Seven Habits: Begining with the end in mind

Beginning with the end in mind is very similar to Collins' core values principle. Organizations are successful when they have core values that never change. As Covey explains, "People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them." He says that one of the reasons our form of government has lasted so long is because we have had a relatively changeless constitution that reflected core values that were espoused by our country. Perhaps the reason our country is slipping is because we have lost sight of the values of liberty, a free market, and limited government.

In a more personal application, we need to keep in mind the direction we want to go. We need to spend time pondering our destination. When I was a boy scout, I attended a leadership camp called Timberline. The symbols of this camp were boots and a compass. The boots represented hard work and the compass represented direction. We were taught that one doesn't do any good without the other. Hard work makes us efficient and productive, but we need to add direction to be effective.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Proactivity

In describing his first habit, Covey defines proactivity slightly different than most people. Instead of being synonymous with initiative, Covey says that being proactive is more similar to taking responsibility for your own actions. Under this definition, being proactive is highly important because it enables us to take charge of our own lives.

The concept that had the greatest effect on me was circle of concern and circle of influence. It basically says that although there are many problems we may worry about (circle of concern), there is a limited number of problems that we have the power to do something about (circle of influence). If we spend time worrying about things outside our circle of influence, we will waste a lot of time and energy but never see results. Therefore, focusing our efforts on our circle on influence, our time and efforts will have greater results.

This concept is especially important in our relationships with other people. There is an infinite number of things that can cause conflict with other individuals. Many of these things are the result of the actions of others, but others are the result of our own actions. We only have influence on our own actions.

When we have conflicts with others, we could spend our time and efforts in our circle of concern by wishing that the other person would change his/her actions, Or we could focus on our circle of influence by changing our own actions and increasing our influence with that person. Ironically, by changing our own actions to reduce the conflict, we will have more influence with that person.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Paradigm Shifts

The most important thing I learned from this section is that I need to approach problems based on the way that I can use principles to improve my own behavior.

A principles based approach is important because, unlike personality fads, principles never change. Therefore, if I base my life on living by principles, I can continue to be effective in the midst of changing fads. This approach takes the most initial effort, but pays the most dividends.

Too many people today are looking for that "quick fix" to their problems and, as a result, fail to make the fundamental changes that will have lasting effects. Instead, they implement the latest fad and get results for a time. However, these results are short lived because the latest fad will inevitably go out of style, and the person is left looking for the next fad. This pattern will eventually fail because sooner or later the person will be unable to implement the new fad.

I need to use these principles to improve my own behavior because I am the only one I can control. Just like Covey realized the way to help his son was to change his own paradigms, I need to look at problems based on ways that I can improve myself.