Stephen Covey on Effective Habits

– ”Seven + One” Habits at Work

Need for Success

• No company can succeed until individuals within it succeed. No group can achieve its objectives until its people achieve theirs

• Private victories precede Public victories

– Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, First

Things First and The 8th Habit

Desire

Habits Defined

• Knowledge is the what to do and why.

• Skill is the how to do.

• Desire is the motivation, the want to do.

• A habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire.

Knowledge

Skill

Habit

Webster defines a habit as an often involuntary pattern of behavior acquired by frequent repetition.

Ethics – Personality and Character

Success is a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques, that lubricate the processes of human interaction.

Although image, techniques and skills can influence your outward success, the weight of real effectiveness lies in good

character

Success depends on things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity and modesty.

Personality Ethic

Character Ethic

Paradigm Shift

You could say –

its half-full

or its half-empty.

Both are right – its only the perception.

In other words the way we see the problem is the problem – problems, at times, could be opportunities

If you want small change, work on your behavior; if you want quantum-leap changes, work on your paradigms

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin with the End in Mind

3. Put First things First

4. Think Win/Win

5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the Saw

Private Victory

Public Victory

Renewal

Seven Habits Application

Seven Habit is a

Principle-centered

character-based

inside-out

approach to personal and inter-personal effectiveness

Habit 1: Be Proactive (Principle of Personal Vision)

Proactivity Defined: As human beings we are responsible for our own lives.

Reactive People

Proactive People

Reactive people are driven by feelings, circumstances, conditions, the environment.

Proactive people are

driven by carefully

considered, selected and internalized

values.

Stimulus Response

Habit 1: Be Proactive (Principle of Personal Vision)

Where do you focus your time and energy?

• Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence.

• Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern.

Circle of Influence

Circle of Concern

Proactive Focus Reactive Focus

Habit 2: Begin with an end in Mind(Principle of Personal Leadership)

• Most endeavors that fail, fail with the first creation.

• Leadership is the first creation and Management is the second creation.

• Management is doing things right but Leadership is doing the right things.

Mental

Creation

Physical Creation

Peak Performers: They win because they visualize their victory

Habit 2: Begin with an end in Mind(Principle of Personal Leadership)

Mission Statement:

The most effective way to begin with the

end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement.

Note: Even Organizations can have mission statements

Habit 3: Put First Things First (Principles of Personal Management)

√

x

P1s

x

• Effective Management is putting first things first

• Urgent Matters are usually visible

• Important Matters contribute to our mission

• Effective People stay out of III & IV

Importance Vs. Urgency

Habit 3: Put First Things First(Principles of Personal Management)

SAND

WATER

Habit 4: Think Win-Win (Principles of Interpersonal Leadership)

Think Win-Win is a frame of mind that seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions

Win-Win Is Win-Win Is Not

A courageous effort Always being “nice”

The best way to get to interdependent relationships

Always achievable

A philosophy of human interaction supported by an

Abundance Mentality

A manipulative effort

A character-based code for interactions

A personality-based thought pattern

Habit 4: Think Win-Win (Principles of Interpersonal Leadership)

Four Dimensions of Win-Win

• Character – Integrity, Maturity and Abundance Mentality

• Relationship – courtesy and respect for others

• Agreement – desired results and consequences

• Systems and Processes – align with the mission statement and the route to win-win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood(Principles of Empathic Communications)

• To interact effectively and to influence, you need to understand first – Diagnosis must precede prescriptions

• Effective people focus first on listening to understand and not on listening to reply.

• Effective people listen with empathy unlike defective people who have no genuine desire or interest in anyone else but himself/herself.

• In order to Win-Win, you need to first understand

7%

38%55%

Non-verbal

Sounds (How we say)

Words we use

The one who listens does the most work, not the one who speaks

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood(Principles of Empathic Communications)

Empathic Listening Skills

• Repeat verbatim – just words not feelings

• Rephrase content – summarize meaning in your own words

• Reflect feelings – capture feelings in your own words

• Rephrase content and reflect feelings – express both in your own words

• Discern – when empathy is not necessary or appropriate

The key to listening is with the eyes and the heart

Habit 6: Synergize(Principles of Creative Communication)

• Synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synergy takes place when two or more people produce more together than the sum of what they could have produced separately.

• With Win-Win, you get 2, with Synergy you get, more than 1, or 2, say 11

• Valuing the differences is the essence of Synergy

Synergize

Problem

or

Opportunity

Synergy (Third

Alternative)

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw(Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal)

• This is a daily process of renewing four dimensions of our nature

• A Private Victory and is a victory over self

• Quadrant II activity and hence a must

– Physical – Exercise

– Mental – Reading

– Spiritual – Core Values and Mission Statement

– Social – Relationship with others

Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

• The world, though, is a vastly changed place.

• Being effective as individuals and organizations is no longer merely an option – survival in today's world requires it

• For today’s knowledge worker era, we need additional habit for personal effectiveness

• We need to reach beyond Effectiveness towards Fulfillment, Contribution and Greatness

• We need to find our inner-voice and inspire others to find theirs (In other words, finding inner-voice is identifying the strengths, talents of the individual and work on it)

People who have found their voice require no management

Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

4 Tenets that form your voice

• Vision (what are you good at?)

• Passion (what do you love to do?)

• Conscience (what is life asking of me?)

• Discipline (what need does it serve?)

Habit & Its Application

Habit 1 Be Proactive

Habit 2 Begin with an End in Mind

Habit 3 First Things First

Habit 4 Think Win-Win

Habit 5Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

Habit 6 Synergize

Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw

Habit 8From Effectiveness to Greatness

Team potentially needing platform help; Informatica Support Model

Consolidated Platform Support

Building the Team is first important before delivering support

Shared Resources between Teams; Leveraging App Team for Offshore Support

Training Support – Understand their support needs and then tell the need for an SLA

Reaching out to additional vendors

Training, Certifications

Tactical to Strategical – Extending beyond Supporting to Consulting, Driving – EA Engagement, 9i, 2003, Upgrade

Final words…

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit – Aristotle

The enemy of the best is often the good. – Stephen R. Covey