The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the classical works in the field of time management, and it is written by one of the classical figures in the field. You see, there exists two Gods in the land of Time Management. Well OK, let's settle by calling them just Godfathers. One is Mr. David Allen, whom we have already covered in a few articles on this site (e.g. in the article about his book Getting Things Done). Mr. Allen is the Mr. Pragmatic and Mr. Process of the time management game. The other one is Mr. Stephen Covey, who is the Mr. Philosophical and Mr. Deep. The 7 Habits book is truly just that.
With a view-point tilting perhaps more towards personal growth and leadership, I would claim that Godfather Covey is more widely known in general business life, than Godfather Allen. Our highly respected GTD-Allen is more of a tactics coach, then a life direction advisor.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People contains enough philosophical topics to teach a 20.000$ management principles class for a group of executives. Many of the executives might, and probably would, recognize most of the ideas, but this is exactly the kind of stuff offered in many of these programs. It would therefore content wise be what they had expected anyway. Hence, they would not mind listening to it, for something that could be the third time during their careers. So far, I have personally also had the pleasure of attending a few management training programs during my career, and the question has more or less been: how many of these seven principles will be presented this time?
Still, it is not the fault of this book, nor Mr. Stephen Covey, that these ideas are so largely cited. Stephen Covey does not even claim the ownership of these ideas. In stead, he says that they are universally recognized, as they strive for goals most people automatically know are aiming at a greater good. What Stephen Covey he has done in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is actually a compilation of general, timeless, truths. The ideas could be seen as food for thought for mature people.
Look here! Even Mr. Ken Blanchard, of whom I have already reviewed a few books in our time management books section, talks about him:
Stephen R. Covey is a marvelous human being. He writes insightfully and he cares about people. The equivalent of an entire library of success literature is found in this one volume. The principles he teaches in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People have made a real difference in my life.
—KEN BLANCHARD, Ph.D., author of The One Minute Manager
It is not only Ken, but also half of the rest of the current business life that glorify Covey, in the whole 6 pages of praise citations provided in the introductory pages. Well, what else can you expect from a book stamped "15 Million Copies Sold" and "15th Anniversary Edition" on the front cover. Unless, of course, Mr. Covey is a narcissist. Somehow, however, I doubt that.
This must be some book, eh? Well, it is. We will take a look at some of the key concepts below, together with a few illustrations. If you get inspired, you can then get your own copy, and continue to study on your own.
What is a Habit?
Before even Mr. Covey wants to define what the word habit means to him, he wants to talk about two other concepts: character ethics, and personality ethics. At some point of his career Mr. Covey conducted a study, where he took a look at some 200 years worth of United States based success literature. One of the key take-aways was, that during the last 50 years, "success guru" literature has started to lean more towards quick fixes. This is something Mr. Covey labels personality ethics. These quick fixes can be social rules, like "if person A does that, you should do this", or more simply something like "always wear a smile, even if you have fake it, and people will like you".
The problem with personality ethics is, according to Mr. Covey, is that it tends to fix only the symptoms, and not so much the root causes. Dealing with character ethics issues, on the other hand, is facing reality as what it really is. It is the art of dealing, and trying to understand the world more broadly, and better. It also means discovering your own values, and following the voice of your heart. This could mean re-discovering, and starting to respect, fundamental truths, like "don't steal". It might also mean just re-installing simple, easy-to-grasp concepts like being fair, and telling the truth to people.
As Mr. Covey also states himself in The 7 Habits of Hightly Effective People, one probably needs to use skills from both character and personality ethics, in order to be successful in life. But dealing with character is harder, as it means genuine inner change. That is why most people don't tend to want to do it. In stead, we want to have instant results: "Show me the trick!".
I would simplify it like this: Personality ethics is doing things or acting in specific ways, even if you don't understand why. Character ethics is being yourself, as you now know who your best self is, or at least what you want it to be. When working from a character ethics starting point, the doing of things will take care of itself… because the doing… is essentially being.
I hope I did not mix you up there… Let's continue.
Take a look at the picture below:
Covey's definition of a habit. To develop a habit requires knowledge, skills, and desire. Only a combination of the three will normally make changes in human behavior stick. (Adapted from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
In order to develop mature, long-lasting habits, one has to know what they want to change, and how to do it. One must also truly want to do it. So, if you want to start a habit of regular physical exercise, it is not enough only to know that you should do it. You must also really want to do it, even when you feel tired after work. You must also know how to do your sport, so you don't hurt yourself. This might sound very trivial, but many people forget that knowing is not doing. As Mr. Covey puts it quite elegantly:
… to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.
I hope Mr. Covey did not mix you up there… My example: I have personally many times said to myself that I should lose some weight. Still, it has not been easy to actually start the diet, and the grinding of extra miles on the thread mill.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a Fast Course
As my pre-ramble became quite long, I will just give a quick run down of The 7 Habits:
Here they are. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. (Adapted from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
Covey also has the idea that people start off life as highly dependent. As children, we are dependent on our parents for food, and shelter. We are also mentally dependent of parenting, and care. Some people keep a high level of dependency towards other people through their whole lives. This is not always good. By implementing the first three habits of (1) being proactive, (2) beginning with the end in mind, and (3) putting first things first, one can achieve private victory, and take steps towards independence.
Others strive very much for independence, and become extremely independent. Too much independence is perhaps not the best state either. If, for example, a couple consists of two persons living very independent lives, almost two separate ones, that it might still be a good relationship, but it would not be true companionship. Trust might also become an issue, leaving the persons not giving everything of themselves.
In such cases one idea would be to implement habits of public victory. These habits are (4) think win/win, (5) first seek to understand… then to be understood, and (6) synergize. The seventh (7) habit is called "sharpen the saw", and is a reminder that constant renewal in life is necessary.
Here follows a short recap of The 7 Habits, in tabular form:
| The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Contents |
| 1. Be proactive | Take initiative in your life, don't just be a reactive person. Don't concentrate on worrying. Instead, widen your own circle of influence. Make and keep commitments. |
| 2. Begin with the end in mind | Define your personal purpose, and values, in the form of a mission statement. Set goals for all important things of your life. |
| 3. Put first things first | Learn how to prioritize, and to use follow-up systems, like task lists, and a calendar. |
| 4. Think win/win | Try to find solutions and ways to interact, where both parties truly benefit. It is the only way to build long lasting relationships, may it be in business, or in personal life. |
| 5. Seek first to understand… then to be understood | Many times we are so full of the "rightness" of ou own ideas that we don't even listen to what the other person is trying to say, if they don't instantly agree. Instead, we feel the other person has problems, as they don't do as we want. In reality we have never even stopped to listen to what the other person is trying to say. |
| 6. Synergize | Mutual learning and mutually discovered insights will carry longer. Be open to new ideas. |
| 7. Sharpen the saw | Don't ever think you are ready. In stead, keep developing yourself. Don't become old and arrogant, instead, remain humble. |
A table summarizing very shortly some key ideas from the habits presented by Mr Covey, in his book. Reading the full stories yourself will open these ideas more.
According to Mr. Covey, one should center their life around solid principles, like the ones presented in The 7 Habits. Additional personal choices can be seen as values, and fall inside habit 2. A person who is centered around principles is usually stable. There exists many alternative centers to choose from, like shown in the picture below. Some of us unconsciously have chosen one of them. This happens easily, as how many of us really has stopped to think about these issues anyway? Before now, of course…
A list of alternative centers of life. The alterntive centers have been drawn around the "right answer", which is principles. If your principles are right, you don't need to worry about the alternative centers. (Adapted from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
The challenge with most other life centers than principles is that you cannot control them, and you have no power over them. If you choose that your life is defined by your friends, and how your friends feel about you, what happens when you suddenly are alone? Or if your friends have unexpected changes in their lives, and you become less important to them, even temporarily. With such a center, your friends get to decide when you feel good, and when bad.
It is better to choose a life built around principles, Mr. Covey says. Most likely he is — to a large extent — right.
Summary
This is a truly remarkable book. It belongs to the rare group of books that can start the process "enlightening" people to a more mature level. Some people might not like the religious references that Mr. Covey makes in the very beginning and end of the book, but those references are limited.
The last chapter "Inside-Out Again" is a beautiful story about Mr. Covey and his wife, and how they grew more closely together after having already been maried for quite a while. It is at the same time a summary of the principles presented in the book.
When writing this article, I read my own copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for the third time. It is still a good one.
Time Management Books. Please have a look at my personal collection of the best books around this subject. From each one I have got at least one really useful insight.
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