The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey Book Summary

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey has been acclaimed as the New Age Bible. The book focuses on the development of character as opposed to personality and provides a roadmap to success in life. The emphasis is on moving to independence from a position of dependence and ultimately progressing to the most effective state, which is of interdependence. The situation is likened to a baby who is slowly weaned away from the mother’s breast, learning to walk and be independent and finally working and live in society in an idyllic state of interdependence.

The P/PC effect which is talked of extensively, propounds a balance between Production, which is desired outcome and Production capability which is the ability to produce this outcome. The framework or the pillar of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is this P/PC balance.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

The difference between animals and human beings is that we have the ability to choose or what is called “free will”. We can choose to decide and act independent of any situation. With our independent will, we can choose to be happy even in the direst circumstances. This proactive attitude stems from a deep sense of values and principles. Proactive means value based approach as against reactive which is purely situational. In this context, Stephen R. Covey speaks of the circle of influence and circle of concern. Proactive people strive to increase their circle of influence and thereby shrink the circle of concern, giving rise to increased productivity and a heightened sense of accomplishment.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

What do you want to achieve in life? Many of us find ourselves rich and famous while our personal life lies in tatters. Without a principle centric goal and purpose, our ruthless pursuit of success will only lead to unhappiness and disillusionment. Developing a personal mission statement is the first step in your quest for success. This roadmap of your life should be a guiding force propelling you in the right direction. Your values and principles should form the bedrock of the personal mission statement. This will empower you to face difficult times in life which are likely to occur and strengthen your resolve to achieve success. The principle centric path will be a guiding force, steering you through rough waters of life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

People should consolidatetheir efforts into activities which are important in the long run. While most of us react to situations and are perpetually firefighting, we fail to spend time on truly important matters. According to the book, one must focus on quadrant 2 activities which are important but yet not urgent. We must spend time on planning our long term goals by nurturing relationships and exploring new opportunities. Recreation and leisure activities are as important as work. They provide an opportunity to think and revaluate our goals, giving a perspective to our lives.

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

Win/Win is the best outcome in any contract or relationship. For this to happen on a consistent basis one must think in term of abundance and plenty. Instead many fall into the mental trap of thinking that the pie is small and will shrink if shared with others. The abundance mentality professes that the pie will only become larger in an environment of cooperation. One must have integrity and commitment to create a Win/Win situation. The third factor which fosters a Win/Win situation is maturity: an ability to find a balance between courage and consideration.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Most of us know this for a fact but often tend to ignore it. In our quest for being understood, we fail to listen to the other person. In fact we turn a deaf ear. This leads to miscommunication or even a misunderstanding. We tend to color our thinking with the brush of our past experiences and become judgmental. Listening , on the other hand, gives us an opportunity to know others better and empathize with them. Empathy is a powerful tool in the hands of the wise.

Habit 6: Synergize

When two or more people come together in the spirit of cooperation, they create a larger, bigger and more powerful solution than could have been possible individually. The power which synergy imparts to any situation is phenomenal. It can provide unique, potent and transformational energy to propel ideas to fantastic levels of creativity. This power of synergy is unbelievable unless one personally experiences its potential. History is replete with examples where groups of people have come together to achieve impossible feats which would have been impossible if attempted single handed.

Habit 7: Sharpening the Saw

A person who stops learning, stops growing. We are living in a highly competitive world. Knowledge is power and continuous learning is the only insurance against adversity. Many of us forget this important fact and don’t hone our skills. In a beautiful analogy, Stephen Covey, speaks of a person sawing a log with a blunt saw. This person cannot find the time to sharpen the saw because he is too busy cutting. At the same time ,without sharpening he cannot cut the log. This is how we lead our lives. We never bother to learn and sharpen our minds while wondering all the time why we don’t succeed. It is time we took time off and rejuvenated our minds with fresh and new ideas.

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