The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Summary Review & Takeaways
This is a summary review of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People containing key details about the book.
What is "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" About?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a business and self-help book. The author presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles. He presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence through independence on to interdependence.
Who is the Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.
What are key takeaways from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
Takeaway #1 Locate Your Current Position
How often have you wished that you had a map for navigating life? By paying attention to your paradigms (a distinct set of behaviours or thought patterns – How you react to things) you can identify where you are in your life, and which turnings you need to make to get to your end destination of being a highly effective person. When your paradigms are recognized, monitored, and then shifted, lasting changes are made in your character that have previously been holding you back. Sometimes understanding why a person is reacting a certain way is enough to shift your own thoughts and response for the better but other times more inner work is needed so that you stop reacting automatically I.e. lashing out at a loved one, and instead choose to proactively influence the situation by acting with love, compassion, and understanding instead of anger. Reactive people tend to worry about things they cannot change where as proactive people choose to work on only the things that they can do something about. If you realise you're reactive, set yourself a challenge to focus on solutions instead of worrying or accusing others when problems and challenges arise.
Takeaway #2 Plan and Visualize
You have to start with the end in mind. You wouldn't jump into your car with the expectation of arriving at a new location at a certain time without knowing how long the journey should take you or which route to take but in life, we often start things without having any plan and often, with no clear end destination in mind.
If you think about your mortality you will realize what's important to you and what is not. What do you want to achieve with your life? What do you want to be remembered for? You can turn these thoughts into a mission statement for your life to give you security in that you have a plan for what you want and where you're heading in life. Write down your projects and goals, write down the results you desire and the steps you need to take to get there.
Prioritize your goal or mission so that it doesn't get buried under everyday hassles. You can create a priorities list by categorizing tasks according to importance and urgency. Create a 2x2 matrix with 4 quadrants. Quadrant 1 is for the urgent tasks that must be dealt with right away. Quadrant 2 is for tasks that are important but not urgent. Quadrant 3 is for tasks that are urgent but not important such as an email that pings into your inbox that needs a reply whilst you're working on something else. Quadrant 4 are all the tasks that are neither urgent nor important, the things that are a waste of time. Quadrant 2 is the area that you need to work on – It should be the list of things that are going to greatly improve your life. You'll probably find that it's this area that you currently neglect most of all whether putting things off for another time or getting distracted by things from quadrants 3 and 4.
Takeaway #3 Think Positive and Treat People with Respect.
You need to think of situations as being win-win not win-lose. You don't need to compete or fight with others to get your slice of the pie, think of there always being enough to go around and to work to help others rather than just yourself. Know that by operating from a win-lose perspective often times you both lose with someone else getting the pie. Consider what the other person would be happy with whilst also considering your own happiness and see where a solution can be found. Be sure to listen to the other person properly, questioning so that you understand fully before butting in and telling them what you want, what you think, and what you feel.
Book details
- Print length: 372 Pages
- Audiobook: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Genre: Self Help, Nonfiction, Business, Personal Development, Psychology
What are the chapters in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
Chapter One - Inside-Out
Chapter Two - The 7 Habits- An Overview
Chapter Three - Habit 1 - Be Proactive
Chapter Four - Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind
Chapter Five - Habit 3 - Put First Things First
Chapter Six - Habit 4 - Think Win/Win
Chapter Seven - Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Chapter Eight - Habit 6 - Synergize
Chapter Nine - Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw
What are some of the main summary points from the book?
Here are some key summary points from the book:
- Be proactive: Take responsibility for your life and focus on things within your control. Don't blame others or external circumstances for your problems. Instead, choose to respond positively and actively seek solutions.
- Begin with the end in mind: Start with a clear vision of what you want to achieve in life. Set goals and work towards them, aligning your actions with your values and long-term objectives.
- Put first things first: Prioritize and manage your time effectively. Focus on activities that align with your goals and values, and eliminate or delegate less important tasks. Use a time management matrix to distinguish between urgent and important tasks.
- Think win-win: Seek mutual benefit and cooperation in all your interactions. Instead of approaching situations with a competitive mindset, strive for outcomes that are beneficial to all parties involved.
- Seek first to understand, then to be understood: Practice empathic listening to truly understand others. Pay attention to their perspectives, feelings, and needs before expressing your own. This habit fosters effective communication and builds trust.
- Synergize: Embrace teamwork and collaboration. Value the differences and unique strengths of others. By working together, you can achieve better outcomes than you could individually.
- Sharpen the saw: Continuously invest in self-improvement and personal growth. Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being to ensure long-term effectiveness. Regularly engage in activities that renew and rejuvenate you.
What are good quotes from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
[Favorite Quote]: “It's not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.” (Meaning)
“Show me someone who is humble enough to accept and take responsibility for his or her circumstances and courageous enough to take whatever initiative is necessary to creatively work his or her way through or around these challenges, and I'll show you the supreme power of choice.”
― Gary Stephen R. Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Quotes
What do critics say?
Here's what one of the prominent reviewers had to say about the book: “No person lasts forever, but books and ideas can endure. Stephen R. Covey’s life is done, but his work is not. It continues, right here in this book as alive today as when first written.” — Jim Collins
What are the 7 habits of highly effective people?
* The first three habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self-mastery):
Habit 1: "Be Proactive" - Proactivity is about taking responsibility for one's reaction, taking the initiative to respond positively, and improving the situation.
Habit 2: "Begin with the end in mind" - If habit 1 advises changing one's life to act and be proactive, habit 2 advises that "you are the programmer". Habit 2 is about envisioning what one wants in the future (a personal mission statement) so one can work and plan towards it. To be effective one needs to act based on principles and constantly review one's mission statements. The author encourages us to ask: Are you—right now—who you want to be? What do you have to say about yourself? How do you want to be remembered?
Habit 3: "Put first things first" - If habit 2 advises that "you are the programmer", habit 3 advises: "write the program, become a leader". The author talks about what is important versus what is urgent. Priority should be given in the following order:
Quadrant I. Urgent and important (Do) – important deadlines and crises.
Quadrant II. Not urgent but important (Plan) – long-term development.
Quadrant III. Urgent but not important (Delegate) – distractions with deadlines
Quadrant IV. Not urgent and not important (Eliminate) – frivolous distractions
* The next three habits talk about interdependence (i.e., working with others):
Habit 4: "Think win–win" - Seek mutually beneficial win–win solutions in your relationships, says the author. Valuing and respecting people by seeking a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten their way.
Habit 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. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem-solving.
Habit 6: "Synergize" - Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals that no one could have done alone, Covey exhorts.
* The final habit is that of continuous improvement in both the personal and interpersonal spheres of influence.
Habit 7: "Sharpen the saw" - Covey says that one should balance and renew one's resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. He primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer, and good reading for mental renewal. He also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.
What is the "upward spiral" model?
Through conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, an upward spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. The upward spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral.
What is an "Abundance Mentality?"
Abundance mentality (or abundance mindset) is a way of thinking in which a person believes there are enough resources and successes to share with others. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e., destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, it means "you lose", because you are not considering the possibility of all parties "winning" in some way or another in a given situation.
Individuals having an abundance mentality reject the notion of zero-sum games and are able to celebrate the success of others, rather than feel threatened by them. The author contends that the abundance mentality arises from having a high self-worth and security and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and responsibility.
* The summary points above have been concluded from the book and other public sources. The editor of this summary review made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any published quotes, chapters, or takeaways
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
