SummaryofStephenR.

Coveys7HabitsofHighlyEffective People
Source:QuickMBAManagement,Knowledgetopoweryourbusiness Leaningyourladderagainsttherightbuilding. Inhis#1bestseller,StephenR.Coveypresentedaframeworkforpersonal effectiveness.Thefollowingisasummaryofthefirstpartofhisbook,concluding withalistofthesevenhabits. The7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople,Covey'sbestknownbook,hassoldmorethan15million copiesworldwidesinceitsfirstpublicationin1989.Coveyarguesagainstwhathecalls"The PersonalityEthic",somethingheseesasprevalentinmanymodernselfhelpbooks.Heinstead promoteswhathelabels"TheCharacterEthic":aligningonesvalueswithsocalled"universal andtimeless"principles. Coveyadamantlyrefusestoconfoundprinciplesandvalues;heseesprinciplesasexternal naturallaws,whilevaluesremaininternalandsubjective.Coveyproclaimsthatvaluesgovern peoplesbehavior,butprinciplesultimatelydeterminetheconsequences.Coveypresentshis teachingsinaseriesofhabits,manifestingasaprogressionfromdependenceviaindependence tointerdependence. Ourcharacterisacollectionofourhabits,andhabitshaveapowerfulroleinourlives.Habits consistofknowledge,skill,anddesire.Knowledgeallowsustoknowwhattodo,skillgivesus theabilitytoknowhowtodoit,anddesireisthemotivationtodoit. TheSevenHabitsmoveusthroughthefollowingstages: 1. Dependence:theparadigmunderwhichweareborn,relyinguponotherstotake careofus. 1. Independence:theparadigmunderwhichwecanmakeourowndecisionsandtake careofourselves. 2. Interdependence:theparadigmunderwhichwecooperatetoachievesomething thatcannotbeachievedindependently. Muchofthesuccessliteraturetodaytendstovalueindependence,encouragingpeopleto becomeliberatedanddotheirownthing.

Therealityisthatweareinterdependent,andtheindependentmodelisnotoptimalforusein aninterdependentenvironmentthatrequiresleadersandteamplayers. Therefore,thefirstthreehabitsfocusonselfmastery,thatis,achievingtheprivatevictories requiredtomovefromdependencetoindependence.Thefirstthreehabitsare: Habit1:BeProactive Habit2:BeginwiththeEndinMind Habit3:PutFirstThingsFirst Habits4,5,and6thenaddressinterdependence: Habit4:ThinkWin/Win Habit5:SeekFirsttoUnderstand,ThentoBeUnderstood Habit6:Synergize Finally,theseventhhabitisoneofrenewalandcontinualimprovement,thatis,ofbuildingone's personalproductioncapability. Tobeeffective,onemustfindtheproperbalancebetweenactuallyproducingandimproving one'scapabilitytoproduce.Coveyillustratesthispointwiththefableofthegooseandthe goldenegg.Inthefable,apoorfarmer'sgoosebeganlayingasolidgoldeggeveryday,andthe farmersoonbecamerich.Healsobecamegreedyandfiguredthatthegoosemusthavemany goldeneggswithinher.Inordertoobtainalloftheeggsimmediately,hekilledthegoose.Upon cuttingitopenhediscoveredthatitwasnotfullofgoldeneggs.Thelessonisthatifone attemptstomaximizeimmediateproductionwithnoregardtotheproductioncapability,the capabilitywillbelost.Effectivenessisafunctionofbothproductionandthecapacitytoproduce. Theneedforbalancebetweenproductionandproductioncapabilityappliestophysical, financial,andhumanassets. Habit1:BeProactiveFocusonthethingsyoucanactuallydosomethingabout.Changestarts fromwithin,andhighlyeffectivepeoplemakethedecisiontoimprovetheirlivesthroughthe thingsthattheycaninfluenceratherthanbysimplyreactingtoexternalforces. Habit2:BeginwiththeEndinMindBegineverythingyoudowithaclearpictureofyour ultimategoal.Developaprinciplecenteredpersonalmissionstatement.Extendthemission statementintolongtermgoalsbasedonpersonalprinciples. Habit3:PutFirstThingsFirstManageyourlifeaccordingtoyourneedsandpriorities.Spend timedoingwhatfitsintoyourpersonalmission,observingtheproperbalancebetween productionandbuildingproductioncapacity.Identifythekeyrolesthatyoutakeoninlife,and maketimeforeachofthem.

Habit4:ThinkWinWinIntegrity:Stickwithyourtruefeelings,values,andcommitments Maturity:BeconsiderateofthefeelingsofothersAbundanceMentality:Believethereisplenty foreveryone.Seekagreementsandrelationshipsthataremutuallybeneficial.Incaseswherea "win/win"dealcannotbeachieved,acceptthefactthatagreeingtomake"nodeal"maybethe bestalternative.Indevelopinganorganizationalculture,besuretorewardwin/winbehavior amongemployeesandavoidinadvertantlyrewardingwin/losebehavior. Habit5:SeekFirsttoUnderstand,ThentoBeUnderstoodLearnhowtocommunicateclearly andlistentoothers.StephenCoveypresentsthishabitasthemostimportantprincipleof interpersonalrelations.Effectivelisteningisnotsimplyechoingwhattheotherpersonhassaid throughthelensofone'sownexperience.Rather,itisputtingoneselfintheperspectiveofthe otherperson,listeningempathicallyforbothfeelingandmeaning. Habit6:SynergizeTwoheadsarebetterthanone.Throughtrustfulcommunication,findways toleverageindividualdifferencestocreateawholethatisgreaterthanthesumoftheparts. Throughmutualtrustandunderstanding,oneoftencansolveconflictsandfindabettersolution thanwouldhavebeenobtainedthrougheitherperson'sownsolution. Habit7:SharpentheSawAllowyourselftogrowbymaintainingabalancedprograminthefour areasofyourlife:physical,social/emotional,mental,andspiritual.Taketimeoutfrom productiontobuildproductioncapacitythroughpersonalrenewalofthephysical,mental, social/emotional,andspiritualdimensions. FollowupstoTheSevenHabits FollowuptitlestoTheSevenHabitsaimbothtoaddtotheoriginalandtoformacohesive philosophyonpersonal,principlebasedleadership.Theycomeintheformatofaudiobooksas well(suchasthetitleBeyondThe7Habits).Coveyhasalsowrittenanumberoflearningbooks forchildren.Hisson,SeanCovey,haswrittenaversionforteens:TheSevenHabitsofHighly EffectiveTeens.ThisversionsimplifiesCovey's7habitsinorderforyoungerreaderstobetter understandthem. The8thHabit In2004,Covey'sbookThe8thHabit:FromEffectivenesstoGreatnesswaspublished.It functionsasthesequeltoTheSevenHabits.Coveyclaimsthateffectivenessdoesnotsufficein whathecalls"TheKnowledgeWorkerAge".Heproclaimsthat"[t]hechallengesandcomplexity wefacetodayareofadifferentorderofmagnitude."The8thhabitessentiallyurges:"Findyour voiceandinspireotherstofindtheirs..."