The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Edited by Cecilia Thuy Duyen Nguyen-Cong (s184300)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey and was first time published in 1989. Covey presents seven habits that are fundamental principles to effectiveness in life in the modern society, where life has become more complex, stressful and demanding. The book relates to business management and the professional life and includes advice to self-management. The book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and is awarded as one of the 25 most influential business management books by the US TIME’s magazine and an International Bestseller. Even though the book was written over 25 years ago its wisdom is timeless and has inspired presidents, CEO’s, educators and many other people over the world.

In the book Covey quotes from the Greek philosopher, Aristoteles; “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” [p. 65] This quote says a lot about the big idea of The 7 Habits, as the book try to inspire business men and women to see the world in a specific way to motivate them in a structural life, where they can have control and be effective.

This article will explain the essentials of the concept of the seven principles or habits as Covey presents them. This article will also include the approach of the concept related to project management. Lastly, there will be a critical reflection of the application of the principles.

Overall Concept of The 7 Habits

Effectiveness is a function of two factors, on one hand is it about what is produced and on the other hand it is about the ability to produce. That is a balance that Covey calls the P/PC-balance: P for the production and PC for the production capacity. It is the paradigm of effectivity that The 7 Habits is based on, since a manager has to want to achieve the end-product but also have to provide the skills and knowledge to complete the achievement. This balance between the desire and the workload should be acceptable in order to have sustainable effectiveness. <Book, p. 73>

The 7 Habits is a concept that examines and adjusts a person’s character, motives and behaves. The foundation of its knowledge lies in the idea of how you see the world and should interact with others. Overall, the idea about The 7 Habits is to manage your time and goal, define the character you want to be and build productive relationships, which are all great skills to have in a professional environment both as a leader and as employee. The concept is not meant to be a quick fix but a process of change and growth, as the quote from Aristoteles also sets focus on. <Book, p. 65>

The 7 Habits are created upon a maturity scale, and together The 7 Habits provide an integrated method to personal growth and development. The order of the maturity scale starts from the lowest level, dependence, secondly independence and then interdependence as the highest level of maturity.

The 7 Habits are described as the steps that moves a person forward in the maturity scale. Covey describes the first three habits(1-3) as the ones that take a person from dependence to interdependence – this is the private victory. The habits from four to six(4-6) takes a person from independence to interdependence – this is the public victory. Lastly the 7th habit is about “Sharpen The Saw” and is the maintaining and order of all the 6 habits – this is beyond the maturity scale and is about renewal. Covey illustrates the whole paradigm of The 7 Habits as shown the figure seen below. <FIGURE!!! called The Seven Habits Paradigm> The model has a bottom-up structure, that indicates, that you have to win the private victory in order to win the public victory etc. Covey explains that in order to create effectiveness we should acknowledge the P/PC-balance in an interdependent world. Thereby, we can focus on the problems with the opportunities to increase PC and achieve a public victory. <book, p.263-265> in a Habits in general can make you do great things and make things happen but is can also be the block on the road stopping you for what you desire to achieve, which definitely can be associated to the professional life and in relation to manage and complete a project.

Here is a list of the seven habits followed by a briefly description of the idea behind it. There will be detailed descriptions of the application to achieve and utilize the habits regarding management in section X.

Habit 1: Be proactive, takes two opposites, reactive and proactive, into account. The habit of being reactive means that you are governed by mood, emotions and impulses. A reactive person complains about the things they cannot control and does not take action or ownership of the things they should do. A habit of being proactive starts with choosing our own reaction. And from the ability to have acknowledgment, have conscience and taking responsibility we will then become proactive. <Book, p. 97>

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind, takes focus on a person’s vision of life and asking, “What are we trying to accomplish”. The idea is that everything you do should centers around the things which ultimately creates value for your end-goal. It is about focusing on the things, that you want to be remembered for and be identifies with. This habit is about declaring our own personal mission statement and stick to it to achieve efficiency. <book, p. 146-191>

Habit 3: Put first thing first is a about discipline to prioritize our day-to-day actions. Covey is questioning “What unique thing could you do (which you are not doing for the moment) – which if you did it regularly – it would make a huge difference in your life”. It is here the popular matrix important/unimportant * urgent/non-urgent about prioritizing is introduced. To prevent and avoid being stressed and burned out, it is about proactively spending more time on the things that are important and non-urgent. <book, p. 200-210>

Habit 4: Think win-win is about establishment of effective interdependent relationships by thinking in win-win situation for mutual benefit and satisfaction. It is a based on the paradigm about that there exists success enough for all, and the ones success must not be achieved at the expense of another’s failure. Win-win is then philosophy about human interaction, to have high courage and consideration. Win-win situations cannot win in a competitive environment, and therefore it is a proactive choice to align the system to support it.

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood is about communication and empathy. Empathetic listening it is not only about listening with your ears but also with your heart and eyes, since people not only communicate with their words but also with the body-language and tone of voice. By listening to others, you can understand people’s different views and its influence regarding collaborations and other interdependent situations. It is also relevant regards seeking to understand the problem and understanding the other person’s needs and concerns before prescribing a solution. <book, p. 312-330>

Habit 6: Synergize means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, or said in other words, one plus ones gives three or more. This habit is about being open to new opportunities, alternatives and chances. Synergistic communication it is not only about the end-result but the feeling of enthusiasm, trust and safety toward something greater and better. With synergistic communication the environment allows people to think aloud, be creative and further develop other people’s ideas, which creates a collective vision and mutual respect. <book, 348-354>

• Habit 7: Sharpen The Saw is about maintaining the other habits by renewal which have four dimensions: physically, spiritually, mentally and socially. The 7 Habits is closely connected and thereby will improvement of one habit also positively affect the other habits. Covey calls the habit “Sharpen The Saw” based on his description: It takes much more time and is more exhausting to saw a tree with a blunt saw than it takes to first taking the time to sharpen it, and then saw the tree faster and easier – resulting in greater effectiveness. The process of renewal is about growth and continues improvement.

...If you want to have a deeper understanding of each habit, it is recommended to look in the article linked here