The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

by Stephen Covey

K and I both listened to this. Lots of good ideas, many of which have become punchlines (“Synergize!”) in the time since this was published.

I was once on a team where our boss asked us to all read the book “Good to Great.” I began reading, took notes, and saw a lot of valuable ideas that I thought would impact our business. Then we met to discuss the first chapter, and I began to share my thoughts. I quickly learned that the goal was just to read the book, not to make any real changes or improvements. The ideas in the book, which were very good, became a joke because we were not really going to take them seriously. I imagine that happens a lot and leads to terms like “win-win” being viewed with cynacism. Nevertheless, I think there is a lot of value here.

The habits are:

1. Be proactive.

Don’t sit and wait. Work on the things you can influence.

2. Begin with the end in mind.

Think about how your life will look at the end, and live now with that in mind.

3. Put first things first.

Do the important/non-urgent.

4. Think win-win.

Value people. Work to understand their perspective until you can articulate it back to them. Then find a solution so that you both win, or no deal.

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

6. Synergize.

7. Sharpen the saw.

Renew your resources, energy, health. Create a lifestyle you can sustain long-term.