The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Episode #479:  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Review of Stephen Covey Best Selling Book Principles   Every once in a while I like to review "timeless" principles that have helped me in my life.   Stephen Covey was a professor, speaker and best selling author.  He wrote a book called 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as well as several others.  Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people.   The book sold over 30 million copies worldwide.  The audiobook become the first non-fiction book in the history of US to sell over 1 million copies.   In his book Covey talks about using a series of habits to align your principles (external) with your values (internal).  The 7 Habits represent amazing ideas on how you can align yourself and also (in my opinion) become a better, more effective and successful leader in business and life.   Here are the key 7 Habits : 1. Sharpen the saw. Don’t work yourself to death. Strive for a sustainable lifestyle that affords you time to recuperate, recharge and be effective in the long-term.   2. Be proactive. You have a natural need to wield influence on the world around you so don’t spend your time just reacting to external events and circumstances. Take charge and assume responsibility for your life.   3. Begin with an end in mind. Don’t spend your life working aimlessly, tackling whatever job is at hand. Have a vision for the future and align your actions accordingly to make it into a reality.   4. Put first things first. To prioritize your work, focus on what’s important, meaning the things that bring you closer to your vision of the future. Don’t get distracted by urgent but unimportant tasks.   5. Think win-win. When negotiating with other, don’t try to get the biggest slice of the cake, but rather find a division that is acceptable to all parties. You will still get your fair share, and build strong positive relationships in the process.   6. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. When someone presents us with a problem, we often jump right to giving a solution. This is a mistake. We should first take time to really listen to the other person and only then make recommendations.   7. Synergize. Adopt the guiding principle that in a group, the contributions of many will far exceed those of any individual. This will help you achieve goals you could never have reached on your own.   I hope these ideas and principles will help you to continue to grow and uncover the best version of yourself by reminding you to align your principles and values.