The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey.[1] Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.
Covey defines effectiveness as the balance of obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces those results. He illustrates this by referring to the fable of the goose that laid the golden eggs. He further claims that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio, where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results.
Covey's best-known book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication.[2] The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies.[3] Covey argues against what he calls "the personality ethic", that he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels "the character ethic": aligning one's values with so-called universal and timeless principles. In doing this, Covey distinguishes principles and values. He sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Our values govern our behavior, while principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence through independence on to interdependence.
The 7 Habits
Covey introduces the concept of paradigm shift and helps the reader understand that different perspectives exist, i.e. that two people can see the same thing and yet differ with each other.
Covey also introduces the Maturity Continuum. These are three successive stages of increasing maturity: dependence, independence, and interdependence. At birth, everybody is dependent, and characteristics of dependence may linger; this is the first and lowest stage of maturity.
Dependence means you need others to get what you need. All of us began life as an infant, depending on others for nurturing and sustenance. I may be intellectually dependent on other people's thinking; I may be emotionally dependent on other people's affirmation and validation of me. Dependence is the attitude of "you": you take care of me... or you don't come through and I blame you for the result.
Independence means you are pretty much free from the external influence [and] support of others. ... Independence is the attitude of "I". ... It is the avowed goal of many individuals, and also many social movements, to enthrone independence as the highest level of achievement, but it is not the ultimate goal in effective living. There is a far more mature and more advanced level.
The third and highest level in the Maturity Continuum is interdependence. ... We live in an interdependent reality. Interdependence is essential for good leaders; good team players; a successful marriage or family life; in organizations. Interdependence is the attitude of "we": we can co-operate; we can be a team; we can combine our talents.
— Stephen Covey, The 7 habits of highly effective people (1998)[4]
Each of the first three habits is intended to help achieve independence. The next three habits are intended to help achieve interdependence. The final, seventh habit is intended to help maintain these achievements. Each of the seven habits has a chapter of the book (or a section of the videotape or DVD) devoted to it:
Independence
The first three habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self-mastery):
Take responsibility for your reaction to your experiences, take the initiative to respond positively and improve the situation. Recognize your Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. Focus your responses and initiates on the center of your influence and constantly work to expand it. Don't sit and wait in a reactive mode, waiting for problems to happen (Circle of Concern) before taking action.[5]
2 - Begin with the end in mind
Envision what you want in the future so you can work and plan towards it. Understand how people make decisions in their life. To be effective you need to act based on principles and constantly review your mission statements. Are you - right now - who you want to be? What do I have to say about myself? How do you want to be remembered? If habit 1 advises changing your life to act and be proactive, habit 2 advises that you are the programmer! Grow and stay humble.
All things are created twice. Before we act, we should act in our minds first. Before we create something, we measure twice. This is what the principle is about. Do not just act; think first: Is this how I want it to go, and are these the correct consequences?[6]
3 - First things first
Matrix of importance vs urgency that Stephen Covey and Dwight D. Eisenhower used in deciding where to invest their efforts. Talks about what is important and what is urgent. Priority should be given in the following order (in brackets are the corresponding actions from the Eisenhower Matrix):,[7][8]
Quadrant I. Urgent and important (Do) – important deadlines and crises
Quadrant II. Not urgent but important (Plan) – long-term development
Quadrant III. Urgent but not important (Delegate) – distractions with deadlines
Quadrant IV. Not urgent and not important (Eliminate) – frivolous distractions
The order is important; after completing items in quadrant I, we should spend the majority of our time on II, but many people spend too much time in III and IV. The calls to delegate and eliminate are effective reminders of their relative priority.
If habit 2 advises that you are the programmer, habit 3 advises: write the program, become a leader! Keep personal integrity: what you say vs what you do.[9]
Interdependence
The next three habits talk about Interdependence (e.g., working with others):
Genuine feelings for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten their way. Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.[10]
5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Use empathetic listening to genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to be influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem-solving.
Habit 5 is greatly embraced in the Greek philosophy represented by 3 words:
1) Ethos -- your personal credibility. It's the trust that you inspire, your Emotional Bank Account.
2) Pathos is the empathetic side -- it's the alignment with the emotional trust of another person's communication.
3) Logos is the logic -- the reasoning part of the presentation.
The order is important: ethos, pathos, logos -- your character, and your relationships, and then the logic of your presentation.[11]
Balance and renew your resources, energy and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.
Covey explains the "Upward Spiral" model in the sharpening the saw section. Through our conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, the spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and you will learn the principles with a deeper understanding. The Upward Spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power.[13][14]
Reception
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages worldwide, and the audio version has sold 1.5 million copies, and remains one of the best selling nonfiction business books in history. In August 2011 Time listed 7 Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".[15]
U.S. President Bill Clinton invited Covey to Camp David to counsel him on how to integrate the book into his presidency.[16]
Abundance mentality
Covey coined the term abundance mentality, or abundance mindset, a concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and successes to share with others. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e., destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, it means you lose, because you are not considering the possibility of all parties "winning" in some way or another in a given situation (see zero-sum game). Individuals having an abundance mentality reject the notion of zero-sum games and are able to celebrate the success of others, rather than feel threatened by them.[17] The author contends that the abundance mentality arises from having a high self-worth and security (see Habits 1, 2, and 3), and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and responsibility. Similarly, organizations may also apply an abundance mentality when doing business.[18]
Since The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People's publishing, a number of books appearing in the business press have discussed the idea.[19]
Formats
In addition to the book and audiobook versions, a VHS version also exists.[4]
Adaptations
Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version of the book for teens, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers so they can better understand them. In September 2006, Sean 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.
^ForbesArchived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine on Covey: "Stephen Covey will be remembered most as the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which sold over 25 million copies." (16 July 2012)
