. But if I'm a micromanager, how do I see my team? We call this the C do get model. Well, if I'm a micromanager, I see my team is incompetent. And to your point, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. If I see my team is incompetent, well then what do I do? I do everything myself or I hover over and criticize everything they do. And if that's what I do, what kind of results do we get? Well, we get pretty poor mediocre results at best. And then what do I say to myself as the micromanager? See they are incompetent, I got to micromanage even more. And to your point, it just becomes this self fulfilling prophecy of what I'm seeing versus if I see people as capable and Talented. Well, then what do I do? Well, then I take time to get to know them and what's important to them and what inspires them. How do I motivate them and make sure that they connect with our larger mission and then it goes on and we get greater results. So sorry. I'm passionate about this. I can take.

[Ryan Alford]

I love see do. Yeah, I'm gonna. That will stick with me. I remember different frameworks, you know, like certain things. But I will. The SDG will be with me. Oh, talking with Todd Davis. He is, let's just call him the forever chief people officer, but he's senior leadership consultant.

[Todd Davis]

I don't know how the current people officer would feel about that, but yes, thank you.

[Ryan Alford]

Chief. Chief people guy, you know, is what we'll call him. Todd, talk to me about what you guys are up to now with seven Habits, how it's evolved, the trainings, leadership and all that, how you're working with people.

[Todd Davis]

Thank you. Well, the seven habits have been around for 35 years, like we mentioned, since Stephen first wrote about them. They are all based on principles of effectiveness. For example, habit one is to be proactive, and it's based on the principle of choice. You know, going back to your see, do, get, you're never going to forget. Now, one way to see it is, hey, I can't predict how things are going to turn out, so I'm just going to kind of go with the flow. That's a common paradigm. But a more effective paradigm is, wait a minute, I can choose that I'm actually responsible for my own choices. So I can choose the life that I want, I can choose the career that I want, I can choose the outcome that I want, and I'm responsible for those choices. Now, there are a lot of things I don't have control over, but there are things, many things I can influence. And most importantly, we learn in this habit. I can choose my response to any situation. And that I remember when I first read the 7 Habits 30 years ago. I can still see that sentence on the page. You can choose your response to any situation in a world when there's so much we can't influence or control to know that we can choose our response. So habit ones and habit one for a reason. Because it's up to us to decide if we want to take control of our lives or if we want the outside world or influences to control our lives. And then I won't go deep into each habit, but habits two and three work together with that. Habit two is begin with the End in mind, it's based on the principle of purpose. So if I'm going to take charge of my life, well then what do I want to do with my life? And then habit three, put first things first. Is based on the principle of focus. Okay, if I decide what I'm going to do with my life, I got to start prioritizing what do I got to do first, second and third. And these first three habits surround what's called the private victory. It's where we become trustworthy. If you know people, and I'm sure you do that take responsibility for their lives, they know where they're going and they prioritize and focus on the most important things, they're pretty trustworthy people and it helps move us to being independent. We're independent and ready now to collaborate with others. And that's where the next three habits come. Habit four is to think win, win. It's a mindset based on the principle of abundance. Habit five is to seek first to understand. That's based on the principle of respect. And then Habit 6 is to synergize based on the habit of creative collaboration. And those are where we build trust with others and those move us to what we call interdependence. And then the seventh habit surrounding all those habits is habit seven, sharpen the saw. Based on the principle of renewal. It's where we take time to invest in ourselves. Your listeners that are taking time out of their busy schedules to lear because they learn from brain all the time, they're investing in themselves not because they're selfish, but because by doing so they can do that much more for everybody else. So that was the Reader's digest condensed version of the seven habits. And each decade or so that we reimagine it, we don't change the habits of their principles but the applications. We update them based on life's current situations. Sorry to take so much time, but that was perfect.

[Ryan Alford]

And you know what it made me think, Todd? It was, you know, I'm on social media a lot and you know, thinking like leadership coaches that I see and variations of quotes and principles. 80% of it has spun out of that book, I think because. And those top line thoughts now, I'm not saying people are copycats, they've added their sauce on top of it or whatever, but those core principles capture a lot of the overall sentiment of what drives sort of effective behavior.

[Todd Davis]

Well, you know, Ryan, that's a really good point. And you know, they are copycats. But Stephen said he was a copycat and Let me clarify. Stephen made the point all the time. He did not invent the seven habits. What he did, and I had the great honor of working with him for many years before he passed away about 12 years ago. But he clarified what he did was he identified those people and those teams and those organizations that seemed to continually be getting ahead in a good way, getting the results they sought to get. And he studied what they did on a consistent basis and then identified those principles that had always been at work but that, you know, he just identified them, named them as habits, and put them in a construct that we could talk about them and start to implement in our lives. So he even made the comment that he didn't invent them, he discovered them. And so I think all of the iterations that different people use, they are just yet different ways to look at these lifelong principles that will always be in effect.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, and I just think, I don't know, it's, you know, you can choose the response to any situation. I think it's so powerful. Like there, all of those rang true. But I come back to that one because I think about. I think about myself at times. I think about, like, what I see, you know, like we, we have. We've empowered a lot of things, but ourselves at times and, you know, we. We give power, apply power. When we don't realize that we get to choose, you know, whether you're biblical or not, believing in free will, you know, the power to choose. And I think we've conditioned. We've been conditioned or at times, maybe that, you know, it's out of your control. But man, it's empowered. The way we empower people is for them to understand that statement.

[Todd Davis]

I couldn't agree more. I will be asked often in the leadership space we've been in for 40 years now, Franklin Covey's been around for 40 years, and I will be asked often, so what habits are most critical for a leader? Well, after saying all of them, for me, if I had to whittle it down, it would be habit one, for all the reasons you just said, coupled with Habit 5. Habit 5 is to seek first to understand, then to be understood. And it's not just about being a nice person, but it is truly. I'm sure you've experienced this. I have so much greater influence. Not power, but influence with someone. If I take time to understand them first, seek first to understand. Going back to the earlier example when we were talking about the pendulum being swung too far sometimes. So first of all, if I realize I have a Choice. Okay? I can tell myself I'm a busy CEO or busy, I don't have time to meet with people. Or I can say, well, wait a minute. People are my business. Our organization is made up of great people. So, all right, that's my choice. And now Habit 5. I'm going to take time to sit down with Joe or Susan and say, hey, tell me what's important to you and tell me why you do things this way or that way. And then really listen. Don't listen with the intent to reply. We teach this in habit 5 because we are all programmed. And you might be doing it right now. Maybe you're nodding, looking at me. You're really thinking. You're going to say, I'm teasing you. That's how we all are. We listen. But we're already, in most cases, formulating a response. And I don't think it comes from a bad place. I think we're fixers. We're helpers. And so we hear just enough of the conversation to think, oh, I know what to say. I know how to fix this. I know how to help. And the deepest need of the human heart is to feel understood. Dr. Kevin said that, and I couldn't agree more. The deepest need of the human heart is to feel understood. So when you're truly trying to understand someone, just suspend your opinion. Don't throw it away. Suspend your opinion long enough to just hear the other person really understand where they're coming from. And leaders who do that, they have so much more information now to help move their teams, their organizations forward. So habit one, be proactive. And then habit habit five, seek first to understand, then to be understood. There's no stopping a leader who models those habits really well.

[Ryan Alford]

Well, no. And I added, like, I've been writing down notes. I take, you know, notes when I have the interviews for, like, to go back to highlight clips and different things like that. But I added a spin. You know, I would almost argue if. If you seek first to understand, you won't even have to explain to be understood. Like, you'll then be understood. You know, like, it's to go to Lover Deeper, because. And it applies to the whole, you know, listen with the intent to just listen.

[Todd Davis]

Yeah. Ryan, you know what I think about countless times when I would be meeting with a leader or an employee who was upset about something in my office, and I'm not. I'm not kidding. They'd be there for an hour. I probably spoke out of that hour. I probably spoke 10 minutes at most. They spoke the Rest of the time. And then they would get up and they would say, todd, this has been so helpful. Thank you so much. And I'm think, well, I didn't do much. But to your point, if you really take the time to understand, people are pretty good at solving their own problems. If they have a sounding board, if they have someone who will really listen. It's so rare that when we find someone who will do that, we can kind of come to our own conclusions, including the person, the employee who has kind of been in it for themselves, you know, with that pendulum swung too far. If you really listen to them, they will start realizing on their own, oh, I've kind of been all about me and what's in it for me. And I haven't really been thinking about how do I contribute to the organization I'm a part of. And so you couldn't be more right, in my opinion, in my experience.

[Ryan Alford]

I love that. Talk to me. What are some of the nuances maybe that have changed as far as application that maybe people wouldn't be familiar with?

[Todd Davis]

Yeah, so just the practicality. It's always been in our courses, they've always been practical. But even more so, this development team that put this together, they have focused intently on, okay, you learn this firehose of information in two days. And it can be spread out. The one spread out, or it can be taught, concentrated. But regardless, you have all this information. It's so amazing. What do I do with it? What do I do with it? And so just the practicality. This 7 habits 5.0. There are things that I can take away that afternoon or that day and start applying them. This may sound too simplistic, but there's an activity we do in habit one, you know, be proactive. I can choose my response. And they take these statements around. They think of a situation in their life that is challenging right now. Maybe it's a relationship, maybe it's a problem project. And they write a statement, well, I can't. I can. So while I can't change the project that I've been assigned, I can look for some additional resources that have expertise in this area to help me. So it just tries to start training our mind to think of, yeah, I can't. There are things I can't change, but there's always something I can do or I can influence. So that's just one example of the practical nature of the activities that they're doing. And. And I've had. I've been teaching this for a couple weeks now. It just launched October 28th. I've already had email upon email from participants coming back saying, I cannot believe how helpful this was. I was able to overcome this big obstacle. I was able to get the team thinking about this differently. So it's just the practicality I would say is the most insightful thing of this newest version. Just the relevant application and how I can use it in the challenges I'm dealing with today.

[Ryan Alford]

Todd, as we finish up here, talk to me about the types of companies that you're helping, you're working with. What's that ideal profile, you know, what you know, for someone listening that you know, could benefit from your services. I mean, if nothing else, we better have sold another, you know, million books. But, you know, go back and read because I circled, I've got, I think I got an old copy somewhere. I know I do. I'm like, dang. And I have four boys. It's going to be mandatory reading for them. But talk to me about that profile and what you're doing and how you're helping them.

[Todd Davis]

I don't want this to be a flippant answer, but we're not industry specific by any means. I said my flipping answer would be any organization that has people. And we do work. I was going to say we don't work with really small companies, but we actually do. But we tend to work with those organizations that have 500 or more employees. But I'm thinking of some examples right now of some organizations that have less than that. So I don't want to rule them out. People, I guess I would summon as this organizations. And then I just did a keynote for an organization last week that has 20,000 employees. So organizations of all sizes. But I would sum up is this organizations whose top leadership realizes that it starts with the people. And if you're a CEO listing or a senior executive listing and you, you totally buy into, because it's true that it all starts with the people. Regardless of what your organization does, you know, interesting AI, you know, which is taking over our jobs. We just looked at a survey, 290 large businesses around the world, not just the nation around the world, that use AI on a regular basis. They still had in their top three needed skills that they didn't have. Interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence. AI doesn't teach emotional intelligence. Now, Franklin Covey, 7 Habits. We call it the 7 Habits effect. If I had to summarize, okay, what Todd, what skill does it develop more than anything else if people apply it? It is emotional intelligence. It's interpersonal skills. And Those are everything we've been talking about here. So organizations that recognize that are the organizations that we work with.

[Ryan Alford]

Todd, I vaguely remember that maybe you guys had a sub segment of 7 Habits that did this. But whether you did or didn't, it could be applied to marriage.

[Todd Davis]

We used to have seven Habits for home and family. Yeah, we do.

[Ryan Alford]

I feel like these seven habs, I was thinking here, going like, you know, any spouse, you know, working with one another could learn a lot from this, I'll tell you.

[Todd Davis]

Well, my fifth wife, she told me that I had begun. No, I'm kidding. But you're right, we have family division. But even without that, and this is selfish on my part, I've been here 29 years and I've got a long ways to go. I'm a working project. But the way the seven Habits has impacted me personally as a partner or husband, as a parent, as a grandfather, as a neighbor, as a friend, as a son, as a sibling, it's profound. And so I say that when I say selfishly, I've been paid and I have these great positions, I've had these great roles. But the personal development, just being around this content and obviously I work for Franklin Covey, so I'm proud of this. But I would tell you this even if I didn't work for them, it has had and continues to have a personal profound effect. And I've got a long ways to go. But to your point, absolutely. It impacts every part of your life, both personal and interpersonal and organizational.

[Ryan Alford]

I've listened with the intent to just listen, Todd, and hopefully our audience has as well. Where could everybody learn more about what you guys are doing? The programs, the book. Obviously the book's easy to find, easy to Google, but give me some links or wherever we can lead people.

[Todd Davis]

Easy to remember if they'll just go to www.franklinco covey.com that's C O V E Y V as in Victor. FranklinCovey.com they can find. There's a search engine there. They can find anything they want there, including more of me if they're, if they're a glutton for punishment.

[Ryan Alford]

Franklincovey.com 7 Habits of Highly effective people Coming from the chief people guy, Todd Davis. Todd, pleasure having you on.

[Todd Davis]

Thank you so much. I appreciate, again, I appreciate the invitation.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey guys, you know, to find us, Ryan is right.com we'll have links to 7 Habits there, the FranklinCovey.com website and all the highlight clips. Full episode in the video. Go check it out on YouTube. Fastest growing YouTube podcast business. Podcast on the planet over there. Let's do it. We'll see you next time. All right.

About now, this has been Right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast network production. Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.