The Personal Effectiveness Imperative
by Bob Moore, CMC, MCC, The Effectiveness Coach®

Word Count:  405
Reading Time:  Less than 3 minutes

John Butler, my mentor and author of the book, Crossing the Rubicon: Seven Steps to Writing Your Own Personal Strategy, has developed the PITOC Model which is illustrated by five concentric circles.  The center circle is labeled “P” for Personal Mastery on which he recommends we invest 40% of our time and effort.  Around the center circle is the “I” for Interpersonal Communication (30%). The next circle is “T” for Team Development (10%) and then, “O” for Organizational Culture Issues (10%).  The outside circle is “C” for Customer with a recommended 10% focus.

The PITOC Model is about the ripple effect or the inside-out process beginning with the inner core radiating to the outside.  Since change and development in all the other areas must begin with you, Personal Mastery must get the highest concentration and effort, 40%, followed by 30% on Interpersonal Relationships. Your ability to influence and form one-to-one relationships at every level of your business activity, and to build trust and understanding is essential for success today.  The PITOC concept is based on the premise that we need to work on own professional and personal development first and continue to apply energy and effort there before working on the outside circles.

This model goes into depth about how to achieve what Peter Drucker discussed in The Effective Executive (1966) when he said, “Only executive effectiveness can enable this society to harmonize its two needs:  the needs of organizations to obtain from the individual the contribution it needs, and the need of the individual to have the organization serve as a tool for the accomplishment of his purposes.”  Drucker’s final word was, Effectiveness must be learned.  What is your personal development plan for continuous learning toward mastering personal and professional effectiveness?  You must master the essential personal skills of your role before you can improve on your interpersonal relationships or lead your team to a higher level of performance.  Here are seven tips to help make it happen:

1. Feed your opportunities and starve your problems.
2. Focus on priorities rather than attempting to do a little bit of everything.
3. Continually work on making your strengths more productive.
4. Seek excellence instead of perfection.
5. Become more proactive and less reactive.
6. Be sure you are doing the right job right instead of just doing the job right.
7. Routinely ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?”

Enthusiastically,

Bob

Bob Moore, CMC®, President
Effectiveness, Inc/The Effectiveness Coach®
Aligning Human Capital with Strategic Objectives

Click here to order Crossing the Rubicon: Seven Steps to Writing Your Own Personal Strategy by John Butler (2006, Paperback, 192 pages) from Amazon for $24.35