7 Habits - Book Study Session 1

Today at work (National American University) we began a book study based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey.

Today's session was a kick-off to the study and covered the introductory material, although because of a misunderstanding we also got a taste of Habit 2 as well.  

The introduction of the book discusses the difference between the Personality Ethic and the Character Ethic.  The personality ethic, while providing excellent skills in interpersonal relationships, is built on a quick fix to issues through skill building.  These skills are important, but unless they are build on a foundation of character, they will not be able to provide long-term effectiveness.    Covey says, "Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value." p. 35.

Through a discussion of paradigms and perception Covey leads the reader through a mental process which reveals the significance of working on ourselves first:  "...private victories precede public victories, that making and keeping promises to ourselves precedes making and keeping promises to others" p. 43.  The analogy used is to understand this is a process which cannot be short-cut similar to the process of planting, watering and harvesting crops.  You can't put off the sowing of the seeds until the fall and expect to reap the harvest a week later; there is a process which will lead to results if correctly followed.

The book looks at 7 habits that are broken into 3 groupings:

The first 2 habits deal with developing the practices that will lead to private victory, making it possible to move from a dependence mindset to independence.  The next 2 habits focus on developing independence (the ability to be apart from an unhealthy dependence on others).  The third set of habits focus on public victory and describe the practices which allow us to function effectively interdependently.  The final habit gives us the foundation for forward momentum.

If you have participated in the book study, or read the book in the past, or want to read along now and join the discussion I invite you to respond to this blog and share your insights and stories so we can all grow from each other.