Stephen R. Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is, without a doubt, one of the classics of business literature. But it is also widely used by non-profit organizations, government and, really, every type of organization and by anyone who wants to be more effective. The teachings can help anyone.
Let’s review Covey’s Seven Habits:
Habit 1: Be Proactive
While the work “Proactive” is common, Covey means more than taking initiative. It means we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our choices, not our situation. We have the responsibility to make things happen.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
This is one of my favorites; it is powerful. Start with the end in mind and the path to getting there becomes much clearer. Covey says everything is created twice: once in our minds and then the physical creation. By gaining a mental picture of where we want to end up, the chances of getting there are greatly enhanced.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
This is about prioritizing things based on our values. Habits 1 and 2 are prerequisites to Habit 3. Covey advocates becoming principle-centered and then exercising effective self-management.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Simply put, Win/Win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Simple to say, not so simple to achieve.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
This one is powerful if done right. The idea is to understand another person’s position or emotions by empathic listening. The idea is to truly understand the other person before trying to explain your position or emotions. We are generally such poor listeners that Habit 5 is a real paradigm shift.
Habit 6: Synergize
With the motive of Win/Win and the skills of empathic listening, Habit 6 seeks to create the miracle of synergy. That is, creating a result that is more than the sum of its parts via a truly creative solution.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
This means balanced self-renewal. The title of Habit 7 comes from story of the woodcutter whose saw gets dull. The woodcutter works longer and harder. Someone suggests he could saw more wood if his saw were sharper but he doesn’t have time to sharpen the saw, he’s too busy cutting wood. In this case, our greatest asset we have is ourselves and we need to renew ourselves.
The Time Management Matrix
Besides the Seven Habits, the most useful thing in Covey’s book is his time management quadrant. This is introduced during the discussion of Habit 3. Covey’s quadrant has Urgent and Not Urgent horizontally and Important and Not Important vertically.
Quadrant I is activities that are urgent and important. These are typically crises, pressing problems and deadline-driven projects. This is where most of us live.
Quadrant II is activities that are important but not urgent. These activities are preventive in nature, planning, relationship building and recognizing new opportunities. Most of us don’t spend much time here but need to. The most effective people spend most of their time in Quadrant II.
Quadrant III represents activities that are not important but are urgent. This means email, phone calls, most meetings and other pressing (but not important) matters. Most of us also spend a lot of time here but shouldn’t.
Quadrant IV is activities that are neither important nor urgent. These are largely distractions. The best strategy here is to dispatch with these things quickly, delegate them or don’t do them at all.
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