Stephen Covey Quotes
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I am convinced that if we as a society work diligently in every other area of life and neglect the family, it would be analogous to straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.
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Actually I did not invent the seven habits, they are universal principles and most of what I wrote about is just common sense. I am embarrassed when people talk about the Covey Habits, and dislike the idea of being some sort of guru.
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All the well-meaning advice in the world won't amount to a hill of beans if we're not even addressing the real problem.
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Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.
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Despite all our gains in technology, product innovation and world markets, most people are not thriving in the organizations they work for.
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Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
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I don't read blogs but occasionally people tell me about what they contain, and I do take questions that come from blogs.
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How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.
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If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.
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A life of integrity is the most fundamental source of personal worth.
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What is common sense isn't common practice.
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Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree. "What are you doing?" you ask. "Can't you see?" comes the impatient reply. "I'm sawing down this tree." "You look exhausted!" you exclaim. "How long have you been at it?" "Over five hours," he returns, "and I'm beat! This is hard work." 'Well, why don't you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?" you inquire. "I'm sure it would go a lot faster." "I don't have time to sharpen the saw," the man says emphatically. "I'm too busy sawing!"
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Management is clearly different from leadership. Leadership is primarily a high-powered, right-brain activity. It's more of an art it's based on a philosophy. You have to ask the ultimate questions of life when you're dealing with personal leadership issues.
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The more aware we are of our basic paradigms, maps, or assumptions, and the extent to which we have been influenced by our experience, the more we can take responsibility for those paradigms, examine them, test them against reality, listen to others and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting a larger picture and a far more objective view.
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If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control - myself.
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Over time, I have come to this simple definition of leadership: Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust.
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If you don't set your goals based upon your Mission Statement, you may be climbing the ladder of success only to realize, when you get to the top, you're on the WRONG building.
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If you want small changes in your life, work on your attitude. But if you want big and primary changes, work on your paradigm.
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By behaving in ways that build trust with one, you build trust with many.
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Trust is clearly a key competency. A competency or skill that can be learned, taught, and improved and one that talent can be screened for.
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Nevertheless, the only way we can move from where we are now to where we would like to be is to accept where we are now.
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But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise.
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As long as you think the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem
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We are free to choose our actions, . . . but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.