7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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ESP Educational Class

Mrs.ET Sopheak

Tel: 012289363 /0976469625

 7 Habits of Highly Effective  People

Stephen R.Covey argues against what he calls "The  Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self‐help books. He instead  promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one’s values with so‐called "universal  and timeless" principles. Covey adamantly refuses to confound principles and values; he sees principles as external  natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern  people’s behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his  teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence  to interdependence.

Our character is a collection of our habits, and habits have a powerful role in our lives. Habits  consist of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge allows us to know what to do, skill gives us  the ability to know how to do it, and desire is the motivation to do it. The Seven Habits move us through the following stages: 

1. Dependence: the paradigm under which we are born, relying upon others to take  care of us.
2. Independence: the paradigm under which we can make our own decisions and take  care of ourselves.  
3. Interdependence: the paradigm under which we cooperate to achieve something  that cannot be achieved independently.  

 The first three habits focus on self‐mastery, that is, achieving the private victories  required to move from dependence to independence. The first three habits are:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive: Focus on the things you can actually do something about. Change starts  from within, and highly effective people make the decision to improve their lives through the  things that they can influence rather than by simply reacting to external force
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind:  Begin everything you do with a clear picture of your  ultimate goal. Develop a principle‐centered personal mission statement. Extend the mission  statement into long‐term goals based on personal principles.  
• Habit 3: Put First Things First: Manage your life according to your needs and priorities. Spend  time doing what fits into your personal mission, observing the proper balance between  production and building production capacity. Identify the key roles that you take on in life, and  make time for each of them. 

Habits 4, 5, and 6 then address interdependence:

• Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Integrity: Stick with your true feelings, values, and commitments  Maturity: Be considerate of the feelings of others Abundance Mentality: Believe there is plenty  for everyone. Seek agreements and relationships that are mutually beneficial. In cases where a  "win/win" deal cannot be achieved, accept the fact that agreeing to make "no deal" may be the  best alternative. In developing an organizational culture, be sure to reward win/win behavior  among employees and avoid inadvertantly rewarding win/lose behavior.
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand: Then to Be Understood: Then to Be Understood Learn how to communicate clearly  and listen to others. Stephen Covey presents this habit as the most important principle of  interpersonal relations. Effective listening is not simply echoing what the other person has said  through the lens of one's own experience. Rather, it is putting oneself in the perspective of the  other person, listening empathically for both feeling and meaning.  
• Habit 6: Synergize:  “Two heads are better than one.” Through trustful communication, find ways  to leverage individual differences to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.  Through mutual trust and understanding, one often can solve conflicts and find a better solution  than would have been obtained through either person's own solution.  

Finally, the seventh habit is one of renewal and continual improvement, that is, of building one's  personal production capability.

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Allow yourself to grow by maintaining a balanced program in the four  areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Take time out from  production to build production capacity through personal renewal of the physical, mental,  social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions.     

Thanks,
Mrs.ET Sopheak
Lecturer in Economics