The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

by Stephen R. Covey

“Where we stand depends on where we sit.”

Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education.

The way we see the problem is the problem.

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,”

P/PC Balance. P stands for production of desired results, the golden eggs. PC stands for production capability, the ability or asset that produces the golden eggs.

Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal.”

But if we live like animals, out of our own instincts and conditioning and conditions, out of our collective memory, we too will be limited.

They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior.

The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person.

A serious problem with reactive language is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. People become reinforced in the paradigm that they are determined, and they produce evidence to support the belief.

If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so.

“Lord, give me the courage to change the things which can and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relationships, to meet human needs, and to enjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis.

The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”

The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are. And if our words and our actions come from superficial human relations techniques (the Personality Ethic) rather than from our own inner core (the Character Ethic), others will sense that duplicity.

One person’s mission is another person’s minutiae.

“Treat them all the same by treating them differently.”

Small discourtesies, little unkindnesses, little forms of disrespect make large withdrawals. In relationships, the little things are the big things.

Clarifying expectations sometimes takes a great deal of courage. It seems easier to act as though differences don’t exist and to hope things will work out than it is to face the differences and work together to arrive at a mutually agreeable set of expectations.

“A lie is any communication with intent to deceive,”

every P problem is a PC opportunity

Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration.

cooperation in the workplace is as important to free enterprise as competition in the marketplace.

Satisfied needs do not motivate. It’s only the unsatisfied need that motivates.

The amateur salesman sells products; the professional sells solutions to needs and problems.

Who do they send back to school when the salesman doesn’t sell—the buyer?