Nov 17, 2021
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.