Learning blocks

Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a guide to effectiveness at work, in relationships, and in the choices you make for yourself. The first three habits are about you. The next three are about other people. The last one keeps the rest alive.

Key learnings

• Be proactive. You choose your response. Spend your energy on what you can change.
• Begin with the end in mind. Picture the life you want before the calendar fills itself.
• Put first things first. Do the important work before the loud, urgent noise.
• Think win-win. Look for a result that leaves both sides better, and the relationship intact.
• Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Listen until you can say their view fairly. Then speak.
• Synergize. Different strengths, used together, can reach a result neither person would reach alone.
• Sharpen the saw. Rest, move, learn, and reconnect. The other habits fade if you never renew yourself.