The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I read a large number of books on management, which I would generally call ‘toy books’, giving you excitement while reading, but do not have anything new or analytic in nature, which can bring about a fundamental change in your life.  

But ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R Covey is not that at all. You have to read this book again and again, refer to it in times of crisis and it must be a permanent feature in your almanac for all time to come. It has passed through decades of practical use by millions of people.

Unlike other books, which attempt to work on the manifestation side of your personality, this books compels you to think and work on the innermost core of your ‘ self’, which starts with your value system. And surprisingly the core values of all human being start with honesty, sincerity and all those qualities which enhances your own esteem to yourself and help you to make ‘the choice’. The understanding that the entire power of making the choice lies with you, even in the most externally threatening situation, is what powers you most. Once you understand this power you will not allow anyone, however powerful he may be, to influence you to make you week, and to make you deviate from your choice.

The elements of the ‘Character Ethic’ are primary traits while those of the ‘Personality Ethic’ are secondary. While secondary traits may help one to play the game to succeed in some specific circumstances, for long-term success both are necessary. To explain  the difference between primary and secondary traits, Covey offers an example. Suppose you are in Chicago and are using a map to find a particular destination in the city. You may have excellent secondary skills in map reading and navigation, but will never find your destination if you are using a map of Detroit. In this example, getting the right map is a necessary ‘primary element’, the ‘Character Ethic’  before your secondary skills i.e. the ‘Personality Ethic’ can be used effectively.

The Seven Habits move us through the following stages:

Dependence: the paradigm under which we are born, relying upon others to take care of us.

Independence: the paradigm under which we can make our own decisions and take care of ourselves.

Interdependence: the paradigm under which we cooperate to achieve something that cannot be achieved independently. 

Much of the management literature today tends to attribute values to independence, encouraging people to become so called “ liberated ” and do their own thing. The real fact  is that we are interdependent, and the “liberated independent” model is not optimal for use in an interdependent environment that requires both leaders and team players. To make the choice to become interdependent, one first must be independent, since dependent people do not have the ability to develop the character for interdependence. 

Therefore, the first three habits focus on self-mastery, that is, achieving the private victories required to move from dependence to independence. 

The first three habits are:

• (1):  Be Proactive
• (2):  Begin with the End in Mind
• (3):  Put First Things First

Next  three habits address interdependence:

• (4):  Think Win/Win
• (5):  Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
• (6):  Synergize

Finally, the seventh habit is one of renewal and continual improvement, that is, of building one's personal production capability. He has given a nice example of personal capacity (PC) and Production (P) with the story of golden eggs (P) produced by a lucky goose (PC). You have to maintain the goose properly to get one golden egg a day. If in your greed you kill the goose and try to grab all the golden eggs, you in fact loose all the golden eggs, thereafter. I shall particularly endorse for ‘Think Win / Win’ concept. Seek agreements and relationships that are mutually beneficial. In cases where a "win/win" deal cannot be achieved, accept the fact that agreeing to make "no deal" may be the best alternative.