Stephen R. Covey - The 7 Habits on the Go

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The Habits

on the Go

Timeless Wisdom for a Rapidly Changing World

Inspired by the wisdom
of Stephen R. Covey

By Sean Covey

Coral Gables

Copyright 2020 FranklinCovey

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The 7 Habits on the Go: Timeless Wisdom for a Rapidly Changing World, Inspired by the Wisdom of Stephen R. Covey

ISBN: (p) 978-1-64250-435-4 (e) 978-1-64250-436-1

BISAC: BUS071000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership

Printed in the United States of America

People cant live with change if theres not a changeless core inside them.

Stephen R. Covey

Table of Contents

HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND,
THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

In my nearly twenty-five years working with the FranklinCovey company, the world leader in performance improvement, it never ceases to amaze me how many people around the world refer to our co-founder, Dr. Stephen R. Coveys seminal book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People or The 7 Habits of Highly Efficient People . To those who get the title wrong, it may seem like a minor difference, but in fact, Dr. Covey was quite deliberate and intentional about why he referred to these as being the habits of effective people.

Everything Dr. Covey worked for was geared towards building peoples effectiveness, so, its important not to lose the gravity of thatthe deliberation and intentionality of his passion and legacy to help people grow in their effectiveness, not only with themselves, but in their interactions with others.

The first three habits focus on how to be effective in your own life; they are about the private victory, the victory with self. Mastery over your own behaviors, attitude, priorities, mission, and purpose. The next three habits concern our interactions with others. The public victory relates to our interpersonal relationships, as a parent, spouse, leader, friend, colleague, or neighbor. As for the last habit, it is about renewal, and it encompasses all the others.

When it comes to The 7 Habits , my big aha moment involved Dr. Coveys articulation of the difference between being efficient and being effective. Its an important distinction that shouldnt be lost on anybodythis difference between having an efficient mindset, and having an effective mindset.

Ive always been a very efficient person. Anybody who knows me is aware that I get up early in the morning, at 4 a.m., to write articles and work on the chapters of my books. I also like lists. For example, a typical Saturday for me is highly efficient. By 9 a.m. Ive washed my cars, run to Home Depot to buy yard supplies, mowed the lawn, and showered, ready to start the day. By most peoples accounts, Im hyper productive. I like to do things fast, and in great volume, and its worked very well for me in most areas of my life, including my career.

I dont want you to think I am knocking down being efficient. No, efficiency is a great quality to have in your life. Many highly accomplished people are, in fact, very efficient. You can be efficient in meetings, with processes, texting, and email; taking out the garbage, and raking the lawn. There are lots of ways to be efficient. The problem is, Ive taken on that efficiency paradigman efficiency mindset, if you willand for most of my life Ive replicated it into my relationships, personally and professionally, often to poor results.

Thanks to The 7 Habits , I had my own epiphany: You cannot be efficient in your relationships. In his book, Dr. Covey talked about how effective people dont try to be efficient in their relationships. Theres a time for each, and for me, the biggest lesson with The 7 Habits is understanding when I should be operating in an efficiency mindset, and when I should be employing an effectiveness mindset. I think one of Dr. Coveys greatest quotes is: With people, slow is fast, and fast is slow. You have to slow down, take your time, and listen empathically to build high-trust, enduring relationships.

As a leader, formal or informal, when someone comes to you and wants to connect with you on an issue, you might consider closing your laptop, taking off your glasses, turning off your phone, and really checking in with the person standing or sitting across from you. This idea that people are an organizations most valuable asset is bunk. Its simply not true. People are not an organizations most valuable asset. Rather its the relationships between these people that creates culture and your competitive advantage.

Let me repeat: you cannot be efficient with people. And thats been my biggest lesson. I really appreciate the fact that Ive tried to apply my biggest talentefficiencyto everything, only to realize, Oh, perhaps thats why some of my relationships arent working out well, or I have conflict in my life. Perhaps thats why some people occasionally find me to be short, or rude, or not focused. Until I read Dr. Coveys book, I didnt understand that my talent in one area of my life was actually a liability in another area. It was hindering me from developing deep, trusting relationships with people. And, as I became a spouse and parent, its become much clearer to me that any relationship rooted in an effectiveness mindset is much more enduring, beneficial, reciprocal, and meaningful.

So, what do I hope that the readers will get from this particular version of the book that changed my life? Everybody is trying to be very productive these days. Our fast world demands that we multitask, and a lot of us are doing more than is feasible or wise; in this context, The 7 Habits on the Go recognizes that not everyone has the ability nor the time to read, or reread, the full-length book. This is a chance to take some of the key insights Dr. Covey was so adept at condensing into short phrases, pointed terms, and quotes, and allow people to benefit from an easy, quick reference guide, that doesnt lack any of the profoundness. The 7 Habits on the Go is about accessibility. Its a little lighter primer to access these profound principles in an easy to read, easy to adopt format.

May this book help you acknowledge that the most important parts of your life are always rooted in your relationships, and that we all need to be aware of the importance of focusing on effectiveness versus efficiency in our relationships.

Scott Jeffrey Miller
Author of Management Mess to Leadership Success