Dr. Stephen R.Covey, Leadership, Mind, Office, Personal Life, Professionalism, Self-Help, Social work, Spiritual Intelligence, Success, Synergy, The 3rd Alternative Solution, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R Covey – Biography

Dr Stephen R   born in 1932. He lives with his wife, Sandra, and their family in Utah; in the Rocky Mountains. Covey achieved international acclaim, and is perhaps best known, for his self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. which was first published by Simon & Schuster in 1989 and has sold around 12 million copies word-wide.

Covey has a Harvard MBA and has spent most of his career at Brigham Young University, where he was professor of organisational behaviour and business management. In addition to his MBA, he also has a doctorate which he completed whilst at Brigham Young University. Dr. Stephen R Covey has received the Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity and has additionally been awarded four honorary doctorate degrees.

Stephen is also a co-founder of the Franklin-Covey organization, which specialises in the application of Covey’s principle-centred approach to leadership and management. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of time-management. Thousands of organizations across the world, including many of the Fortune 500 companies, have adopted his innovative techniques on leadership, teamwork, and customer-focused service. His best-selling book on time-management, First Things First, co-authored with A. Roger & Rebecca R. Merrill, according to Simon & Schuster is the best-selling time management book ever.

The seven principles he presents in the 7 Habits are not original thoughts – he does not claim to have originated the ideas but simply to have found a framework and a language for articulating the time-less principles embedded into the seven habits. The 7 habits are to be found, he says, in all the major world religions. He believes the principles themselves to be ‘self-evident’, that is, ‘you cannot really argue against them’. His view is that all highly effective people, and enduringly effective organizations, have utilised the 7 habits, to a greater or lesser extent, to sustain their success.

Covey says that the 7 habits are ‘common knowledge’ but, he adds, are not necessarily ‘common practice’. In fact, it could be argued that the habits actually run counter to basic human nature. By our nature, we are reactive creatures and we are inclined to act mainly out of self-interest. But we are also as human beings capable of much higher thoughts and actions and by working hard to internalize the 7 habits we are able to develop a proactive attitude. By so doing, we can take charge of our own destinies and we are capable of exerting influence on other people for the collective good.

Quotations
by Stephen Covey

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.

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

Every human has four endowments self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.

I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a “transformer” in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader.

In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven’t paid the price to decide what is really important to them.

Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.

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

There are three constants in life… change, choice and principles.

We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

Courtesy: http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/7-habits/stephen-covey.htm

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Leadership, Personal Life, Professionalism, Self-Help

Importance of Vision in Personal and Professional life

Vision is an eye of you which gives direction to your inner-self and sense about how to see and treat external world. A non-visionary individual treats his all world roughly due to several socioeconomic reasons. He does not have clarity about professionalism. He gets education not for contents but for degrees and certificates. He does not do job and business for contribution or service but for monies and benefits. Surely, professionalism is an attitude by which a person tries to fulfill all his or her wants and needs of personal, family and organization. Being a ‘professional’ means to be a dedicated and a goal oriented employee; trustworthy; unbiased and free from all prejudices; having strong listening and clear speaking skills; kind and compassionate towards his customers, workers and colleagues; able to write decently; proactive and should not depends on conditions; with organizational skills; time management skills; have technical and job specific knowledge, and friendly and be an easy person. All of his competencies, job performance and company goals depend on vision he has. Vision gives them a canvas and farsightedness by which they do and perform whatever a small step or a big action plans. Unfortunately, a huge numbers of students all over the world are not even taught in their countries all these and many other requirements of become a professional or true employee or businessperson in their practical lives. A student when goes ahead in professional life then he or she faces a series of frustrations and is not able to understand and solve the professional life’s problems. It is all because people have understood job or profession or their business without morality.

A moral or spiritual attachment of a professional with work, department, and organization makes him unique employee or successful businessman or spouse. In my experience of seven years of professional in academic settings at LUMS University and University of South Asia, I have come to interact many incompetent and pseudo professionals; in fact all they were bodies and not minds. In immature and highly straitjacket environment, People are selected either on personal reasons or after that they do jobs and create bad weather on workplace. People involve themselves in office politics, back-biting, leg-pulling, with non-sharing attitude and become jealous easily. They do not attend their offices or desk properly and they are with empty characters with no vision. Whereas a visionary employee due to his clear expectations of future long terms benefit and productive results, he does organize and dedicate himself and behave like a true human being and helper. He ever always ready to work as volunteer. His helping hand shows his professionalism. He behaves like a leader. His way of talk and body movement shows his thoughts and ability to work even under pressure due to proactive and creative mind-set. Because his mind is generating continuously emotional reasons with the job to be attached even he is on job outside the job timings. He starts to make love with his department and hence organization. He does attach himself spiritually with the department because of his vision which he has built. He helps and cares every of his colleague and Boss not for only job and money but for contribution. He loves and cares his wife and family always. He prefers and chooses to live principle based life due to his vision. Actually, passion to contribute into job or home or society is an outcome of a great vision.

I remember my one of best moment at LUMS during my administrative job when I spoke before Vice-Chancellor in presence of huge LUMS staff audience for agenda of staff welfare and benefits, then I did not realize that I was working on junior post. Before that very day, at whole night I could not slept till dawn and prepared two pages documents of suggestions and points to address as representative of staff body of the university. At that open-house I did speak to VC for few minutes under shadows of my vision for my organization and its people. Actually my vision made me bold in such a way that in next day I received an appreciated email from Vice-chancellor mentioning of few point making him realizing his eyes opener document he did receive yesterday from me. Preparation of document, courage to speak and giving document to VC in front of University and then receiving a healthy feedback was outcome of a vision.

Those professionals who have no vision or less great eyes are also facing severe troubles in abroad while seeking and doing employment. During my stay at Dubai and now in London, I observed many stupid, sluggish, reactive and non-directional thousands of professional who seek and do jobs against their fields and passion. How a person can be productive if he or she is not involved passionately in their jobs and businesses or living with their families. How can they be positive when a career seeking lawyer starts to sales things and eatables. High level of unemployment and job spaces are also important factor for working in non-related fields in contemporary world, nevertheless, I see no or very less passionate professional even in multinational place like London and Dubai are. Morale of such type of people is quite low and showing very passive nature. Of course without vision of service, contribution, meanings of life how can they seek exact jobs and roles.

There is one popular misconception among people exist. Basically, vision is not something like your mission or goals or aims. Rather vision translates your mission and goals into reality with meanings of ‘why’. It means if an individual makes his personal, family or professional goals or mission and if these goals and mission are not associated with something meanings of ‘why’, then we say that very individual is without vision and hence could not be effective enough or consistent in achieving all it because of lack of vision. For example, if a prime minister of a country is appointed with having mission or goals to make this country among top 10 great countries of the world in next 25 years then it is not a vision. Because there is not attachment of cause or meanings or philosophy or answer of why with this mission, Yes, if prime minister designs mission to make that country among top 10 countries of the world in next 25 years because of its positive impact on the whole humanity then it is a mission or goal with vision. In this case rate of achieving success will be maximum. Similarly, if a manager sets goal of becoming director after five years of his job without associating any moral or philosophical reason then he or she will not be effective for whole company and society. If a husband or wife decides to plan a baby for adding a great & creative human being in the society then they are visionary parents.

I remember once when, in LUMS University, few years back I addressed to team of professors in formal meeting and deliver a speech about defending roles of Secretaries. I spoke to them for this role. It was an extra-ordinary effort from me alone for reviving dignity of Secretaries in the department. Actually I was realizing that professors were trying to devalue the role of Secretaries at that time within the department. Because I was working with a vision, I talked with my Head of department and he was kind enough to allow me to speak with faculty member for it and I received a feedback ‘well done’. I never underestimated any role in any capacity in organization. I do believe that all roles are very important for management because all employees of each and ever role are bringing vision of that organization into reality.

Vision is a function of brain and mind. Mind does generate such image in result of knowledge(s), dreams, imaginations, academic qualifications, professional experiences, childhood experiences, books and literature stuff and media interactions, all these contribute to make vision. One person should make more imaginations. Einstein once said “imaginations are more powerful than knowledge”. Highly successful and effective people build and make their vision by earning more and more certificates, degrees, work experience, sharing with colleagues, attaching with books & reviews, magazines and academic and professional multimedia. Regretfully, people do not give time for learning any useful stuff and hence they become ignorant and victimize easily. Yes. Opposite of vision is ‘victim’. Without vision an employee, spouse, parent and organization do behave like victim. Their bodies are like indulgence with following social mirrors rather than their own voices and passion. There all become packets of their moods and depends on conditions and hence live very ordinary and mediocre lives with no contribution. They pursue short cuts and adopt personality ethics rather than to build their characters first. Without vision, people want quick fixes and solutions and hence culture of bad values form and potential is suppressed. An individual, organization and whole society do suffer.

This all shows that how vision is very important for all of us. To make and feel you some one special and significant person you need to be a visionary being so that your body, mind, heart and spirit work altogether and unleash your potential which is enough to make you an entire unique human.

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