Habit 1: Be Proactive
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 forces.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
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
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.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
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
First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be
understood. 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
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.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Take time out from production to build production capacity through
personal renewal of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and
spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.
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 forces.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
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
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.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
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
First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be
understood. 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
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.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Take time out from production to build production capacity through
personal renewal of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and
spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.
