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SummaryofStephenR.Coveys7HabitsofHighlyEffective
People

Source:QuickMBAManagement,Knowledgetopoweryourbusiness

Leaningyourladderagainsttherightbuilding.

Inhis#1bestseller,StephenR.Coveypresentedaframeworkforpersonal
effectiveness.Thefollowingisasummaryofthefirstpartofhisbook,concluding
withalistofthesevenhabits.

The7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople,Covey'sbestknownbook,hassoldmorethan15million
copiesworldwidesinceitsfirstpublicationin1989.Coveyarguesagainstwhathecalls"The
PersonalityEthic",somethingheseesasprevalentinmanymodernselfhelpbooks.Heinstead
promoteswhathelabels"TheCharacterEthic":aligningonesvalueswithsocalled"universal
andtimeless"principles.

Coveyadamantlyrefusestoconfoundprinciplesandvalues;heseesprinciplesasexternal
naturallaws,whilevaluesremaininternalandsubjective.Coveyproclaimsthatvaluesgovern
peoplesbehavior,butprinciplesultimatelydeterminetheconsequences.Coveypresentshis
teachingsinaseriesofhabits,manifestingasaprogressionfromdependenceviaindependence
tointerdependence.

Ourcharacterisacollectionofourhabits,andhabitshaveapowerfulroleinourlives.Habits
consistofknowledge,skill,anddesire.Knowledgeallowsustoknowwhattodo,skillgivesus
theabilitytoknowhowtodoit,anddesireisthemotivationtodoit.

TheSevenHabitsmoveusthroughthefollowingstages:
1. Dependence:theparadigmunderwhichweareborn,relyinguponotherstotake
careofus.
1. Independence:theparadigmunderwhichwecanmakeourowndecisionsandtake
careofourselves.
2. Interdependence:theparadigmunderwhichwecooperatetoachievesomething
thatcannotbeachievedindependently.

Muchofthesuccessliteraturetodaytendstovalueindependence,encouragingpeopleto
becomeliberatedanddotheirownthing.

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Therealityisthatweareinterdependent,andtheindependentmodelisnotoptimalforusein
aninterdependentenvironmentthatrequiresleadersandteamplayers.

Therefore,thefirstthreehabitsfocusonselfmastery,thatis,achievingtheprivatevictories
requiredtomovefromdependencetoindependence.Thefirstthreehabitsare:
Habit1:BeProactive
Habit2:BeginwiththeEndinMind
Habit3:PutFirstThingsFirst

Habits4,5,and6thenaddressinterdependence:
Habit4:ThinkWin/Win
Habit5:SeekFirsttoUnderstand,ThentoBeUnderstood
Habit6:Synergize

Finally,theseventhhabitisoneofrenewalandcontinualimprovement,thatis,ofbuildingone's
personalproductioncapability.

Tobeeffective,onemustfindtheproperbalancebetweenactuallyproducingandimproving
one'scapabilitytoproduce.Coveyillustratesthispointwiththefableofthegooseandthe
goldenegg.Inthefable,apoorfarmer'sgoosebeganlayingasolidgoldeggeveryday,andthe
farmersoonbecamerich.Healsobecamegreedyandfiguredthatthegoosemusthavemany
goldeneggswithinher.Inordertoobtainalloftheeggsimmediately,hekilledthegoose.Upon
cuttingitopenhediscoveredthatitwasnotfullofgoldeneggs.Thelessonisthatifone
attemptstomaximizeimmediateproductionwithnoregardtotheproductioncapability,the
capabilitywillbelost.Effectivenessisafunctionofbothproductionandthecapacitytoproduce.
Theneedforbalancebetweenproductionandproductioncapabilityappliestophysical,
financial,andhumanassets.

Habit1:BeProactiveFocusonthethingsyoucanactuallydosomethingabout.Changestarts
fromwithin,andhighlyeffectivepeoplemakethedecisiontoimprovetheirlivesthroughthe
thingsthattheycaninfluenceratherthanbysimplyreactingtoexternalforces.

Habit2:BeginwiththeEndinMindBegineverythingyoudowithaclearpictureofyour
ultimategoal.Developaprinciplecenteredpersonalmissionstatement.Extendthemission
statementintolongtermgoalsbasedonpersonalprinciples.

Habit3:PutFirstThingsFirstManageyourlifeaccordingtoyourneedsandpriorities.Spend
timedoingwhatfitsintoyourpersonalmission,observingtheproperbalancebetween
productionandbuildingproductioncapacity.Identifythekeyrolesthatyoutakeoninlife,and
maketimeforeachofthem.

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Habit4:ThinkWinWinIntegrity:Stickwithyourtruefeelings,values,andcommitments
Maturity:BeconsiderateofthefeelingsofothersAbundanceMentality:Believethereisplenty
foreveryone.Seekagreementsandrelationshipsthataremutuallybeneficial.Incaseswherea
"win/win"dealcannotbeachieved,acceptthefactthatagreeingtomake"nodeal"maybethe
bestalternative.Indevelopinganorganizationalculture,besuretorewardwin/winbehavior
amongemployeesandavoidinadvertantlyrewardingwin/losebehavior.

Habit5:SeekFirsttoUnderstand,ThentoBeUnderstoodLearnhowtocommunicateclearly
andlistentoothers.StephenCoveypresentsthishabitasthemostimportantprincipleof
interpersonalrelations.Effectivelisteningisnotsimplyechoingwhattheotherpersonhassaid
throughthelensofone'sownexperience.Rather,itisputtingoneselfintheperspectiveofthe
otherperson,listeningempathicallyforbothfeelingandmeaning.

Habit6:SynergizeTwoheadsarebetterthanone.Throughtrustfulcommunication,findways
toleverageindividualdifferencestocreateawholethatisgreaterthanthesumoftheparts.
Throughmutualtrustandunderstanding,oneoftencansolveconflictsandfindabettersolution
thanwouldhavebeenobtainedthrougheitherperson'sownsolution.

Habit7:SharpentheSawAllowyourselftogrowbymaintainingabalancedprograminthefour
areasofyourlife:physical,social/emotional,mental,andspiritual.Taketimeoutfrom
productiontobuildproductioncapacitythroughpersonalrenewalofthephysical,mental,
social/emotional,andspiritualdimensions.

FollowupstoTheSevenHabits

FollowuptitlestoTheSevenHabitsaimbothtoaddtotheoriginalandtoformacohesive
philosophyonpersonal,principlebasedleadership.Theycomeintheformatofaudiobooksas
well(suchasthetitleBeyondThe7Habits).Coveyhasalsowrittenanumberoflearningbooks
forchildren.Hisson,SeanCovey,haswrittenaversionforteens:TheSevenHabitsofHighly
EffectiveTeens.ThisversionsimplifiesCovey's7habitsinorderforyoungerreaderstobetter
understandthem.

The8thHabit

In2004,Covey'sbookThe8thHabit:FromEffectivenesstoGreatnesswaspublished.It
functionsasthesequeltoTheSevenHabits.Coveyclaimsthateffectivenessdoesnotsufficein
whathecalls"TheKnowledgeWorkerAge".Heproclaimsthat"[t]hechallengesandcomplexity
wefacetodayareofadifferentorderofmagnitude."The8thhabitessentiallyurges:"Findyour
voiceandinspireotherstofindtheirs..."