![]() It’s also clear to me why the book is a classic. The book is goofily over the top in its business-speak of “win/win,” “synergy,” and “paradigm shifts.” When I first brought the book home, my girlfriend rolled her eyes hard when the random page she flipped to began with the passage, “When properly understood, synergy is the highest activity in all life…” The book’s insightfulness surprised me, and I found many of its ideas useful in my everyday life. But as the saying goes, clichés become clichés because they’re true. With this book and his follow-up book ( The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness) which includes the habit ‘Find your voice and inspire others’, Covey probably did not understand the revolution he started.Before reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I thought of it as the canonical cliché self-help book. Are you making time for self-improvement? Covey interprets the self into four parts: the spiritual, mental, physical and social/emotional, which all need feeding and developing. This is the habit of self-renewal and it necessarily surrounds all the other habits, enabling and encouraging them to happen and grow. What are the third alternatives? Habit 7: Sharpen the saw Are you genuinely listening? Habit 6: SynergizeĬovey says this is the habit of creative cooperation – 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. It’s simple and effective, and essential for developing and maintaining positive relationships in all aspects of life. Covey helps to explain this in his simple analogy ‘diagnose before you prescribe’. This is Covey’s habit of communication, and it’s extremely powerful. One of the great maxims of the modern age. How do you develop a cooperative approach? Habit 5: Seek first to understand and then to be understood He says that win–win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone. Are you spending time with people that matter? Habit 4: Think win–winĬovey calls this the habit of interpersonal leadership, necessary because achievements are largely dependent on cooperative efforts with others. Covey says that habit 2 is the first or mental creation habit 3 is the second, or physical creation. This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the aims established in habit 2. What do you want to be said at your funeral? Habit 3: Put first things firstĬovey calls this the habit of personal management. By developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities you will build a platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful. Do you accept responsibility for your actions? Habit 2: Begin with the end in mindĬovey calls this the habit of personal leadership – leading oneself towards what you consider your aims. ![]() Self-determination, choice, and the power to decide how you respond to stimulus, conditions and circumstances. This is the ability to control one’s environment, rather than have it control you, as is so often the case. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.Instead, Covey guides you through a process that for some of us will take some time to get through! The first three steps centre on mastery of your ‘private victory’ which he claims are essential steps before being able to take action teams at work or in your business. Unlike current self-help books, it doesn’t promise a quick fix that may only serve to hide or band-aid the problems. Generally, business people have all the answers inside them, they just need the tools to uncover the potential of them. This strength-based approach is what I always gravitate to as a coach. To be effective you have to tap into your values. He also acknowledges how many good habits do not necessarily come naturally and they have to be learned. In looking at our habits though – unlike many other tomes in this space – Covey focuses on how you can build up your good habits to overtake your bad ones, rather than trying to eliminate bad habits in isolation. Or you can use Covey’s methods to uncover your subconscious habits. Some habits we are aware of, and others we are blissfully unaware of unless someone points them out. It explores the idea that we see the world based on our own perceptions and biases, and if we want to change ourselves, our behaviours, we have to be able to modify our perceptions. For me, it works because the central premise of the book is about our everyday habits and how these habits make up the person we are. And for good reason – the lessons are timeless and can be applied to all aspects of your life – business, personal, professional. Now 30 years later the book remains a favourite. ![]() It was the first book of its type, almost starting a new genre – the self-help book. Steven Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989. ![]()
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