LIFE AND CAREER

STEPHEN COVEY

Stephen Covey is founder and chairman of the covey Leadership Center – now part of Franklin Covey – and the institute for principle-Centered Leadership in Utta. Born in 1932, he receives an MBA from Harvard Business School and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, where he was subsequently professor of organizational Behavior and Business Management.

  At the covey Leadership Center, through his writing – chiefly thee seven Habits of Highly Effected people (he was sold over five million copies) – and through consultancy ( he was invited to Camp David by President Clinton), his message has reached millions of individuals in business, government, and education.

CONTRIBUTION

The Seven Habits of Effective People

The seven habits is addressed to readers not only in their capacity as managers, but also as members of a family, and as social, spiritual, sporting, and thinking individuals. It offers a life-transforming prescription’, which calls for a rethink of many fundamental assumptions and attitudes (paradigms), and builds on the fundamental concept of interdependence. Covey traces a personal development outline from;

·                    Dependence in childhood (many people never grow out of a dependency culture), through…

·                    Independence in adolescence-self-assurance, a developing personality, and a positive mental attitude, to…

·                    Interdependence-recognition that the optimum outcome results from everyone giving of their best, each aiming for a common goal, sharing the same mission and vision, but having the freedom to use their best judgment as to go about achieving that common goal.

Habit 1 Be proactive.

   Covey distinguishes between proactive people- those who focus their efforts on things which they can do something about – and  reactive people, who blame, accuse, behave like victims, picks on other people’s weaknesses, and complain about external factors over which they have no control (for example, the weather).

    Proactive people are responsible for their own lives. Convey breaks down the word responsibility into ‘response’ and ‘ability’. Proactive people recognize their responsibility to make things happen. Those who allow their feelings to control their actions have abdicated responsibility and empowered their feelings.  When proactive people make a mistake, they not only recognize it as such and acknowledge it, they also correct it if possible and, most importantly, learn from it.

Habit 2  Begin with the end in mind.

  Leadership is about effectiveness-the vision or what is to be accomplished. It calls for direction ( in every sense of the word), purpose, and sensitivity. Management on the other hand, is about efficiency-how best to accomplish the vision. It depends on control, guidance, and rules.

   To identify the end, and to formulate one’s route or strategy to achieving that end, Convey maintains the need for a ‘principle-centered’ basis to all aspects of their  life-spouse, family, money, church, pleasure, friends (and, in a perverse way, enemies), sports, etc. of course all of these have some influence over the life of every individual. However, only by clearly establishing one’s own principles, in the form of personal mission,  does one have a solid foundation.

Habit 3 Put first things first.

     Covey’s first major work, first things first, sets out his views on time management. It argues that the important things is not managing oneself, focusing on results rather than on methods when prioritizing within each  compartment of work and life.

      He breaks down life’s activities into four quadrants:

       Quadrant 1:Urgent and important- for example, crises, deadlines, unexpected opportunities.

       Quadrant 2: Not urgent, but important-for example, planning, recreation, relationship-

                           building, doing, learning.

       Quadrant 3: Urgent, but not important-for example, interruptions, meetings.

       Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important-for example, trivia, time wasters, gossips.

       

       Essentially all activity of effective people should focus on the second quadrant, apart from the genuinely unpredictable quadrant 1 events. However, effective planning and doing in quadrant 2 should minimize the number of occasions on when crises occur.

      The outcomes of a quadrant 2  focus include: vision, perspective, balance, discipline, and control. On the hand, the results of placing one’s main focus on the other quadrants are:

      Quadrant 1: stress, burn-out, inability to manage time(and thus loss of control of one’s own life).

      Quadrant 3: short-termism,  loss of control, shallowness, feelings of being victim of circumstances.

      Quadrant 4: irresponsibility, dependency, unsuitability for employment.

      Habit 3 is therefore about managing oneself effectively, prioritizing according to the principles adopted in habit 2. This approach transcends the office diary or day-planner, embracing all  roles  in life-as manager, mentor, administrator, strategist, and also parent, spouse, member of social groups, and as an individual with needs and aspirations.

      Habit 1-3 are grouped under the banner ‘Private Victory’. They are about the development of the personal attributes that provides the foundation for independence. Habit 4-6 are described by covey as the ‘Public Victory’, as they are the basic paradigms of interdependence.

Habit 4    Think win\win.

     Interdependence occurs when there is co-operation, not competition, in the work place (or at home). Covey holds that competition belongs in the market place.

     Covey points out that, from childhood, many people are conditioned to a win\lose mentality by school examinations, by parental approval being rationed to ‘success’, a belief that there is only a finite cake to be shared: a ‘scarcity mentality’ is evident in  people who have difficulty in sharing recognition or credit, power or profit. It restrict their ability to celebrate other people’s success, and even brings about a perverse satisfaction at others’ misfortune.

      By contrast covey advocates an ‘abundance mentality’ that:

. recognizes unlimited possibilities for positive growth and development

. celebrates success, recognizing that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or the exclusion, of others

. understands and seeks a win\win solution

       Covey argues that, to be true to your ideals, it is sometimes necessary to walk away, if the other party is interested only in a win\lose outcome: covey describes this as ‘win\win or no ideal’.

Habit 5  Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

    ‘I just can’t understand my son… he won’t listen to me’. The absurdity of this statement is highlighted by covey in emphasizing the importance of listening in order to understand. Clearly, the parent needs to stop and listen to the son if he or she truly wants to understand him.

     However, most people want to make their point first, or are so busy looking for their opportunity to butt into the conversation that they fail to hear and understand the other party. Covey defines the different levels of listening as:

. hearing but ignoring

. pretending to listen(‘Yes’, ‘Oh’, ‘I see…’)

. selective listening (choosing to hear only what we want to hear)

. attentive listening, without evaluation (e.g., taking notes at a lecture)

. empathic listening (with intent to understand the other party)

    True empathic listening requires a great deal of personal security, as one is vulnerable to being  influenced, to having one’s opinions changed. The more deeply you understand other people, ‘covey says, ‘the more you appreciate them, the more reverent you feel about them.’

     Likewise, when you feel that someone is genuinely seeking to  understand your point of view, you recognize and share heir openness and willingness to negotiate and to reach a win\win situation.

Habit 6 Synergize.

    The essence of synergise is where two parties, each with a different agenda, value each other’s differences. Everything in nature is synergistic, with every creature and plant being interdependent with others.

     We also have personal effectiveness where there is synergy at an individual level – where both sides of the brain are working in tandem on a problem or situation, the intuitive, creative, visual right aside and the analytical, logical, verbal left side combining to achieve the optimum outcome.

      Synergy is lacking in insecure people: they either clone others, or else try to stereotype them. Of such insecurity is born prejudice-racism, bigotry, nationalism, and any other form of prejudging others.

Habit 7 Sharpen the saw.

      The seventh and final habit relates to renewal. Just as a motor car or any other sophisticated tool needs regular care and maintenance, so too do the human body and mind.

      Covey uses the metaphor of a woodcutter ho is laboring painfully to saw down tree. The saw is obviously in need of sharpening, but when asked why he doesn’t stop and sharpen the saw, the woodcutter replies, ‘I can’t stop-I’m too busy sawing down the tree.’

     The  warning is quite clear. Everyone can become so engrossed in the task in hand that the basic tools are neglected:

. the physical self-which requires exercise, a sensible and balanced diet, and management

  of stress

. the social\emotional self-which connects with others through service, empathy, and synergy,

  and which is the source of intrinsic security

. the spiritual self-which through meditation, reflection, prayer, and study helps to clarify              

  and refine our own  values and strengths, and our commitment to them

. the mental self-building on to our formal education through reading, visualizing, planning,

  Writing and maintaining a coherent programme of continuing personal development.                                                                                                                             

CONTEXT AND CONCLUSIONS

Commentators have both attacked and applauded covey’s approach for mixing the self-help message, which can be traced back to Samuel Smiles, with the positive self-drive of winning friends and influencing people (Dale Carnegie), current management theories, and religious fervour.

   In times of change and confusion, however, when failure, redundancy, and unemployment dominate individual thinking and lead to stress, Covey’s message offers the individual something to hang on to. First, coauthored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, has achieved twice the sales of The seven Habits over the same period.

   He is undoubtedly a philosopher for our times; highlight the significance of changing industrial and human relations in this post-confrontational era, and recognizing the potential of the untapped resources within each individual.

THE BEST SOURCES OF HELP

Books:

Covey, Stephen. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Simon & Schuster, 1989.

Covey, Stephen. Principle-centered Leadership. London: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Covey, Stephen, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill. First Things first. London:

Simon & Schuster, 1996.