The seven habits of highly effective people® Dr Stephen Covey’s inspirational
book
- 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People® Dr Stephen Covey is a hugely influential
management guru, whose book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, became
a blueprint for personal development when it was published in 1990. The Seven
Habits are said by some to be easy to understand but not as easy to apply.
Don’t let the challenge daunt you: The ‘Seven Habits’ are a remarkable set of
inspirational and aspirational standards for anyone who seeks to live a full,
purposeful and good life, and are applicable today more than ever, as the
business world becomes more attuned to humanist concepts. Covey’s values are
full of integrity and humanity, and contrast strongly with the process-based
ideologies that characterised management thinking in earlier times.
Stephen Covey, as well as being a renowned writer, speaker, academic and
humanist, has also built a huge training and consultancy products and services
business – Franklin Covey which has a global reach, and has at one time or
another consulted with and provided training services to most of the world’s
leading corporations.
Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People®
habit 1 – be proactive® This is the ability to control one’s environment,
rather than have it control you, as is so often the case. Self determination,
choice, and the power to decide response to stimulus, conditions and
circumstances
habit 2 – begin with the end in mind® Covey calls this the habit of personal
leadership – leading oneself that is, towards what you consider your aims. By
developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities you will build a
platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful. habit
3 – put first things first® Covey calls this the habit of personal management.
This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the aims
established in habit 2. Covey says that habit 2 is the first, or mental
creation;
habit 3 is the second, or physical creation. (See the section on time
management.)
habit 4 – think win-win® Covey calls this the habit of interpersonal
leadership, necessary because achievements are largely dependent on
co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the
assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a
co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose.
habit 5 – seek first to understand and then to be understood® One of the great
maxims of the modern age. This is Covey’s habit of communication, and it’s
extremely powerful. Covey helps to explain this in his simple analogy ‘diagnose
before you prescribe’. Simple and effective, and essential for developing and
maintaining positive relationships in all aspects of life. (See the associated
sections on Empathy, Transactional Analysis, and the Johari Window.)
habit 6 – synergize® Covey says this is the habit of creative co-operation –
the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which
implicitly lays down the challenge to see the good and potential in the other
person’s contribution.
habit 7 – sharpen the saw® This is the habit of self renewal, says Covey, and
it necessarily surrounds all the other habits, enabling and encouraging them to
happen and grow. Covey interprets the self into four parts: the spiritual,
mental, physical and the social/emotional, which all need feeding and
developing.
Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits are a simple set of rules for life – inter-related
and synergistic, and yet each one powerful and worthy of adopting and following
in its own right. For many people, reading Covey’s work, or listening to him
speak, literally changes their lives. This is powerful stuff indeed and highly
recommended. This 7 Habits summary is just a brief overview – the full work is
fascinating, comprehensive, and thoroughly uplifting. Read the book, or listen
to the full tape series if you can get hold of it. In his more recent book ‘The
8th Habit’, Stephen Covey introduced (logically) an the eighth habit, which
deals with personal fulfilment and helping others to achieve fulfilment too.
The book also focuses on leadership. Time will tell whether the The 8th Habit
achieves recognition and reputation close to Covey’s classic original 7 Habits
work.
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Muhammad Khalidi Ramli,
Chief Executive Officer,
NH ARIES SDN. BHD.(787182-W).
www.kowasa.org
BLOG:
www.kelabperantaujeli.wordpress.com
Life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest
rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act
until they achieve. This is the common denominator separating those who live
their dreams from those who live in regret. Work SMART:
Specifically,Measurable,Achievable,Reasonable & Timeliness.
