The P/PC Balance

Here is yet another great concept from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

The P/PC Balance. “P” stands for Production, and “PC” stands for Production Capacity.

Covey tells the fable of a farmer who discovered he had a goose that laid golden eggs. Every morning he would find one of these golden eggs in her nest. He was so happy that he had found his fortune. His new-found prosperity began to take hold of him, and he began to consider how he could accelerate his success. “What if I could get inside that goose and extract all the eggs at one time?” After becoming obsessed with the thought, he killed the goose and cut her open, only to find no eggs within. He had killed the source of his fortune.

The moral of the story is a simple self-evident principle, that to maintain production you must also maintain and care for the producer. Your human body needs sleep. Mechanical systems need preventative maintenance. You need to work ON your business as well is IN your business. Employers need to take care of their employees and customers if they want their business to survive and grow.

Here are some questions for your consideration: What areas of renewal, maintenance, and care are you currently neglecting? How could you address that neglect in a way that would lead to an increase in production and results? What specific action will you take today to make that happen?