Management Training - Personal Initiative

What kind of personality are you?- Preemptive
Do you have a high degree of personal initiative?- Imaginative
We define personal initiative as:- Valuable
"A positive character trait that describes theActions that are self initiated, goal directed and
degree to which you possess the willingness andintelligently executed will inevitably pay you back
ability to take self initiated action in the pursuit ofmany- fold.
your goals. "People who are level one personality tend to be
Personal initiative is important because:richer, happier and more successful. If you check
Everything you wish to achieve has its specificthe records, you will see for yourself.
causes that need to be enacted to make itHere are a few people with personal initiative
happen. If you do not enact the causes, the- Mohamed Ali
effect will also not occur. If you do enact the- Margaret Thatcher
causes the effect must occur and you MUST- President Obama
receive the object of your desires.- Arnold Schwarzenegger
But- and here is the kicker- nobody can MAKEThey are level one personalities. Join the gang. Be
you act. You can always choose to "leave it untila level one personality too.
tomorrow". You can say always say: "I ll do itLevel two personalities
tomorrow."The person who does the right thing, but only if
And many people do! How many people do youasked or only if it has become a crisis Level two
know "put things off"? They say "I don't need topeople work for level one personalities. Level two
start now, I do it later." And they fail to initiatepersonalities don't make much money and they
actions that are necessary to create the resultsare often stressed out. These people make good
they say they want.employees but not good leaders. Why? Because
How many people do you know, who are waitingthey need to be told what to do. This type has
for the circumstances to become more favorablegood potential for leadership because they can
before they agree to act? They say: I'll wait. Thechange and activate their personal initiative at will.
circumstances are not quite right yet."Today.
Personal initiative is the most potent of personalLevel three personalities
characteristics. It is the one that is worth theThe person who will do the right thing but only if
most to you and your family. The lack ofhe has been asked several times or it is late and
personal initiative is the one flaw in your characterhe is being chased. Level three personalities
that, if not corrected, will cost you the most. Dideventually get into deep trouble. These people
you know that, in essence, there are four levelsmake poor employees. They have to be
of personal initiative?permanently checked and double checked. It is a
Level onewaste of time and effort. These people should
The person who will do the right thing beforestrive to become a level two character type.
he-she is asked and before it needs to be doneLevel four personalities
Level twoThe person who refuses to do the right thing, no
The person who does the right thing, but only ifmatter how many times he is asked, nor how
asked.bad the situation has become. Level four
Level threepersonalities end up sick and depressed and at the
The person who will do the right thing, but only ifbottom of the ladder. They probably do not work
he-she has been asked several times.for your organization because they are almost
Level fourunemployable. These people need help.
The person who refuses to do the right thing, noWhat kind of person are you?
matter how many times he is asked, nor howDo you have a high degree of personal initiative?
bad the situation has become.Personal initiative describes the degree to which
Let us look at each in tern:you possess the willingness to take self initiated
Level one personalityaction.
The person who will do the right thing before hePersonal initiative is important because:
is asked and before it needs to be done. ThisONLY IF you enact the rights causes will you
type sees an opportunity to take action. The taskreceive the object of your desires.
does not HAVE TO BE DONE: nobody is askingDevelop your powers of personal initiative today
for it. If it is not done no immediate catastropheby taking the following steps.
will follow (today). But taking action today sets up1. Don't wait: Do what you can, with what you
a train of cause and effect that will pay hugehave got, today.
divides later in the year.2. Look for things that could be done.
This action is3. Ignore the excuses that you tell yourself.
- Creative4. Do it now.