07 the 7 habits of highly effective people p stephen r covey

Praise for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey “Dr Stephen R Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is as relevant and timely today as it was when it was first published 25 years ago Whether you lead a large organization in a Fortune 500 company or are just getting started in business, the principles discussed in The Habits of Highly Effective People provide enduring and universal truths for effective, values-based leadership The 7 Habits is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand how to inspire and motivate others It remains one of the most important business books of our time.” —KEVIN TURNER, COO of Microsoft Corporation “Fundamentals are the key to success Stephen Covey is a master of them Buy his book, but most important, use it!” —ANTHONY ROBBINS, author of Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within “The lessons outlined in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People are an important guide to success This book is one of the top-selling books of all time for a reason The success I’ve had in swimming and in life is credited to a similar proactive, goal-setting approach —Dream, Plan, Reach Through my Foundation’s programming, we recognize the power of dreams and stress the importance of executing a detailed plan to propel you toward your goals.” —MICHAEL PHELPS, Olympic Swimmer, Gold Medalist “The Habits have taught me profound truths that transcend because they are based on principles They have helped me see what I cannot see In every situation I can use the principles and paradigms associated with each habit, think over and reset the north direction of my life.” —JUAN NINO, Project Management, Global Auditor & Project Start Up Lead, Halliburton, Mexico “Covey’s masterpiece, if it hasn’t changed the world, has influenced millions of readers who can and will make our planet more peaceful and prosperous and prepared and purposeful.” —WARREN BENNIS, author of On Becoming a Leader and Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California “The Habits of Highly Effective People is by now one of the best-selling books of all time.” —Fortune “When I look back and think of all the training events that shaped my knowledge, and very importantly my values and principles, I always think back to that one week in 1987 when I attended the Habits workshop with Stephen Covey as my trainer What a powerhouse he was; what a fascinating tour we made together through those Habits It has been the one training event that made the single biggest contribution to shaping my professional and personal life.” —PETER F SMIT, Senior Vice President, the Hershey Company, President Asia, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Singapore “The Habits have guided many of us on our journey through the world of business Simple but incredibly effective A great guide for any aspiring leader!” —MEG WHITMAN, CEO of HP “Covey is the hottest self-improvement consultant to hit U.S business since Dale Carnegie.” —USA Today “Let’s forget the content of his books Or the gazillions of copies The Habits of Highly Effective People, or any of his others books for that matter, has sold around the world Let’s forget his memorable seminars—and his business success One simply cannot pay tribute to Stephen Covey without saying at the outset that he was a lovely human being I will say, unequivocally, that Stephen expected the best of all of us—and he provided us with straightforward tools and advice to help us get from here to a better there In short, I will miss Stephen He stirred my better angels, as he did for millions of others in truly every corner of the world.” —TOM PETERS, author of The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence and coauthor of In Search of Excellence “The company launched the 7 Habits program in 2001 to align all the Mary Kay China people under one set of values and principles The Habits help us to think, to set priorities, to work with each other and to live our lives In the last twelve years, our people continue to expand its cycle of influence, involving our family members, the independent sales force, and business partners The people’s effectiveness has a great impact on the top and bottom lines As a result, the company was named ‘the Best Employer’ for the last ten years and became ‘the #1 cosmetics brand in sales in China’ in 2012.” —PAUL MAK, President, Mary Kay, Greater China “Stephen R Covey opened the world’s eyes, once again, to the power of basic human truths— take responsibility for your life, create your destiny, seek mutual benefit and understanding, and be abundant and always service-oriented When we so, we not only change our own lives, but we change the world, because of who we are Stephen Covey will truly be remembered and known in history and by future generations not only for his Habits, but for his own personal commitment to family love and contribution to community He was a great example to the two of us and to our family His was a life well-lived.” —GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AND FIRST LADY ANN ROMNEY “Twenty-five years after it first appeared, the wisdom of The Habits of Highly Effective People is more relevant than ever before On an individual level, people are burning out, and on a collective level we are burning up the planet So, Dr Covey’s emphasis on self-renewal and his understanding that leadership and creativity require us to tap into our own physical, mental, and spiritual resources, are exactly what we need in this moment.” —ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, Chair, President, and Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post Media Group “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People brings people together in an organization It blends inherent local wisdom with an organization’s culture so that it becomes a distinct culture by which the institution is differentiated The Habits is an enabler to ‘walk’ the ‘talk.’ It’s a tool to build a culture of trust and a contributive spirit that emanates good corporate governance It engages and unleashes employees to be interdependently objective, honest, and perceptive to new ideas, and to work within the system to form the best institution in the market Life is a duty and is a continuing search to build a contributive life and to give the best The Habits helps to build sensitivity, to recognize the potential of people for self-development It contains principles and universal values applicable for everyone and can be pragmatically applied to deliver a sincere contribution and to leave a legacy.” —MRS GUNARNI SOEWORO, Independent Commissioner, PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Indonesia “We’ve always tried to live our lives trying to make a positive difference for others and Dr Covey definitely made a difference in our lives It’s rare when you admire someone not only for his incredible business sense and leadership abilities, but for who he truly is as a man We were blessed to see his true human nature was centered in kindness, generosity, and a respect for others These characteristics are what define a true leader, someone whose legacy will continue to inspire, lead, and guide well beyond his time We are honored and blessed to have been fortunate enough to spend time with this In my heart of hearts, I am a teacher After receiving my formal education, I became a professor, a job that I loved As I began to detect my own mission, it became clear that this idea of principle-centered leadership, as embodied in the Habits and my other works, was far bigger than me I knew that unless I built an organization to steward and institutionalize this message, its importance and relevance might fade after I was gone With that in mind, I decided to start a business, to build an organization that was devoted to spreading principle-centered leadership throughout the world It started with Covey Leadership Center, which later merged with FranklinQuest to become FranklinCovey The mission of our company is to enable greatness in people, organizations, and societies everywhere through the application of principlecentered leadership We now operate in over 140 countries around the world I am proud of the mission, vision, values, and performance of the organization It is doing exactly what I hoped it would Perhaps most important, FranklinCovey is not dependent upon me, whatsoever, and will continue this work long after I am gone You have said that your most important final message is to “live life in crescendo.” What does that mean? It means that the most important work you will ever is always ahead of you It is never behind you You should always be expanding and deepening your commitment to that work Retirement is a false concept You may retire from a job, but never retire from meaningful projects and contributions “Crescendo” is a musical term It means to play music with ever greater energy and volume, with strength and striving The opposite is “diminuendo,” which means to “lower the volume,” to back off, to play it safe, to become passive, to whimper away your life So live life in crescendo It’s essential to live with that thought Regardless of what you have or haven’t accomplished, you have important contributions to make Avoid the temptation to keep looking in the rearview mirror at what you have done and instead look ahead with optimism I am excited about my forthcoming book called Life in Crescendo which I am writing with my daughter Cynthia No matter what your age or position in life, if you live by the 7 Habits, you are never finished contributing You are always seeking something higher and better from life—the next fascinating challenge, greater understanding, more intense romance, more meaningful love You may get satisfaction from past accomplishments, but the next great contribution is always on the horizon You have relationships to build, a community to serve, a family to strengthen, problems to solve, knowledge to gain, and great works to create One of my daughters once asked me if I had finished impacting the world when I wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People I think I startled her with my answer: This is not to overvalue myself, but I truly believe my best work is ahead of me Stephen R Covey died July 16, 2012, at the age of 79, still fully engaged in about ten different writing projects He never retired in the traditional sense but lived “in crescendo” right up to the end As the influence of his thinking continues to spread around the world at a faster and faster rate, transforming the lives of schoolchildren and executives and ordinary people everywhere, we believe with him that his best work is still ahead of him ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stephen R Covey was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author who dedicated his life to teaching principlecentered living and leadership to build both families and organizations He earned an M.B.A from Harvard University and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, where he was a professor of organizational behavior and business management and also served as director of university relations and assistant to the president Dr Covey was the author of several acclaimed books, including the international bestseller, The Habits of Highly Effective People, which was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century and one of the top-ten most influential management books ever It has sold more than 20 million copies in thirty-eight languages throughout the world Other bestsellers include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, bringing the combined total to more than 25 million books sold As a father of nine and grandfather of fortythree, he received the 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative, which he said was the most meaningful award he ever received Other awards given to Dr Covey include the Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity, Speaker of the Year in 1999, the Sikh’s 1998 International Man of Peace Award, the 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership Dr Covey was recognized as one of Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans and received seven honorary doctorate degrees Dr Covey was the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Company, the leading global professional services firm, with offices in 123 countries They share Dr Covey’s vision, discipline, and passion to inspire, lift, and provide tools for change and growth of individuals and organizations throughout the world LEARN MORE Want to learn more about how to develop yourself personally, lead your team, or transform your organization? There are three ways you can engage with FranklinCovey to learn more about how to apply these principles personally and professionally: Take the 7 Habits PEQ (Personal Effectiveness Quotient) Experience FranklinCovey’s awardwinning training Read Stephen R Covey’s other bestselling books Take the Personal Effectiveness Quotient (PEQ) To see how effective you are—where your strengths lie and how you can improve—take the Personal Effectiveness Quotient (PEQ) at www.7HabitsPEQ.com Award-Winning Training Attend a live or live-online three-day The Habits of Highly Effective People training In this dynamic, principle-based program, you will learn how to take initiative, balance key priorities, improve interpersonal communication, leverage creative collaboration, and apply principles for achieving a balanced life Are you a leader? Would you like to lead using the Habits paradigms, principles, and tools? Attend this live or live-online twoday training to learn how to be a more effective leader and manager You can be an 8th Habit leader FranklinCovey’s Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results program builds on the powerful principles of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and helps you find your voice and helps others find theirs This three-day program is offered live or live-online Certify to Teach FranklinCovey Curriculum You can certify to become a licensed FranklinCovey facilitator within your organization For addition information on any of these training offerings or to become a FranklinCovey facilitator, please visit us at franklincovey.com/leadership Bestselling Books by Dr Stephen R Covey The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness Discover the 8th Habit and how to be a more effective leader in all parts of your life The 3rd Alternative Learn how to solve conflicts and create synergistic solutions by building 3rd Alternatives Living The 7 Habits Read stories by people whose lives have been changed by living the 7 Habits The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families Learn how to apply the 7 Habits to strengthen your family The Leader in Me See how schools around the world are transformed by the 7 Habits principles First Things First Discover how to Put First Things First in your personal and professional life Principle-Centered Leadership Learn the core principles of leadership effectiveness in this practical handbook for leaders Great Work, Great Career Apply the 7 Habits principles to your work and career to create meaningful and lasting impact FranklinCovey Co (NYSE: FC) is a global company specializing in performance improvement We help organizations achieve results that require a change in human behavior Our expertise is in seven areas: leadership, execution, productivity, trust, sales performance, customer loyalty, and education FranklinCovey clients have included 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small- and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government entities and educational institutions FranklinCovey has more than 40 direct and licensee offices providing professional services in over 140 countries For more information, visit www.franklincovey.com ENDNOTES THE 7 HABITS—AN OVERVIEW 1 To see how effective you are—where your strengths lie and how you can improve—take the Personal Effectiveness Quotient (PEQ) at www.7HabitsPEQ.com HABIT 2: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND 2 Please refer to Appendix A 3 If you would like to build your own mission statement or see additional examples of mission statements, go to www.franklincovey.com/MSB HABIT 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST 4 Please refer to Appendix B 5 To see how effective you are—where your strengths lie and how you can improve—take the Personal Effectiveness Quotient (PEQ) at www.7HabitsPEQ.com PARADIGMS OF INTERDEPENDENCE 6 Some of the details of this story have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved HABIT 6: SYNERGIZE 7 To see how effective you are—where your strengths lie and how you can improve—take the Personal Effectiveness Quotient (PEQ) at www.7HabitsPEQ.com ...Praise for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey “Dr Stephen R Covey s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is as relevant and timely today as it was when it was first... millions of readers who can and will make our planet more peaceful and prosperous and prepared and purposeful.” —WARREN BENNIS, author of On Becoming a Leader and Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in... impact on our operations in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Central America.” —JOSE RICARDO MANSILLA PAETAU, President of the Board of Directors, GRUPO PIT, Guatemala “I first read Dr Stephen Covey s