7 Habits Revisited 30+ years later

I saw this image about Stephen Covey’s book - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it put a smile on my face.? This was the first business book I remember reading early in my career.? My uncle Tom Lutz gave it to me as he could see my struggles growing as my responsibilities did.? As I looked at this image, I realized that I still think this way more than thirty years later.? It’s engrained in me.? Yes, this book came out before email and internet and cell phones.? It was written to help people figure out how to mimic habits of others that have been highly effective in their business and personal lives.? It had such a tremendous impact on me.

It starts by being proactive.? Take responsibility for your actions and by all means ACT!? Understand what you can influence and the things you should be concerned about and use that to move yourself or your efforts forward.

Begin with the end in mind.? Where do I want my life to go?? What is my life’s mission? I have used this thought process in my career as well.? Trying to influence others by making them think that way too.? All the software systems and devices in the world won’t have the type of impact or achieve the kind of desired results if the person is not on board.? I have done this a lot in recent years with the promise of Digital Twins and what it will take to achieve these lofty goals.? You cant get there unless you follow certain steps that become the building blocks and foundation cornerstones to achieve it.?

Step three helps me every single day.? What is urgent and important, and I need to do that now.? What is important but not so urgent.? What can I pass on to others and what tasks are not important at all and are mainly distractions.? If you intend to run fast in your career you must nail this down and make it second nature.? I have personally worked on research and development and new product intros with comprehensive go-to-market strategies for Fortune 500 companies so I can say firsthand that if you can’t prioritize and divide and conquer you could flounder.? Be prepared to pivot and be prepared to deal with people so far out of the inner circle that they don’t understand all the complexities you deal with day in and day out.? You can only control yourself and your time is as precious as anyone’s.? Make sure you prioritize your actions.

Always be thinking of win-win.? You should have your agenda but must understand that every person you will ever meet has their own.? If you cannot treat each effort that involves others as an effort to reach a win-win you won’t be as successful as you could be.? Not with clients, partners or in your personal life.? I am the first person to say that if I tell you I know something you can believe that I do.? I am also the person that will tell you I don’t know everything, and I need others to join the conversation to make sure everything is thought through.

Seek to understand, then to understand.? Become a Subject Matter Expert or surround yourself with them to obtain credibility.? Be empathetic to others involved in your efforts and use logic to address the opportunity.? Sounds pretty easy but its not.? Remember when I said everyone has their own agenda.? Have you heard the term “hidden agenda”.? It happens and you must cross those bridges.? If you are credible and have done your homework and involved others that maybe understand the challenges and opportunities better than you, the issues can be solved.

That leads to the synergies that combine strengths to achieve these goals.? If you are thinking win-win, becoming a SME, and empathetic to others the synergies that could come as a result can be massive.? This often results in better research that produces more comprehensive deliverables that exceed everyone’s expectations, both vendors and clients.? Think of words like WE and TEAM and PARTNER.? All are better than I.

Habit #7 is to always be sharpening the saw.? Focus on your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional self.? Invest in yourself and others that need your support as they may struggle in some of these areas.

The greatest lesson I have learned over the years is that every decision is about people.? ?Every decision!? A company can make a major business decision and try to “force” that down the line.? It’s still up to the people on the front line to determine if it will work or not.? Yes, they might have to quit if they are really opposed, but that happens.? Think about yourself and how to be the best version of you.? Be kind and empathetic to others that are in their own place in their life’s journey.? It kind of surprised me when I saw this graphic and I realized that I still try to walk this walk every day of my life.? It’s as valuable today as it was in 1989.