1

The Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People
ABOUT THE BOOK

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is

a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies
in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a
15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if
established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true
interdependent effectiveness. Covey argues this is achieved by aligning oneself
to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he believes to be
universal and timeless.

The book was enormously popular, and catapulted Covey into lucrative
public-speaking appearances and workshops. He has also written a number of
follow-up books:

 First Things First

 Principle Centered Leadership
 The Power Of The 7 Habits: Applications And Insights
 Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families
 Beyond the Seven Habits
 Living the Seven Habits, a collection of stories from people who have
applied the seven habits in their lives
 The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, a sequel to The Seven
Habits published in 2004

Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version of the book for teens,
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits
for younger readers so they can better understand them. In October 2006, Sean

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Covey also published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make: A
Guide for Teens. This guide highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives
advice on how to deal with them.

Stephen Covey's eldest son, Stephen M. R. Covey, has written a book titled The
Speed of Trust.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

STEPHEN COVEY

Stephen R. Covey (born October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) wrote the
best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other books he
has written include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, and The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. In 2004, Covey released, The 8th
Habit. In 2008, Covey released The Leader In Me -- How Schools and Parents
Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time

Covey lives with his wife Sandra and their family in Provo, Utah, home to
Brigham Young University, where Dr. Covey taught prior to the publication of his
best-selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of forty-nine with his wife, he
received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Covey established the "Covey Leadership Center" which, in 1997, merged with
Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey, a global professional-services firm and
specialty-retailer selling both training and productivity-tools to individuals and to
organizations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people
and organizations everywhere".

In 2008, Covey launched The Stephen Covey's Online Community. The site is a
collection of online courses, goal management and social networking. He uses it
as a place to teach his most recent thoughts and ideas on current topics and self
leadership.

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Covey holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from University of Utah in

Salt Lake City, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctor of Religious
Education (DRE) in LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University. He also holds
membership of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's best-known book, has sold
more than 15 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. (The
audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to
sell more than one million copies.) Many of the ideas and much of the language
recast the content of the classic 1966 Peter F. Drucker book The Effective
Executive, wherein Drucker wrote: "Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit", and
which includes a chapter called "First Things First". In Covey's version, he argues
against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in
many modern self-help books. He instead promotes what he labels "The
Character Ethic": aligning one’s values with so-called "universal and timeless"
principles. Covey adamantly refuses to confound principles and values; he sees
principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective.
Covey proclaims that values govern people’s behavior, but principles ultimately
determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits,
manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to
interdependence.

The 7 Habits
 Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
 Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
 Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
 Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit

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 Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of

Mutual Understanding
 Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
 Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

Follow-ups

Follow-up titles to The Seven Habits aim both to add to the original and to form a
cohesive philosophy on personal, principle-based leadership. They come in the
format of audio books as well (such as the title Beyond The 7 Habits). Covey has
also written a number of learning-books for children. His son, Sean Covey, has
written a version for teens: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This
version simplifies Covey's 7 Habits for younger readers to better understand
them.

Religious views

As a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Stephen Covey has authored several devotional works for Latter-day Saint or
Mormon readers, including:

 Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970)

 The Divine Center (1982)
 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems (2004).

Evangelical writer Bill Gordon suggests that Mormon theology and cultural
practices undergird Covey's writing for a general audience. Covey says he "never
introduces religion or politics into his books or worldwide seminars".

Missionary service

Covey served a two-year mission in England for the LDS Church. Covey also
served as the first president of the Irish Mission of the Church starting in July

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1962. When Covey studied business at Harvard he would on occasion go and

preach to crowds on Boston Common.

Honors and awards

 The Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity

 The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for
Entrepreneurial Leadership
 The 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year Award
 One of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Americans of 1996
 The Sikh's 1998 International Man of Peace Award
 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative
 2004 Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International
 Accepted the inaugural Corporate Core Values Award from the California
University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the FranklinCovey
Corporation[citation needed] at the "national Franklin Covey Conference"
(December 2006).

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Bibliography

 Spiritual Roots of Human Relations, published in 1970 (ISBN 0-87579-

705-9).
 The Divine Center, published in 1982 (ISBN 1-59038-404-0).
 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, published in 1989 (ISBN 0-
671-70863-5).
 Principle Centered Leadership, published in 1992 (ISBN 0-671-79280-6).
 First Things First, co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, published
in 1994 (ISBN 0-684-80203-1).
 Living the Seven Habits, published in 2000 (ISBN 0-684-85716-2).
 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems, published in
2004 (ISBN 1-57345-187-8).
 The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, published in 2004 (ISBN
0-684-84665-9).
 Quest: The Spiritual Path to Success by Stephen R. Covey (Editor)
(1997), with Thomas Moore, Mark Victor Hansen, David Whyte, Bernie
Siegel, Gabrielle Roth and Marianne Williamson. Simon & Schuster
AudioBook ISBN 9780671574840
 The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are
Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time, published in 2008 (ISBN 1-
43910-326-7).

The 7 Habits

 Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice

 Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
 Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
 Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit

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 Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of

Mutual Understanding
 Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
 Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

The chapters are dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the
following imperatives:

1. Habit 1 - Principles of Personal Choice: Covey emphasizes the original

sense of the term "proactive" as coined by Victor Frankl. You can either be
proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things.
When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for
obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for
every aspect of your life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey
also argues that man is different from other animals in that he has self-
consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own
self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables
him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey
talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we
have the power of free will to choose our response.
2. Habit 2 - Principles of Personal Vision: This chapter is about setting long-
term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends
formulating a "Personal Mission Statement" to document one's perception
of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to
develop this. He also deals with organizational mission statements, which
he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members
of an organization rather than prescribed.
3. Habit 3 - Principles of Integrity & Execution: Covey describes a framework
for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of
tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. Delegation is
presented as an important part of time management. Successful
delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that

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are to be agreed in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work

plans. Habit three is greatly expanded on in the follow on book First
Things First.
4. Habit 4 - Principles of Mutual Benefit: An attitude whereby mutually
beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as
others, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.
5. Habit 5 - Principles of Mutual Understanding: Covey warns that giving out
advice before having empathetically understood a person and their
situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening
to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own
autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a
working communication.
6. Habit 6 - Principles of Creative Cooperation: A way of working in teams.
Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making.
Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative
collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when
synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the
sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The
whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
7. Habit 7 - Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal: Focuses on balanced self-
renewal: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in
carefully selected recreational activities. Covey also emphasizes the need
to sharpen the mind.

Abundance mentality

Covey coined the term[citation needed] abundance mentality or abundance mindset,

meaning a business concept in which a person believes there are enough
resources and success to share with others, when looking at optimistic people. It
is commonly contrasted with the scarcity mindset, which is founded on the idea
that, given a finite amount of resources, a person must hoard their belongings

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and protect them from others. Individuals with an abundance mentality are
supposed to be able to celebrate the success of others rather than be threatened
by it.[2]

A number of books appearing in the business press since then have discussed
the idea.[3] The abundance mentality is believed to arrive from having a high self
worth and security, and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and
responsibility.[4] Organizations may also apply an abundance mentality while
doing business.[5]

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HABIT NO 7
Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how
to read and write, and years learning how to speak. but what about listening?
What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply
understand another human being? Probably none, right?

If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to
get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person
completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the
conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the
meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the
intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your
mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter
everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You
check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up.
And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before
he/she finishes communicating. Do any of the following sound familiar?

"Oh, I know just how you feel. I felt the same way." "I had that same thing happen
to me." "Let me tell you what I did in a similar situation."

Because you so often listen autobiographically, you ten to respond in one of four
ways:
Evaluating: You judge and then either agree or disagree.
Probing: You ask questions from your own frame of reference.
Advising: You give counsel, advice, and solutions to problems.
Interpreting: You analyze others' motives and behaviors based on your own
experiences.

You might be saying, "Hey, now wait a minute. I'm just trying to relate to the

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person by drawing on my own experiences. Is that so bad?" In some situations,

autobiographical responses may be appropriate, such as when another person
specifically asks for help from your point of view or when there is already a very
high level of trust in the relationship.

Books
THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
HABIT 7: SHARPEN THE SAW
Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you. It means having a
balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and
spiritual. Here are some examples of activities:
Physical:
Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting
Social/Emotional:
Making social and meaningful connections with others
Mental:
Learning, reading, writing, and teaching
Spiritual:
Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through mediation, music, art, prayer, or service

As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the
Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to
produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind
mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it?

Feeling good doesn't just happen. Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew
yourself. It's all up to you. You can renew yourself through relaxation. Or you can totally burn yourself out by
overdoing everything. You can pamper yourself mentally and spiritually. Or you can go through life oblivious
to your well-being. You can experience vibrant energy. Or you can procrastinate and miss out on the benefits
of good health and exercise. You can revitalize yourself and face a new day in peace and harmony. Or you
can wake up in the morning full of apathy because your get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone. Just remember
that every day provides a new opportunity for renewal--a new opportunity to recharge yourself instead of
hitting the wall. All it takes is the desire, knowledge, and skill.

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Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

Habit Seven

Suppose you came upon someone in the woods working to saw down a tree.
They are exhausted from working for hours. You suggest they take a break to
sharpen the saw. They might reply, " I didn't have time to sharpen the saw, I'm
busy sawing!"

Habit 7 is taking the time to sharpen the saw. By renewing the four dimensions
of your nature - physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional, you can work
more quickly and effortlessly. To do this, we must be proactive. This is a
Quadrant II (important, not urgent) activity that must be acted on. It's at the
center of our Circle of Influence, so we must do it for ourselves.

The Physical Dimension.

The physical dimension involves caring for your physical body - eating the right
foods, getting enough rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis.

If we don't have a regular exercise program, eventually we will develop health

problems. A good program builds your body's endurance, flexibility and strength.
A new program should be started gradually, in harmony with the latest research
findings.

The greatest benefit of taking care of yourself is development of your Habit 1

"muscles" of proactivity.

The Spiritual Dimension.

The spiritual dimension is your center, your commitment to your value system. It
draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to timeless truths
of humanity.

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A doctor suggested that Covey try a four step prescription at three-hour intervals
at his favorite place as a child. Listen carefully, try reaching back, examine your
motives, and write your worries in the sand.

When we take time to draw on the leadership center of our lives, what life is
ultimately all about, it spreads like an umbrella over everything else. This is why
a personal mission statement is important.

The Mental Dimension.

It's important keep your mind sharp by reading, writing, organizing and planning.
Read broadly and expose yourself to great minds.

Television is the great obstacle to mental renewal. Most of the programming is a

waste of time.

Every day we should commit at least one hour to renewal in the first three
dimensions: physical, mental, and spiritual. This practice is a "Daily Private
Victory."

The Social/Emotional Dimension.

The physical, spiritual, and mental dimensions are closely related to Habits 1, 2
and 3: personal vision, leadership and management. The social/emotional
dimension focuses on Habits 4, 5 and 6: the principles of personal leadership,
empathetic communication and creative cooperation.

Our emotional life is primarily developed out of and manifested in our

relationships with others. Renewing our social/emotional dimension requires
focus and exercise in our interaction with others.

Success in Habits 4, 5 and 6 is not primarily a matter of intellect, but emotion; it's
highly related to our sense of personal security. Intrinsic security comes from
within, from accurate paradigms and correct principles deep in our own mind and

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heart. It comes from living a life of integrity, in which our daily habits reflect our
deepest values.

There is also intrinsic security that comes as a result of effective interdependent

living and from service, from helping other people in a meaningful way. Each day,
we can serve another person by making deposits of unconditional love.

Scripting Others.

Most people are living in a reactive mode based on the social mirror. Their scripts
are based on the opinions, prescriptions, and paradigms of the people
surrounding them. As interdependent people, we recognize our role as part of
that social mirror.

We can affirm the proactive nature of others by treating them as responsible

people. We can help support them as principle-centered, value-based,
interdependent, worthwhile individuals.

In the story of the mix up of the "bright" and "slow" students, the teachers of a
group of "slow" children erroneously classified as "bright" said, "For some
reason, our methods weren't working, so we had to change our methods." The IQ
scores of the students dramatically improved. Apparent learning disability was
really teacher inflexibility.

Goethe taught, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as
he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be."

Balance in Renewal.

Self renewal must include balanced renewal in all four dimensions--physical,

spiritual, mental and social/emotional. Neglecting any one area negatively
impacts the rest.

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The same concept also applies to organizations. The process of continuous

improvement is the hallmark of the Total Quality movement and a key to man's
economic ascendancy.

Synergy in Renewal.

The things you do to sharpen the saw in any one dimension have a positive
impact in the other dimensions, because they are so highly interrelated.

The Daily Private Victory, a minimum of one hour a day to renew the personal
dimensions, is the key to the development of the Seven Habits and is completely
within your circle of influence. It's also the foundation for the Daily Public Victory.
It's the source of the intrinsic security you need to sharpen the saw in the
social/emotional dimension.

The Upward Spiral.

Renewal is the principle and process that empowers us to move on an upward

spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement.

Education of the conscience is vital to the truly proactive, highly effective leader.
Conscience is the endowment that senses our congruence or disparity with
correct principles and lifts us towards them. Training and educating the
conscience requires regular feasting on inspiring literature, thinking noble
thoughts, and living in harmony with its small voice.

Dag Hammarskjold, past Secretary-General of the United Nations, said, "He who
wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds." The law of the
harvest governs, we will always reap what we sow--no more, no less.

Moving along the upward spiral requires us to learn, commit and do on

increasingly higher planes.

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Habit 4 -- Think Win/Win

Principles of Interpersonal Leadership

Six Paradigms of Human Interaction

 Win/Win
 Lose/Lose
 Win/Lose
 Win
 Lose/Win
 Win/Win or No Deal

Win/Win

 Agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial

 A belief in the Third Alternative -- a better way

Win/Lose

 Use of position, power, credentials, possessions or personality to get one's

way.
 The win/lose mentality is dysfunctional to interdependence.

Lose/Win

 Lose/Win people are quick to please or appease.

 Capitulation -- giving in or giving up.

Note. Many executives, managers and parents oscillate between Win/Lose and
Lose/WIN.

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Lose/Lose

 Result of encounters between two Win/Lose individuals.

 Also the philosophy of highly dependent people.

Win

 Win at all costs. Other people don't matter.

 The most common approach in everyday negotiation.

Which Option is Best?

 Most situations are part of an interdependent reality.

 Win/Win solutions are synergistic.

Win/Win or No Deal

 If we can't find a solution that would benefit both parties, we agree to

disagree.
 Most realistic at the beginning of a relationship or enterprise.

Five Dimensions of Win/Win

 Character. The foundation of Win/Win

o Integrity. The value we place on ourselves.
o Maturity. The balance between courage and consideration.
o Abundance Mentality. There is plenty out there for everybody.
 Relationships. Courtesy, respect and appreciation for the other person and
his point of view.
 Agreements. Cover a wide scope of interdependent action.
o Desired results
o Guidelines
o Resources
o Accountability

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o Consequences
 Supportive Systems. Reward systems must reflect the values of the
mission statement.
 Processes. The route to Win/Win:
o See the problem from another point of view.
o Identify the key issues and concerns involved.
o Determine what results would constitute a fully acceptable solution.
o Identify possible new options to achieve those results.

Habit 5 -- Seek First to Understand,

Then to be Understood

Principles of Empathic Communication

Character and Communication

 Communication is the most important skill in life

 If you want to interact effectively with me, to influence me, you first need
to understand me.
 You have to build the skills of empathic listening on a base of character
that inspires openness and trust.

Empathic Listening

 Most people listen with the intent to reply.

 When another person speaks, we are usually 'listening' at one of four
levels:
o ignoring
o pretending
o selective listening
o attentive listening

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Very few of us ever practice the highest form of listening -- empathic listening.
 Only 10 percent of our communication is represented by the words we
say, another 30 percent by our sounds, and 60 percent by body language.
 Empathic listening is risky.

Diagnose Before You Prescribe

 Diagnose before you prescribe is a correct principle in many areas of life.

 It is the mark of all true professionals
 The amateur salesman sells products, the professional salesman sells
solutions to needs and problems.

Four Autobiographical Responses

 Because we listen autobiographically (from the perspective of our own

paradigms), we tend to respond in one of four ways:
o We evaluate
o We probe
o We advise
o We interpret
 The language of logic is different from the language of sentiment and
emotion.
 As long as responses are logical, we are at liberty to ask questions and
give counsel. The moment responses become emotional, empathic
listening is necessary.
 Empathic listening involves four developmental stages
o mimic content
o ephrase the content
o reflect feeling
o rephrase the content and reflect the feeling
 Empathic listening enables us to turn transactional opportunities into
transformational opportunities.

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 The key to empathic listening is to genuinely seek the welfare of the

individual to whom you are listening.

Understanding and Perception

 As you learn to listen deeply to other people, you will discover tremendous
differences in perception.
 Habit 5 is the first step in the process of Win/Win.

Then Seek to Be Understood

 Knowing how to be understood is the other half of Habit 5 and is crucial in

reaching Win/Win solutions.
 The essence of making effective presentations:
o Ethos -- your personal credibility.
o Pathos -- the empathic side.
o Logos -- the logic.
 When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually and in
the context of the paradigms of your audience, you significantly increase
the credibility of your ideas.

One on One

 Habit 5 is right in the middle of your circle of influence. You can always
seek first to understand.
 Spend time with your spouse and children, one on one.

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