The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Belangrijkste inzichten

• Lasting change works from the inside out, starting with character rather than tricks
• Focus your energy on what you can influence, not on what merely worries you
• Write your personal mission first, then schedule important work before urgent work
• Listen to understand before you try to be understood, and look for win-win deals
• Renew your body, mind, heart and spirit regularly so you can keep performing

In deze bit

1. Change starts from the inside

   Imagine two people trying to fix a struggling relationship. One learns clever conversation tricks.

2. Be proactive inside your circle

   Picture a JEE aspirant who blames the coaching centre, the syllabus and the weather for a bad test. Now picture one who asks what she can change before the next one.

3. Know the ending, then schedule it

   Habit 2 asks you to begin with the end in mind. Covey suggests imagining your own funeral and hearing what family, friends and colleagues say about you.

4. Win-win and listening first

   Once you are steady on your own, the next habits are about people. Habit 4 is think win-win.

5. Synergy and sharpening the saw

   Habit 6 is synergize. When two people who trust each other bring different views to a problem, they can find a third option neither had imagined.

6. Put it to work

   This week, catch yourself once when you say I have to, and rephrase it as I choose to. Spend 20 minutes writing a rough mission statement: what you want your family, your work and your own conscience to say about you.