Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

by Stephen R. Covey

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

1. Be proactive 2. Begin with the end in mind 3. Put first things first 4. Think win-win 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood 6. Synergize 7. Sharpen the saw: physical, mental, emotional/social, spiritual

The 7 Successful Habits

7 Sharpen saw

... an overview.

Interdependence
Understand Synergize 5 6 PUBLIC VICTORY

Think win-win 4

Independence
1st 3 things 1st

habit = knowledge + skill + desire

PRIVATE VICTORY 1 2 Be Proactive End in mind

Dependence

Developing Personal Potential

Coveys first three habits deal with self-reliance and selfmastery. These are private victories; they only involve the follower Habit 1: Be Proactive Be responsible, dont blame others Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind Start with a clear mental image of your destination Habit 3: Put First Things First Focus on preserving and enhancing relationships and on accomplishing results

Effective Interdependence

Habit 4: Think Win-Win Implies understanding that without cooperation, the organization cannot succeed Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood Requires a nonjudgmental attitude. Emphatic listening gets inside another persons frame of reference

Effective Interdependence

Habit 6: Synergize Synergy is the combined action that occurs when people work together to create new alternatives and solutions. The essence of synergy is to value and respect differences Habit 7: Sharpen The Saw Process of using and continuously renewing the physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of life

Habit One - Be Proactive

Proactivity vs. Reactivity I am responsible for my life My choices control my behavior I stand for something Factors beyond my control create my life My conditions, conditioning, and feelings control my behavior

Habit 1: Be proactive.
the gap = our choice

proactive (forward acting, opportunity-focused, clear) I will read one book per month in my field. I will exercise and attend Weight Watchers weekly I will cook dinners for my wife every Monday.

stimulus response
no concern
Victor Frankl, Mans Search for Meaning

circle of
circle of influence

Not until you can say

I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.

concern
reactive
(reverse acting, problem-bound, vague) I am not as smart as others in this company. People think Im too heavy. I wish our Monday evenings were better.

... can you say

I choose otherwise.

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind.

Identify the Target!

To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where youre going so that you better understand where you are now, so that the steps you take are always in the right direction. Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind.

The law of the farm: You reap what you sow. vision = what you want to see mission = immediate next step(s) Both tend to focus priorities.

translated sacrifice

A starting point in beginning with the end in mind is to develop a person al mission statement, philosophy or credo. It will help you focus on what you wa nt to be (character),do (contributions and achievements) and on the values and pri nciples upon which your being and doing are based.

Habit 3: Put first things first.

important urgent I: necessity crises deadlines maintaining
(25 - 25)

not urgent II: opportunity PC activities planning & prevention commitment

(65-15)

not important

III interruptions some meetings some reports

(5-55)

IV trivia busy work time wasters

(5-5)

We want Quadrant II > Quadrant I. Quadrant II comes from Quadrants III and IV.

Habit 4 Think Win/Win

WinWin Definition

The win-win approach is a set of principles, practices, and tools, which enable a set of interdependent stakeholders to work out a mutually satisfactory (win-win) set of shared commitments.

Habit 4: Think win-win.

lose-win consideration
(you get hard feelings)

win-win or no deal
(abundance mentality; get P and PC)

lose-lose
(never pays)

win-lose
(other person gets hard feeling)

courage

Habit 5: First understand ... then be understood.

win-win area = L x h
h = understand L = be understood

4 tips for dealing with people Do not criticize, condemn, or complain. Express sincere appreciation. Give them emotional air and learn their story. Focus on their interests (know your best alternative coming in).
Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People Fisher & Ury, Getting to Yes

Habit 6: Synergize.
Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The essence of synergy is to value the difference to respect them to build them and to compensate for weakness. The person who is truly effective has the humility and reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the ri ch resources available through interaction with the hearts and mind s of other human beings

Habit 7: Sharpen the saw.

Spiritual
battle of good versus evil (atheism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism)

Social
family, friends, service (notes, phone calls, emails, visits)

Mental
reading, journaling, discussing, seminars, meetings

Physical
endurance, strength, flexibility, sleep, eating

Seven Habits of Highly Successful People by Steven Covey

Habit 1 - Be Proactive Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind Habit 3 - Put First Things First Habit 4 - Think Win/Win Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Habit 6 - Synergize Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw

Gandhiji and Seven Habits

Incident:
It was on this Pentrich-Pietermaritzburg route, on June 7, 1893, M.K. Gandhi, then a young lawyer, was thrown out for travelling in a First Class compartment, a privilege denied to all non-whites in the apartheid-ruled South Africa at that time.

Gandhijis Response
Habit-1:He was alerted to the plight of Indians in Natal. Habit-2: He had a larger agenda of wiping out racial discrimination Habit-3: He began with non-violence movement in a structured way. Habit-4: It was for the larger benefit of the society. Habit-5: Before he started with the movement he understood all the stakeholders involved. Habit-6: Involvement of all the community in the movement.

The End