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 published in 1989. Covey presents 7 habits that are fundamental principles to effectiveness in life in the modern society, where life has become more complex, stressful and demanding. Although the book is related to business management and the professional life, it gives general good advice to self-management and confidence-building in the private life. 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 people over the world.

This book has met a lot of positive publicity, and here is one:

• “Every so often a book comes along that not only alters the lives of readers but leaves an imprint on the culture itself. The 7 Habits is one of those books." - Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive”

This article explains the essentials of the 7 principles or habits as Covey presents them in the book. This article will also include the overall approach of the concept and how it can be included in a project management context. Lastly, there will be a critical reflection of the application of the principles.

Overall Concept of The 7 Habits

In the book Covey quotes from the Greek philosopher, Aristoteles[link]; “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” [Book, p. 65] Real 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. [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 our time and goal in your life, define the character you want be and build productive relationships. The concept not meant to be a quick fix but a process of change and growth.

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 is from the lowest level, dependence, secondly independence and interdependence as the highest level of maturity.

Between each level of maturity Covey describes the first three habits as the one that take a person from dependence to interdependence – this is the private victory. The habits from four to six take a person from independence to interdependence – this is the public victory. Here is a list the first six habits:

• 1. Habit: Be proactive
• 2. Habit: Begin with the end in mind
• 3. Habit: Put first thing first.
• 4.Habit: Think win-win
• 5. Habit: Seek first to understand, then to be understood
• 6. Habit: Synergize

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.

This is a bottom-up structure, that indicates, that you have to win the private victory in order to win the public victory etc. 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 really desire to achieve.

Details of The 7 Habits

Each habit has a directly opposite negative habit, from its perspective it will be easier to get acquainted with it to understand the foundation.

Habit 1: Be proactive

Habit 1 takes two opposites, reactive and proactive, into account. The habit of being reactive means that you are governed by mood, emotions and impulses, and as Covey describes it; that you are prone to respond in a certain way to a certain stimulus. [Book, p. 97] You complain about the things you cannot control and does not take action or ownership of the things you should do. The main reason that some people behave reactive can be explained from the deterministic theories [link] of how we evaluate a person or ourselves from the outside. As people we sometimes convince ourselves that we are a product of our parents and surroundings, and that is how we define ourselves without any control of how it influences us – simply “that is just how I am, so therefore I can’t…”. It could also be other complaining factors such as economic issues, what people think you etc. That is the root of the problem of the habit of being reactive. We blame everything else, instead of taking control and making the best we can, out of what we have – taking the responsibility and choosing our own reaction. From the ability to do so, and with acknowledgment, imagination, conscience and the willing of our own, then we will become proactive.

To be proactive:

• Stop making excursions for yourself.
• Your decisions determine your life, not your conditions.
• You can control how you react in a certain situation
• Focus on the things you can control and have influence on.
• Take action to improve the things you can control.

Application

• How it can be included in relevant context
  • Self-management: Guidance how to involve it in a project management context (PEOPLE)
• How it has already been used (real examples, professional review)

Limitation

• Critical reflections of the application-section.

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References

Examples