Stephen Covey Dies; All 7 Habits; 8th Habit

HEADLINES:

Stephen Covey Dead at 79 — the author of the mega-bestseller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, died yesterday from complications from a biking accident in April. Here's a link to CNN's Obituary for Stephen.

7 Habits — in honor of Stephen, it's worth reviewing his 7 Habits (something borrowed completely from the Wikipedia entry for his book). Please take 2 minutes to read this summary and thoughtfully choose one habit on which to focus between now and Sept 30 (Habit 5 for me):

Independence or Self-Mastery

The First Three Habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self mastery):

• Habit 1: Be Proactive

Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life. Create a mission statement.

• Habit 3: Put First Things First

Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

Interdependence

The next three have to do with Interdependence (i.e., working with others):

• Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.

• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.

• Habit 6: Synergize

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

Self Renewal

The Last habit relates to self-rejuvenation:

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.

8th Habit — and Stephen Covey's additional habit is "find your voice and inspire others to find theirs", embodied in his book by the same name. Take another minute to review this Wikipedia overview of the book including the "6 cancers" that inhibit greatness.

No Insight Thursday — we're on our way into the jungles of Panama this week with limited access to the internet. I'll have another insight out late next week.