7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is a self-help book. In which he presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.
In order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves, and in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.
 

The 7 habits of highly effective people are:-
1. Be Proactive

      Take responsibility for your reaction to your experiences, take the initiative to respond positively, and improve the situation. Recognize your Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. Focus your responses and initiates on the center of your influence and constantly work to expand it.

2. Begin With The End In Mind

      Ask yourself: "What do you want in the future?" So you can work and plan towards it. Understand how people make decisions in their life. To be effective you want to act based on principles and constantly review your statements.
All things are created twice. Before we act, we should act in our minds first. Don't just act; think first.
If HABIT 1 advises changing your life to act and be proactive then HABIT 2 advises that you are the programmer.

3. First Things First

      Talk about WHAT IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT IS URGENT. Priority should be given as
A. Important and urgent task (Do)      
B. Not urgent but important (Decide when)
C. Urgent but not important (Delegate)
D. Not urgent and not important (Drop it)
If HABIT 2 advises that you are the programmer, HABIT 3 advises you to write the program, become a leader.

4. Think Win-Win

      Covey explains that there are six paradigms of human interaction:
WIN-WIN: Both people win. Agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying to both parties.
WIN-LOSE: Win-Lose people are prone to use position, power, credentials, and personality to get their way.
LOSE-WIN: Lose-Win people are quick to please and appease and seek strength from popularity or acceptance.
LOSE-LOSE: Both people lose. When two determined, stubborn, ego-invested individuals interact, the result will be lose-lose.   
WIN: People with the winning mentality don't necessarily want someone else to lose - that's irrelevant.
NO DEAL: If you can't reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial, there is no deal.

So the best option is to create a Win-Win situation. Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.

5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

      Use empathetic listening to genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to be influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring and positive problem-solving.
The Greek philosophy to embrace this habit is represented by 3 words:
ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS (the order is important) - Your character, and your relationships, and then the logic of your presentation.           

6. Synergize

      Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals that no one could have done alone.

7. Sharpen the Sword

      Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer, and reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.

This is the 7 Habits Of The Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

RELATED BOOK:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

RELATED POST:
The 4D System