Over the last few weeks here at Big Picture Web, we've been taking a look at Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, a classic business professional's guide to becoming a productivity powerhouse in the workforce, and translating the core messages for online marketers. Last week we covered the first three habits necessary to achieve the private victory. This week, we'll take a look at the public victory, as well as the habit that ties them all together, in part three and the last in our series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Online Marketers.
The private victory was about mastering your own effectiveness. The public victory is about working with others to achieve not only your goals, but their goals as well. Habits 4-6 are:
- Think Win/Win
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
- Synergize
Mastering these three habits move you from independence to interdependence on the spectrum of effectiveness. Let's take a closer look and explain the public victory of online marketers.
Habit #4: Think Win/Win
The first step in the public victory is to understand the concept of win/win. The main idea is that the most success occurs when your goals genuinely and rigorously align to those of your audience. Create a flood of free blog posts, articles and whitepapers answering these questions throughout the buying process. Help people by educating them and empowering them to accomplish their own goals. You win when a small, yet significant portion of these folks take the next step and hire/buy from you.
It's important not to approach win/win with quid pro quo in mind. Give liberally now and in the end, your kindness will be rewarded by continued patronage and stronger relationships. These concepts apply to both customers and co-workers.
Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Effective online marketers know that launching a new product or website without evaluating the needs of the customer is a recipe for disaster. I recently picked up a copy of Vanessa Fox's Marketing in the Age of Google 
What problems do your customers have? What issues do they need addressing? What concerns do they have about your product? Smart online marketers research all of the questions buyers have about their products. Then they create content that speaks to those issues.
Habit #6: Synergize
This is one of my favorite habits. Without synergy, 1 + 1 = 2. With synergy, 1 + 1 > 2. In my post about the modern economics of Trust Agents, Linchpins and Ninjas, I demonstrated the math of how effective people can have multiplying effect on the productivity of their entire organization through leadership, experience and knowledge.
To synergize, simply think of success more like a plant than a pie. Plants grow quickly and without bounds when all their inputs are at their most effective. Pies are finite and there's only so much to go around. Synergizing with co-workers and customers is fun, exciting and leads to great things.
Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw
Now that you've mastered both the private and public victory, you have all the tools you need to be effective. The last habit of highly effective people (and online marketers) is to Sharpen the Saw. Sharpening the saw means you always look for ways to advance your knowledge, skills and experience. Moss doesn't grow on a rolling stone and all that jazz.
Just by being here you're sharpening the saw, so good on you! And now that we've reviewed all 7 habits, it's your turn. What's your favorite habit to ensure your effectiveness? Do you adhere to Covey's habits or do you live by an code all your own? Leave a comment and your thoughts below.
