We just published a new Book Tools implementation package for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People … wooohooo!
This package is designed to take the fine & timeless ideas in the book and make them work in your life. There is one page with an overview of the 7 Habits model and 8 tool template pages to help apply specific ideas and exercises from the book. We’ll describe the available tools over the next few posts and you can view all posts for 7 Habits here.
For now, here’s a quick overview of the habits …
Be Proactive: You are response-able and the master of your own fate. No matter your circumstances you are capable of making a choice to better your situation. Recognize and act on it.
Begin With the End In Mind: Before tackling any major effort, spend some time planning and thinking about how you want it to look at the end. This effort is most critically applied to your very life. Who do you want to be and how do you want to be viewed? Spend some significant time thinking on these questions to ensure your less important efforts support your grandest pursuit.
Put First Things First: Once you have established the purposeful direction of your life, make sure you spend the needed effort and time to those things that matter most and will help you accomplish your primary objectives. Don’t get caught in the “thick of thin things.”
Think Win/Win: Seeking only your own interests does not serve others or yourself well. Instead, work to find solutions that benefit all parties. In the long run, this will build your network and opportunities to heights otherwise unattainable.
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: Too often, we focus on what we want, need, or desire to the exclusion or even detriment of those around us … then we wonder why our relationships and long-term prospects suffer? When in conflict or just in the midst of life, first seek to understand the needs, objectives, and perspectives of others before moving to your own.
Synergize: The habit of creative cooperation, Covey held that this habit represented the highest activity of life when properly understood and utilized. This is teamwork and collaboration at the pinnacle … solving big problems and creating new futures together.
Sharpen the Saw: Key to longevity and the continuous increase and improvement of your basic capabilities is taking time to refresh and retool. Spend time in activities that positively build up your energy reserves in all dimensions of your life … physical, spiritual, emotional, and social. Avoid diversions that offer short term “highs” but reduce your future energy and capabilities.
Now go download the 7 Habits Book Tools package!