Reduced to it's simplest summary this says "base your character on unchanging principles to avoid fluctuations". Likewise, if we take the stuff Covey says about being "principle centred". These are all "simple and obvious" but you couldn't possibly derive any value from reading only those statements without any discussion or analysis of what they really mean. Think of all the simple and obvious things we read, write and discuss every day: "find customers before building a product", "don't solve problems you don't have yet", "write tests first before writing code".
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Just because something can be summarised in a simple way, doesn't necessarily make it simple to begin with. The truths it speaks are pretty obvious.Īnd I suppose this is my own take to his principle #2. "Responsive" or "anticipatory" work fine. Ĭovey took an obscure term from psychology and rather utterly changed its meaning. IBM lawsuit fame) doesn't particularly impress me either, in the "judge 'em by the company they keep" sense. His association with Darl McBride (of SCO vs. it's like appearing multiple times on the news as a small businessman without revealing that you're also an officer for a decidedly partisan political organization (. I always found it a bit too obvious, and found it disingenuous that while he spoke at length about the importance of religion and his large family, he never came out and stated that he was Mormon (not that there's anything intrinsically good or bad about that, but.
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Tremendous respect for what you've embodied.Ĭolor me underwhelmed by Covey's writing. At a time when most self-help authors were focused on improving your personality, Covey was concerned about your character.ġ) Be Proactive - accept that while you can't control what happens to you, you can always control how you respondĢ) Begin with the End in Mind - imagine what you'd like people to say about you at your funeral, live each day with that vision of your best self in mindģ) First things First - don't let the urgent take precedence over the important - make sure you devot time/energy to your highest prioritiesĤ) Understand before Seeking to Be Understood - make sure you really listen to others, reflect what you hear, before trying to tell them anythingĥ) Think Win-Win - life works better when you don't see things as a battle, but as an opportunity to allow both/all parties to succeedĦ) Synergy - ok, this was a little vague, but basically by working together you can achieve moreħ) Sharpen the Saw - make sure to take time to renew yourself - exercise, sleep, recharge, learn new things, and keep yourself operating at the highest levels.
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Stephen Covey wrote a profoundly influential book which made a big impact on my life.