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Stephen Covey on Effective Habits


”Seven + One” Habits at Work
Need for Success

• No company can succeed until individuals within it


succeed. No group can achieve its objectives until its
people achieve theirs
• Private victories precede Public victories
– Dr. Stephen R. Covey,
author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, First
Things First and The 8th Habit
Habits Defined
Webster defines a habit as an often involuntary pattern of behavior
acquired by frequent repetition.

Habit • Knowledge is the what to do


and why.
Knowledge
• Skill is the how to do.
• Desire is the motivation, the
want to do.
Skill Desire • A habit is the intersection of
knowledge, skill and desire.
Ethics – Personality and Character

Personality
Character
Ethic
Ethic

Success is a function
of personality, of Success depends on
public image, of things like integrity,
attitudes and humility, fidelity,
behaviors, skills temperance,
and techniques, courage, justice,
that lubricate the patience, industry,
processes of simplicity and
human interaction. modesty.

Although image, techniques and skills can influence your outward success, the
weight of real effectiveness lies in good character
Paradigm Shift

You could say –


its half-full
or its half-empty.
Both are right – its only the
perception.
In other words the way we see
the problem is the problem –
problems, at times, could be
opportunities

If you want small change, work on your behavior; if you want quantum-leap
changes, work on your paradigms
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

1. Be Proactive
Private
2. Begin with the End in Mind
Victory
3. Put First things First

4. Think Win/Win

5. Seek First to Understand, Public


Then to Be Understood Victory
6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the Saw Renewal


Seven Habits Application

Seven Habit is a
Principle-centered
character-based
inside-out
approach to personal
and inter-personal
effectiveness
Habit 1: Be Proactive
(Principle of Personal Vision)
Proactivity Defined: As human Stimulus Response
beings we are responsible for our
own lives.
Proactive
people are
Reactive driven by
People carefully
considered,
selected and
Reactive people internalized
are driven by values.
feelings,
circumstances,
conditions, the Proactive
environment. People
Habit 1: Be Proactive
(Principle of Personal Vision)
Proactive Focus Reactive Focus
Circle of Concern

Circle of Influence

Where do you focus your time and energy?


• Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence.
• Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern.
Habit 2: Begin with an end in Mind
(Principle of Personal Leadership)

Mental
Physical
Creation
Creation

• Most endeavors that fail, fail with the first creation.


• Leadership is the first creation and Management is the
second creation.
• Management is doing things right but Leadership is doing
the right things.

Peak Performers: They win because they visualize their victory


Habit 2: Begin with an end in Mind
(Principle of Personal Leadership)

Mission Statement:
The most effective
way to begin with the
end in mind is to
develop a personal
mission statement.

Note: Even Organizations can have mission statements


Habit 3: Put First Things First
(Principles of Personal Management)

Importance Vs. Urgency

• Effective
Management is putting
first things first
P1s √ • Urgent Matters are
usually visible
• Important Matters
contribute to our
mission
• Effective People stay
x x out of III & IV
Habit 3: Put First Things First
(Principles of Personal Management)

WATER

SAND
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
(Principles of Interpersonal Leadership)

Think Win-Win is a frame of mind that seeks mutual benefit in all


human interactions

Win-Win Is Win-Win Is Not

A courageous effort Always being “nice”


The best way to get to Always achievable
interdependent relationships
A philosophy of human A manipulative effort
interaction supported by an
Abundance Mentality
A character-based code for A personality-based thought
interactions pattern
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
(Principles of Interpersonal Leadership)

Four Dimensions of Win-Win


• Character – Integrity, Maturity and Abundance
Mentality
• Relationship – courtesy and respect for others
• Agreement – desired results and consequences
• Systems and Processes – align with the mission
statement and the route to win-win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
(Principles of Empathic Communications)

• To interact effectively and to influence,


you need to understand first – 7%
Diagnosis must precede prescriptions
• Effective people focus first on
38%
listening to understand and not on
55%
listening to reply.
• Effective people listen with empathy
unlike defective people who have no
genuine desire or interest in anyone Non-verbal
else but himself/herself. Sounds (How we say)
• In order to Win-Win, you need to first Words we use
understand

The one who listens does the most work, not the one who speaks
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
(Principles of Empathic Communications)

Empathic Listening Skills


• Repeat verbatim – just words not feelings
• Rephrase content – summarize meaning in your own
words
• Reflect feelings – capture feelings in your own words
• Rephrase content and reflect feelings – express both
in your own words
• Discern – when empathy is not necessary or
appropriate

The key to listening is with the eyes and the heart


Habit 6: Synergize
(Principles of Creative Communication)

Problem Synergy
or Synergize (Third
Alternative)
Opportunity

• Synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of its


parts. Synergy takes place when two or more people
produce more together than the sum of what they
could have produced separately.
• With Win-Win, you get 2, with Synergy you get, more
than 1, or 2, say 11
• Valuing the differences is the essence of Synergy
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
(Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal)

• This is a daily process of renewing four dimensions


of our nature
• A Private Victory and is a victory over self
• Quadrant II activity and hence a must
– Physical – Exercise
– Mental – Reading
– Spiritual – Core Values and Mission Statement
– Social – Relationship with others
Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

• The world, though, is a vastly changed place.


• Being effective as individuals and organizations is no longer merely
an option – survival in today's world requires it
• For today’s knowledge worker era, we need additional habit for
personal effectiveness
• We need to reach beyond Effectiveness towards Fulfillment,
Contribution and Greatness
• We need to find our inner-voice and inspire others to find theirs (In
other words, finding inner-voice is identifying the strengths, talents
of the individual and work on it)

People who have found their voice require no management


Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

4 Tenets that form your voice


• Vision (what are you
good at?)
• Passion (what do you
love to do?)
• Conscience (what is life
asking of me?)
• Discipline (what need
does it serve?)
Habit & Its Application
Team potentially needing platform help;
Habit 1 Be Proactive Informatica Support Model

Habit 2 Begin with an End in Mind Consolidated Platform Support

Building the Team is first important before


Habit 3 First Things First delivering support
Shared Resources between Teams; Leveraging
Habit 4 Think Win-Win App Team for Offshore Support

Seek First to Understand, Training Support – Understand their support


Habit 5 needs and then tell the need for an SLA
then to be Understood
Habit 6 Synergize Reaching out to additional vendors

Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw Training, Certifications

Tactical to Strategical – Extending beyond


From Effectiveness to
Habit 8 Supporting to Consulting, Driving – EA
Greatness Engagement, 9i, 2003, Upgrade
Final words…

The enemy of the best is often the good. –


Stephen R. Covey

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence,


then, is not an act, but a habit – Aristotle

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