THE SEVEN HABITS OF

HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE:

RESTORING THE CHARACTER
ETHIC

Stephen R. Covey
1989
 CHARACTER ETHIC

Integrity
Humility
Fidelity
Temperance
Courage
 CHARACTER ETHIC

 Justice
 Patience
 Industry
 Simplicity
 Modesty
 The Golden Rule
 PERSONALITY ETHIC
 Personality
 Public Image
 Attitudes and behaviors
 Skills and techniques
that lubricate the processes of
human interaction
 BASIC THRUST OF SUCCESS
ETHIC
The quick fix which influences
 Techniques
 Power strategies
 Communication Skills
 Positive attitudes
Problem: Clearly manipulative
Even deceptive
 PARADIGM
(Greek)
 Model
 Theory
 Perception
 Assumption
 Frame of reference
Essence = How we see the world
= Like a map
TWO MAIN CATEGORIES
OF PARADIGMS
Maps of the way things are
or
REALITIES
Maps of the way things
should be or
VALUES
 ROLE OF PARADIGMS
 Our attitudes and behavior grow
out of these assumptions about the
way we see things.
 The way we see things is the
source of
 the way we think
 the way we act
 INFLUENCES THAT SHAPE OUR
PARADIGMS
 Family
 School or university
 Church
 Work Environment
 Friends
 Associates
 Current social paradigms
 EXAMINATION OF
PARADIGMS
The more aware we are of our
basic paradigms, maps or
assumptions
The more aware we are of the
extent to which we are
influenced by our experience
 EXAMINATION OF PARADIGMS
 The more we can take responsibility for
those paradigms
 Examine them
 Test them against reality
 Listen to others
 Be open to their perceptions
 Get a larger picture and a far more
objective view.
 BASIS OF CHARACTER ETHIC
 There are principles that govern human
effectiveness
 There are natural laws in the human
dimension that are real.
 These principles are part of most every
major
 enduring religion
 enduring social philosophy
 ethical systems
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
CHARACTER ETHIC
 Self evident
 Easily validated by any individual
 Part of the
 Human condition
 Human consciousness

 Human conscience
 PRINCIPLES ARE GUIDELINES
FOR HUMAN CONDUCT THAT
ARE PROVEN TO HAVE
ENDURING, PERMANENT VALUE

 Principles are not values.

 While principles are situationally
specific, principles are deep,
fundamental truths that have
universal application
 HABIT
The intersection of
 KNOWLEDGE = Knowing what to do
and why.
 SKILL = how to do it.
 DESIRE = wanting to do it or
motivation.
Creating a habit requires work in all three
dimensions.
 THE SEVEN HABITS
 Provide an incremental, sequential,
highly integrated approach to the
development of personal and
interpersonal effectiveness.
 Helps us move progressively from
dependence to independence to
interdependence.
 ROLE OF THE SEVEN HABITS
The basis of a person’s
character
Create an empowering center of
correct maps from which an
individual can effectively learn
and integrate other principles in
an upward spiral of growth.
 EFFECTIVENESS

Finding the balance

between
Production
Production Capacity
RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTROL
 DIRECT CONTROL = Problems
involving our behavior. We should work
on these habits.
 INDIRECT CONTROL = Problems
involving other people’s behavior.
These change our methods of influence.
 NO CONTROL = Problems we can do
nothing about. We need to learn to live
with them.
 HABIT 1 : BE PROACTIVE

Between stimulus and

response, human beings
have the freedom to choose.
Independent will is the ability
to act based on our own self
awareness and free from all
other influences.
HABIT OF PROACTIVITY
 As human beings, we are
responsible for our own lives.
 Our behavior is a function of our
decisions, not our conditions.
 Responsibility is a combination of
words
 Response
 Ability
 HABIT 2 : BEGIN WITH
THE END IN MIND
 All things are created twice
 The mental creation
 The physical creation

THEREFORE, we need to clearly

define what we are trying to
accomplish.
 MANAGEMENT &
LEADERSHIP
MANAGEMENT =
Doing things right
LEADERSHIP = Doing
the right thing
 PERSONAL MISSION
STATEMENT
The focus is on three things:
 What we want to be (character)
 What we want to do (contributions and
achievements)
 Values or principles on which being and
doing are based.
 THE KEY TO THE
ABILITY TO CHANGE
A changeless sense of
 Who we are
 What we are about
 What we value

With a Mission Statement, we can flow

with changes.
EXAMPLES OF THE PRINCIPLE FOCUS
 Spouse
 Family
 Money
 Possessions
 Pleasure
 Friends / enemies
 Church
 Self
WRITING A MISSION STATEMENT
 It takes
 deep introspection
 careful analysis
 thoughtful expression
 often many rewrites to produce it in
final form.
THEREFORE
 It forces us to think through our priorities
deeply, carefully and to align our
behavior with our beliefs.
 HABIT 3 : PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

 Things that matter most must never be

at the mercy of things that matter least.
 INDEPENDENT WILL is the ability to
make decisions and choice and to act in
accordance with them.
 It is the ability to make and keep
commitments
 It is the ability to “walk our talk”.
THE TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX

QUADRANT I :
IMPORTANT & URGENT
ACTIVITIES

 Crises
 Pressing problems
 Deadline-driven projects
THE TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX
QUADRANT II :
IMPORTANT & NON - URGENT ACTIVITIES
 Prevention, Production Capacity
activities
 Relationship building
 Recognizing new opportunities
 Planning and recreation
THE TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX
QUADRANT III :
NOT IMPORTANT & URGENT
ACTIVITIES
 Interruptions, some calls
 Some mail, some report
 Some meetings
 Proximate, pressing matters
 Popular activities
THE TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX

QUADRANT IV :
NOT IMPORTANT AND NOT URGENT
 Trivia, busy work
 Some mail
 Some phone calls
 Time wasters
 Pleasant activities
 STRATEGY OF EFFECTIVE
PEOPLE
 Stay out of Quadrant III
 Stay out of Quadrant IV
 Shrink Quadrant I down to size
 Spend more time in Quadrant II
Effective people are not problem minded;
they are opportunity minded.
We have to decide what our highest
priorities are and have the courage to
say “no” to other things.
FOUR KEY ACTIVITIES

Identifying roles.
Selecting goals.
Scheduling
Daily adapting
 INTERDEPENCE AND
INDEPENDENCE

Effective interdependence can

only be built on a foundation of
true independence.
Self mastery and self discipline
are the foundation of good
relationships with others.
 THE EMOTIONAL BANK
ACCOUNT

 The Emotional Bank Account is the

amount of trust that has been built up in
a relationship.
 When the trust account is high,
communication is easy, instant and
effective.
 Our most constant relationships require
our most constant deposits.
 SIX MAJOR DEPOSITS
1. Understanding the individual.
2. Attending to the little things.
3. Keeping commitments
4. Clarifying expectations.
5. Showing personal integrity.
6. Apologizing sincerely when we make a
withdrawal.
 HABIT 4 : THINK WIN / WIN
 WIN / WIN = agreements or solutions
are mutually beneficial and mutually
satisfying.
 The approach is cooperative, not
competitive.
 This paradigm is based on the belief
that there is plenty for everyone.
 WIN / LOSE = People use position,
power, credentials, possessions or
personality to get their way.
 LOSE / WIN = People are usually quick
to please or appease.
 LOSE / LOSE = People are blind to
everything except their desire for the
other person to lose, even if it means
losing themselves.
 WIN = People secure their own ends
and leave it to others to secure theirs.
 THINK WIN / WIN
A habit of interpersonal
leadership

It involves:
 Self awareness
 Imagination
 Conscience
 Independent will
 Relationships with others
 THE FOUR STEP
PROCESS OF WIN / WIN
1. See the problem from the other point
of view.
2. Identify the key issues & concerns
involved.
3. Determine what results would
constitute a fully acceptable solution.
4. Identify possible new options to
achieve their results.
 HABIT 5 : SEEK FIRST TO
UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE
UNDERSTOOD
Take the time to diagnose, to
really, deeply understand the
problem first.
Communication is the most
important skill in life.
 FIVE LEVELS OF LISTENING
 Ignoring
 Pretending
 Selective listening
 Attentive listening
 Empathetic listening = we fully, deeply
understand the other person
emotionally and intellectually.
 HABIT 6 : SYNERGIZE

 Synergy is the principle of creative

cooperation where the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.
 Ecology basically describes
synergism in nature where
everything is related to everything
else.
The more genuine the
involvement

 The more sincere and sustained

the participation in analyzing and
solving problems.
 The greater the release of
everyone’s creativity and of their
commitment to what they create.
 HABIT 7 : SHARPEN THE SAW
 In regard to our personal
production capacity, we need to
renew the four dimensions of our
nature:
 Physical

 Spiritual

 Mental

 Social / Emotional
 FOUR ASPECTS OF
PERSONAL RENEWAL

1. physical = exercise, nutrition, stress

management.
2. Social / emotional = service, empathy,
synergy, intrinsic security.
3. spiritual = value clarification and
commitment, study and meditation.
4. mental = reading, visualizing, planning,
writing.
 CONCLUSIONS
 Character cannot be made except by a
steady, long continued process.
 Renewing our social / emotional
dimension requires exercise.
 A life of integrity is the most
fundamental source of personal worth.
 Peace of mind comes when our life is in
harmony with true principles and values
and in no other way.