SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE:- Book review.

 THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE:

(1) Paradigms and Principles.

  We must look at the lens through which we see the world, as well as the world we see, and the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world.

  To change ourselves effectively. We have to first change our perception.

  If there isn’t deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenge of life will always true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short term success.

  It is character that communicates more effectively.

  The way we see things is the source of the way we think and the way we react.

  To try and change the outward attitudes and behavior does very little good in the long run if we fail to examine the basic paradigms from which those attitudes and behaviors flow.

  We see the world not as it is but as we are, or as we are conditioned to see it.

  If we want to make significant, quantum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms. 

(2) Seeing and being

  Being is seeing in the human dimension.

  We can’t go very far to change our seeing without simultaneously changing our being, and vice versa.

  The character ethic is based on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness.

  Principles are deep fundamental truths that have universal application.

  Admission of ignorance is the first step to our education.

  The way we see the problem is the problem.

  Even with better circumstances, immaturity and dependence often persist.

  It is so much easier to operate from a low emotional level and to give high level advice.

  Fear replaces cooperation and both people involved become more arbitrary defensive.

  It is futile to put personality ahead of character, to try to improve relationships with others before improving ourselves.

  A habit is an interspection of knowledge, skill and desire.

  Happiness is the fruit of the desire and ability t sacrifice what we want now for what we want eventually.

  Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character reap a destiny.

  True effectiveness is a function of two things; what is produced and producing asset or capacity to produce.

  Always treat your employees as you would want them to treat your best customers.

HABIT 1: BE PROACTIVE; Principles of personal vision.

  Self awareness enables us to stand apart and examine even the way we see ourselves. Self awareness is the ability to think about our every thought process.

  Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose.

  Imagination is the ability to create in our mind s beyond our present reality.

  Conscience is the deep inner awareness of right and wrong; of the principles that govern our behavior, and a sense of the degree to which our thoughts and actions are in harmony with them.

  The independent will is the ability to act based on our self awareness, free of all other influences.

  Our behavior if a function of our decisions.

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

  It is not what happens to us but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.

  Proactive people focus on their circle of influence.

  Our behavior is governed by our principles.

  The proactive mindset/approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct it and learn from it.

  Chasing after a poisonous snake that bite us will only drive the poison through our entire system.

  The power to make and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness.

  It is from the ordinary events of every day that we develop the proactive mindset to handle the extra ordinary pressures of life.

  If you start to think that the problem is out there, stop yourself right there. That thought is the problem.

HABIT 2: Begin with the end in mind.

  Real success is success with self. It is not having things but in having mastery, having victory over self.

  The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are. What you are about and what you value.

  Whatever is at the center of our lives will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom and power.

  Principles are deep, fundamental truths, classic truths, and generic common denominators. Principles don’t change our understanding of them does.

  By centering our lives on timeless, unchanging principles, we create a fundamental; paradigm of effective living. It is the centre that puts all other centers into perspective.

  A paradigm is like a pair of glasses, it affects the way you see everything in your life.

  An effective goal focuses primarily on results rather than activity.

  Writing distills, crystallizes and clarifies thought and helps break the whole into parts.

HABIT 3: Put first things first; principles of personal management.

  Management is the breaking down, the analysis, the sequencing, the specific application; the time bound left brain aspect of self government.

  Organize and execute around priorities.

  Independent will is the ability to make decisions and choices and to in accordance with them.

  Effective people are not problem minded, they are opportunity minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems.

  The way you spend your time is a result of the way you see your time and it is the way you really see your priorities.

  The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

  Trust is the highest form of human motivation.

  Self mastery and self discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others. (private victories precede public victories)

  The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are. Not the personality ethic but the character ethic.

  Inside, even with the most toughened and calloused exteriors are the ender feelings of the heart.

  We create many negative situations by simply assuming that our expectations are self evident and that they are clearly understood and shared by other people.

  To be trusted is better than to be loved.

  Treat everyone by the same set of principles.

  The key to the ninety nine is the one.

  Rebellion is a knot of the heart, not of the mind.

 

HABIT 4: Think win-win; the principles of interpersonal leadership.

  We can’t change the fruit without changing the root.

  Integrity is the value we have for ourselves.

  Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration.

  The basic task of leadership is to increase the standards of living and quality of life for all shareholders.

  An agreement mean very little in writing without the character and relationship base to retain its spirit.

  Discernment is often far more accurate than either observation or measurement. ( It is much more ennobling to the human spirit to let people judge themselves than to judge them)

  Let’s embrace the abundance mentality; there is plenty out there for everyone.

  The essence of principled negotiations is to separate the person from the problem, to focus on interests and not positions, to invent options for mutual gain, and to insist on objective criteria – some external standard or principle that both parties can buy into.

HABIT 5: Seek first to understand, and then be understood. 

  Unless you are influenced by my uniqueness, am not going to be influenced by your advice.

  The essence of empathic listening is not to agree with someone, but it’s that you fully, deeply, understand that person emotionally as well as intellectually.

  Satisfied needs do not motivate.

  The human dynamic is more important than the technical details of any deal.

  Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological air. To be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated.

  If you don’t have confidence in the diagnosis, you won’t have confidence in the prescription.

  When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually, and contextually, in the context of a deep understanding of their paradigm and concerns, you significantly increase the credibility of your ideas.

  The more deeply you understand other people, the more you will appreciate them, the more relevant you will feel about them. (To touch the soul of another person is to walk on holly ground)

  The time you invest to deeply understand the people you love bring tremendous dividends in open communication.

HABIT 6: synergize.

        Synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

  The key to interpersonal synergy is intrapersonal synergy.

  All people see the world, not as it is but as they are.

HABIT 7: Sharpen the saw.