The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

1 The 7 Habits

    1.1 Independence

          1.1.1 1 - Be proactive

          1.1.2 2 - Begin with the end in mind

          1.1.3 3 - First things first

  1.2 Interdependence

         1.2.1 4 - Think win-win

        1.2.2 5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood

        1.2.3 6 - Synergize!

1.3 Continual improvement

       1.3.1 7 - Sharpen the Saw; Growth

2 Reception

3 Abundance mentality

4 Formats

5 Adaptations

The 7 Habits

Consider the concept of paradigm shift (a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions) and understand that different perspectives exist, i.e. that two people see the same thing and yet differ with each other.

What is Maturity Continuum (continuous incremental nature of growth, progression and development)? There are three successive stages of increasing maturity: dependence, independence, and interdependence. At birth, everybody is dependent, and characteristics of dependence may linger; this is the first and lowest stage of maturity.

Dependence means you need others to get what you need. All of us began life as an infant, depending on others for nurturing and sustenance. I may be intellectually dependent on other people's thinking; I may be emotionally dependent on other people's affirmation and validation of me. Dependence is the attitude of "you": you take care of me ... or you don't come through and I blame you for the result.

Independence means you are pretty much free from the external influence, [and] support of others. ... Independence is the attitude of "I". ... It is the avowed (openly acknowledged, asserted to be true or real) goal of many individuals, and also many social movements, to enthrone (to formally take a position of authority, especially as a king, queen, or president) independence as the highest level of achievement but it is not the ultimate goal in effective living. There is a far more mature and more advanced level.

The third and highest level in the Maturity Continuum (continuous incremental nature of growth, progression and development) is interdependence. ... We live in an interdependent reality. Interdependence is essential for good leaders; good team players; a successful marriage or family life; in organizations. Interdependence is the attitude of "we": we can co-operate; we can be a team; we can combine our talents.

— Stephen Covey, The 7 habits of highly effective people (1998)

Each of the first three habits is intended to help achieve independence. The next three habits are intended to help achieve interdependence. The final, seventh habit is intended to help maintain these achievements.

Independence

The first three habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self-mastery):

1 - Be proactive

Take responsibility for your reaction to your experiences, take the initiative to respond positively and improve the situation. Recognize your Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. Focus your responses and initiates on the center of your influence and constantly work to expand it. Don't sit and wait in a reactive mode, waiting for problems to happen (Circle of Concern) before taking action.

2 - Begin with the end in mind

Envision what you want in the future, so you can work and plan towards it. Understand how people make decisions in their life. To be effective you need to act based on principles and constantly review your mission statement. Who are you - right now - who you want to be? What do I have to say about myself? How do you want to be remembered? If habit 1 advises changing your life to act and be proactive, habit 2 advises that you are the programmer! Grow and stay humble.

All things are created twice. Before we act, we should act in our minds first. Before we create something, we measure twice. This is what the principle is about. Do not just act; think first: Is this how I want it to go, and are these the correct consequences?

3 - First things first

Use matrix of importance vs urgency in deciding where to invest your efforts.

This is talk about difference between leadership and management. Leadership in the outside world begins with personal vision and personal leadership. Talks about what is important and what is urgent. Priority should be given in the following order (in brackets are the corresponding actions from the Matrix):,

Quadrant I. Urgent and important (Do) – important deadlines and crises

Quadrant II. Not urgent but important (Plan) – long-term development

Quadrant III. Urgent but not important (Delegate) – distractions with deadlines

Quadrant IV. Not urgent and not important (Eliminate) – frivolous (not having any serious purpose or value) distractions

The order is important; after completing items in quadrant I, we should spend the majority of our time on II, but many people spend too much time in III and IV. The calls to delegate and eliminate are effective reminders of their relative priority.

If habit 2 advises that you are the programmer, habit 3 advises: write the program, become a leader! Keep personal integrity: what you say vs what you do.

Interdependence

The next three habits talk about Interdependence (e.g., working with others):

4 - Think win-win

Genuine feelings for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten their way. Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.

5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Use empathetic listening to genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to be influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem-solving.

Habit 5 is greatly embraced in the Greek philosophy represented by 3 words:

1) Ethos; your personal credibility. It's the trust that you inspire, your Emotional Bank Account.

2) Pathos is the empathetic side; it's the alignment with the emotional trust of another person's communication.

3) Logos is the logic; the reasoning part of the presentation.

The order is important: ethos, pathos, logos; your character, and your relationships, and then the logic of your presentation.

6 - Synergize!

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals that no one could have done alone.

Continual improvement

The final habit is that of continuous improvement in both the personal and interpersonal spheres of influence.

7 - Sharpen the Saw; Growth

See also: Kaizen (continuous improvement)

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.

In the "Upward Spiral" model is the sharpening the saw. Through our conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, the spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and you will learn the principles with a deeper understanding. The Upward Spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. One must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power.