07 Stephen+Covey 7+Habits+of+Highly+Effective+People Summary

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Stephen Covey: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen Covey: 7 Habits ModelWe immediately become more effective when we decide to change ourselves

rather than asking things to change for us.

Stephen Covey reviewed 200 years of success literature and crystallized what helearned into seven habits that took the world by storm when he published them in1989. Twenty years later The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People continues tobe an influential business book delivering powerful lessons in personal change.

The seven habits are not a quick and easy formula for success. But together theyform a powerful model for personal change and leading change.

I have to start by recommending Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly EffectivePeople. Read it, or reread it if your copy is sitting on your shelf! I'm providing anoverview of the seven habits on this page. You need to read the book becausethere's a wealth of information in this book that you are not likely to find on anyweb pages. Actually I first listened to Stephen Covey talking about the sevenhabits on a set of CD's before I read the book and the connection between the tworeally worked for me.

Stephen R. Covey emphasises a return to principles or values in order to achievechange in our lives. The seven habits are not simply a veneer[surface] that youapply for success. The seven habits are a step by step model that empower youmake decisions and act so that you are always moving towards a knowndestination rather than reacting to whatever is happening at the time. The reason Ifavor this model is that it has strong links to concepts of Emotional Intelligenceand emphasises the importance of self awareness before successful engagementwith others.

The seven habits model uses the idea of 'habits' that we need to learn to doautomatically. Most of us have habits we are not even aware of and probablycouldn't say how we learned them in the first place! Stephen Covey suggests that

this model is a process of learning different habits that are aligned with the sevenhabits he presents in his book. Learning a new habit is not easy. It takes time and

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practice. For most of us this is a big ask! But if you're willing to make the time andput in the practice then Stephen Covey is the best place to start.

So what are the seven habits?

Yes, there are seven habits that Stephen Covey presents in The Seven Habits ofHighly Effective People. More recently Covey published The 8th Habit, not becausehe forgot one the first time round, but because he felt the 8th habit was necessaryto meet the changing world.

The seven habits are not intended to be individual formulas that we can just applyand be "better". Stephen Covey says that like the normal laws of growth the sevenhabits build on each other to create personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Thefirst seven habits can be divided into two groups of three - the first group focuseson "private victory" and the second on "public victory". Stephen Covey says"Private Victory precedes Public Victory" which really means that we have to

master ourselves before we can enjoy success outside of ourselves and withothers. Habit number 7 is about doing the right things to maintain these habits andcontinue developing.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Being proactive is more than just taking action. In this first habit Stephen Coveytells us we are responsible for our reactions to people or events. We are Response-able and have Response-ability because we have the ability to consciously choosehow we respond to any situation. Stephen Covey makes the point that humans canthink things through and don't need to be caught up in simple stimulus-->responsepatterns like Pavlov's dogs. To be proactive is to choose your response rather thanrelying on instinctive reactions.

So, what's your Response-ability like? Stephen Covey introduces the story of ViktorFrankl to emphasise the point that we have the freedom to choose our response towhatever happens to us. Frankl was a psychiatrist and is well known for his theoryof Logotherapy and publishing "Man's Search for Meaning". While enduring Naziconcentration camps Frankl realised that we can always choose our response, nomatter what happens to us. "Man's Search for Meaning" is essential reading, bythe way, and should be high on your list. It's an easy powerful read.

People who do not consider their reactions are reactive and often blame others or

things outside of themselves for what happens. They don't take any responsibility.They'd say I failed the paper because the examiner doesn't like me. Proactivepeople take responsibility for their response, often looking for what they can learnfrom what happened. They might say I failed the paper...maybe I didn't spendenough time learning, or didn't plan my time. What can I do differently next time?

To help you develop proactivity Stephen Covey introduces the concept of the Circleof Concern and Circle of Influence. He says proactive people focus their time andenergy in the Circle of Influence where they work on things they can do somethingabout. This is a powerful metaphor and I use it often in organizations involved withchange. It's a tool that helps people identify what's important and what they cando to positively influence their future rather than feeling like a pawn on a

chessboard.

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Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind

When I read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People I was struck by thewonderful metaphors that Stephen Covey uses to help us understand the points he

makes. For example, he talks about how easy it is to get caught up in the busy-ness of life, working hard to climb the ladder of success, only to discover that allthis time the ladder has been leaning against the wrong wall. I find this a verysimple and powerful image.

It's this metaphor that Stephen Covey uses to describe habit 2, Begin With TheEnd In Mind. It's a simple idea really and is about making an effort to start with aclear understanding of your destination and where you are going. Making sureyour ladder is up against the right wall before you start climbing.

This is essentially about planning so that we know where we are going all the timeinstead of being busy with day to day activities that actually take us nowhere.

Taking the time to see the bigger picture, to plan where we are heading, leads topersonal effectiveness.

Begin with the end in mind is based on the principle that all things are createdtwice. Theres a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to allthings. Stephen Covey makes the point that everything is created twice, first inthe mind and then in reality.

If you're building a house you plan every detail with architects drawings, buildersand landscapers according to what you want to create. Only then does the physicalwork begin. "You work with ideas. You work with your mind until you get a clearimage of what you want to build". Before you go on a holiday you've usuallyplanned the trip very carefully before you set foot out of your front door. If you'regiving a business presentation you write it out on paper or electronically beforeyou give it.

The question of course is why don't we do this when it comes to our own lives? Lifethrows so many things at us that keep us so busy that often we have neverthought about where we are heading and if what we are doing is taking us closerto, or further from our destination. Stephen Covey provides many effective ways tobegin this level of planning in your personal life together with lots of examples. Healso provides very useful suggestions for applying the ideas he has presented atthe end of each 'habit' chapter.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

This is the last of the habits that deals with self awareness and "Private Victory". IfHabit 2 is the first, or mental creation, then Habit 3 is the second creation, thephysical creation. As we've just seen it's easy to spend a lot of our time doing stuffthat just is not that important to meeting your intentions set up in Habit 2.Stephen Covey recommends that you do first things first. Identify what isimportant to do in order to keep you heading towards your destination, and thendo them.

Ok, so how do you know what's important and what is not? It's about managing

our time and what we do in that time. Now, I have always struggled withtraditional time management ideas. I resist being told that I must manage my time

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better, or worse, being told how to manage my time. Stephen Covey has a 4-quadrant time management model that actually got me interested in thinkingabout how I manage my time.

Covey spends a lot of time working with this model and emphasising that we needto aim to spend our time in Quadrant II. This is where you deal with things that areimportant to your values and goals, but that are not urgent. "If we don't practiceHabit 2, if we don't have a clear idea of what is important, of the results we desirein our lives, we are easily diverted into responding to the urgent". The urgentthings are often those things that keep us away from focusing on what isimportant.

As with the other habits Stephen Covey provides lots of practical thoughts andexamples to help you develop and practice Habit 3 including a useful template for

a weekly worksheet (printed in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) to helpyou focus your week on what is important to you.

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

Habit 4 is the first of the Habits dealing with what Covey calls interdependence -working effectively with other people. In describing each habit Stephen Coveyshares powerful insights and "Think Win/Win" is no exception.

Stephen Covey makes the point that the habit of effective interpersonal leadershipis Think Win/Win. This is the habit of always looking for a solution that benefits youAND the other person or group. What's fascinating is that the solution is usually

unexpected. "Win/Win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It's not your way or myway; it's a better way, a higher way".

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Most of us will say "yeah, yeah, we know this already. Win/Win's the way to go..."It's almost as if it's the socially acceptable attitude. But in reality people are likelyto act in their own best interest and when we look we find a 'Win/Lose', 'Lose/Win',

or just a plain 'Win' scenario playing out. After all, many of us are brought up tobelieve that winning is everything. I just have to watch the dad's on the side oftheir kids sports field to see this! So in reality this is a habit to be learned andpracticed.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Stephen Covey believes this principle is the key to effective interpersonalcommunication. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This habit isabout communicating with others. It's about developing the habit of listeningcarefully and really understanding the other person BEFORE giving your thoughts.

This is not easy to learn to do. In my practice I've often heard people saying thatno-one understands what they're really feeling. If you're a parent you might hearthat from your teenage son or daughter (I do!). This is because it's usually so mucheasier, and often really inviting, to give your opinion or to give advice to someonein need. Couples in counseling are often spending more time trying to get theirpartner to understand their position than listening and understanding theirpartner's position.

I really enjoy the examples that Stephen Covey shares to demonstrate this habit,especially the conversations between a father and his teenage son. Listening tothese on the CD version of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People reallycaptures the humor that becomes apparent when we realize the ways we often"listen" and respond, even when we have good intentions.

So start practicing this right now. Have fun with it! In your next conversation withsomeone put your natural and automatic responses aside and focus on genuinelyunderstanding them. Ask questions that invite more such as "Tell me more..." or"What happened next...?". Spend time with your children, your partner, yourcolleague, or even your boss, working to genuinely understand them before yourespond. You'll find that when you 'seek first to understand' your response mightbe different to what you expect, and that you start finding the creative solutionsand third alternatives described in habit 4.

Habit 6: Synergize

Dictionary definition: synergy [sin-er-jee]

1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect isgreater than the sum of their individual effects.

2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquiredsubsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combinedeffect.

The word synergy comes from the Greek synergos meaning working together.

Stephen Covey says, Synergy is everywhere in nature. If you plant two plants

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close together, the roots commingle and improve the quality of the soil so thatboth plants will grow better than if they were separated. If you put two pieces ofwood together, they will hold much more than the total weight held by eachseparately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals

three or more.

In Habit 6 Stephen Covey directs our attention to the power of effectiverelationships. As a result of the relationship that exists between people or groupsthe whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We can achieve so muchmore when we engage in effective relationships with others than if we acted alone.

Stephen Covey notes that synergy is difficult for many of us as independence ispromoted as a strong value in the world today. Many people have been trained orhave learned that other people can't be trusted. Achieving synergy requires hightrust and high cooperation and can lead to better solutions than anyone thought ofalone. You can get a sense of the way in which habits 4, 5, and 6 work together to

discover the creative solutions and third alternatives. And synergy is possible whenwe have the support of all five previous habits.

If you are concerned about synergy because you know you don't trust peopleeasily it's ok - go back to habit 1 and Be Proactive about your response tosituations or other people. You don't have to get it all right first time. This is part ofa life journey of learning and developing. You will get there if you are willing tospend the time and effort developing new habits.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Habit 7 is about looking after yourself. You are the greatest asset you have and wehave to learn to take time to look after ourselves. Stephen Covey suggests we payattention to four areas in our lives:

Physical: Exercise, Nutrition, Stress ManagementSpiritual: Value Clarification and Committment, Study and MeditationMental: Reading, Visualizing, Planning, WritingSocial/Emotional: Service, Empathy, Synergy, Intrinsic Security.

When I work with someone who has experienced extreme stress to the point of'breakdown' we often find that their lives have been narrowly focused on work andhome. They go to work (often working overtime) and go home simply to eat and

sleep so they can go to work again! Is this you? The most important thing you canstart doing now is looking after yourself by focusing on the four areas above.

Stephen Covey tells the story of meeting someone who has been sawing down atree for more than 5 hours. When you suggest that they take a break and sharpentheir saw so the job might go faster they tell you they don't have time to sharpenthe saw because they're too busy sawing!

It's so easy to get caught up in the demands of life, or even developing the Habits,that we forget ourselves. We can't do that. We have to be proactive and do this forourselves. No-one else is going to do it for you. "We are the instruments of our ownperformance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking

time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways".

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All four dimensions of renewal are thoroughly investigated and Stephen Coveyends this chapter with a discussion about the importance of renewal in our lives,and thinking of this as an upward spiral of growth, change, and continuousimprovement.

Stephen Covey provides a useful diagram in The Seven Habits of Highly EffectivePeople illustrating how the seven habits fit together. You can see the progressionfrom Private Victory to Public Victory with Habit 7 circling all of them as Sharpeningthe Saw is essential for the health of all seven habits.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a powerful book containing effectiveprinciples for personal change and for leading change in organisations. Other

authors and commentators have noted that the equivalent of an entire library ofsuccess literature is found in this one volume and that there are many more thanseven good reasons to read this book. I highly recommend this book and thepractice of the principles contained in it. You really should get a copy!

Stephen Covey published The 8th Habit in 2004 to answer the challengespresented by a world that has significantly changed since 1989 when The SevenHabits of Highly Effective People was published. "The 8th Habit...is not aboutadding one more habit to the 7 - one that somehow got forgotten. It's about seeingand harnessing the power of a third dimension to the 7 Habits that meets thecentral challenge of the new Knowledge Worker Age. This 8th Habit is to Find YourVoice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs".

Intrigued? More about this on another page. In the meantime get some Stephen

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Covey on your bookshelf or in your CD collection. You will not be sorry.

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07 Stephen+Covey 7+Habits+of+Highly+Effective+People Summary