A.I. vs. Old-Fashion Book Summary
'There will be two kinds of companies at the end of this decade: those that are fully utilizing AI, and those that are out of business.' - Peter Diamandis. His latest post - Embrace AI or Face Extinction - is well worth noting.
This Issue 52 of 1idea pits an AI-generated search engine summary of a timeless classic - using Phind.com - vs. my own physical reading and summary of that same classic from some 40 years ago.
Here is what I asked of Phind.com and the summary that it returned in approximately 20-seconds:
'Summarize the book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People by the author Stephen R. Covey and give me a list of the most important learnings and insights'.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is a self-improvement book that provides a comprehensive framework for developing healthy habits to become a more prosperous and effective individual. Covey's book is based on the belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions, and in order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves by changing our perceptions. Here is a summary of the seven habits presented in the book:
These habits are presented as a progression from dependence to independence and finally to interdependence. The book emphasizes that true effectiveness comes from developing character and aligning your values with universal and timeless principles.
Now to my own summary of the book after in-depth reading, analysis & application some 40 years ago - probably took a week to do, as I recall:
The Key Habits Of High-Achievers
Stephen Covey Review - Learn These Habits and Teach Them
First published July 1996. Review update by Trevor Nel – 24 September 2000
Dr. Stephen R. Covey is a man after my own heart. What first attracted me to his work was the fact that many of the authors I admire were prepared to endorse his work with high praise. But, more exciting, was the fact that?he had reviewed over 200 years of success literature?as part of his doctoral thesis.
I love and respect anyone who does in-depth background research into whatever they do, and particularly in the subject of Self-Development.
Covey recognised a stark contrast between the literature of the first 150 years of his research period within which, he observed, writers concentrated on the?Character Ethic?as the foundation of success.?“Things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty..”?etc.
Over the last 50 years of his research period he noticed that the basic view of success shifted to the?Personality Ethic.?“Success became more a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques..”?etc.
He noticed that the personality approach tended to be used to manipulate others and that it came to be the?“..basic thrust of quick-fix influence techniques, power strategies, communication skills, and positive attitudes.”
What he began to recognise was that most of the recent success training material was actually teaching us how to impose our values upon other people and getting them to like it - or lump it! Whilst Covey does not dispute the role of training in personality growth, communication skills, influence strategies and positive thinking, he does subordinate them to their role of secondary importance.
Of primary importance, he contends,?is the foundation of basic goodness in the human being “..while my character is flawed, marked by duplicity and insincerity - then, in the long run, I cannot be successful.”
In other words, you can try and learn all the quick-fix, short-term techniques in the world - and they might even work in short-term situations - but if you don’t build your life’s foundation on integrity and simple character strength, sooner or later you are going to be found out.
This is where business relationships fail, marriages fail, families disintegrate and one’s personal life falls apart.?“In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do. We all know it.”
Covey quotes the words of William George Jordan,?“Into the hands of every individual is given a marvellous power for good or evil - the silent unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be.”
Covey highlights the term?“Paradigm Shift”, meaning a significant change in the way we “see” the world.
He demonstrates what he means by a personal anecdote of himself sitting contentedly on a New York subway car, on a peaceful Sunday morning. When suddenly.. a man and his rowdy children entered and sat down next to Covey.
The children ran wild, really making a terrible noise. The whole atmosphere changed to tension and irritation. And the man did nothing but stare in front of him.
Feeling quite irritated, Covey turned to them and said?“Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”
Well, what would YOU have said, and how would you have said it? Just how irritated would you have been? And would you have been so polite?
To which the man responded in a daze,?“Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”
Now.. how do YOU feel?
Something of a heel, I’ll bet.. as you remember how irritated you were with them a moment ago. And you weren’t even there!
Do you feel a flooding of sympathy and compassion for the man?
Well, your paradigm has just shifted instantly.
You are no longer looking at the situation from your point of view, you are now looking at it from his point of view.
You are probably feeling like Covey at that instant,?“Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior..”.
Covey’s story shows us that?when you look at the world, or any situation, from a different point of view to your current view.. the way YOU see the world will change!
He goes on to explain that the Character Ethic is based on the immovable rock of firm principles -?“..natural laws in the human dimension that are just as real, just as unchanging as the law of gravity in the physical dimension.”
He tells of the battleship commander who one night saw a light heading on a collision course in their direction.
He signaled to the source of the light -?MOVE OVER.
The signal came back -?Suggest You Move Over.
Peeved the commander signaled -?MOVE OVER, I'M A COMMANDER.
The message came back -?I’m A Seaman Second Class, You’d Better Change Course 20 Degrees?.
The now furious commander sent out -?I’M A BATTLESHIP, YOU MUST CHANGE COURSE!
The message flashed back -?I’m A Lighthouse.
The commander changed course!
That’s what is called a paradigm shift.. when you see the situation in a different light.
Covey contends that?“..there are natural laws woven into the fabric of every civilized society throughout history and comprise the roots of every family and institution that has endured and prospered.”
He calls these natural laws -?“lighthouse” principles.
These are principles that are timeless, immovable, enduring and constant. They exist, whether we acknowledge them or not. And they serve as?“guide-lines for human conduct”.. they cannot be violated without backfiring on the violator.
Covey uses these guidelines to develop a new principle-centred, character-based, approach to personal and inter-personal effectiveness, which he calls his...?Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People!
It is important to note that habits are simply patterns of behavior that result from three overlapping components:
..knowledge - the what/why to do;
..skill - the how to do; and...
..desire/attitude - the want to do.
The exciting point is that?all three of these components are learned rather than inherited.
In other words, our bad habits - or our habits of ineffectiveness - those that we really don’t like - can be unlearned. And.. new effective habits can be learned to replace the old.
In his research, Covey has recognized that successful people weave habits of effectiveness into their lives daily.
He identifies that these people have developed the habit of doing the things that the unsuccessful don’t like to do.
They don’t necessarily like doing these tasks either, but they subordinate their personal dislikes to the strength of a greater mission or purpose.
And.. they do this by developing?7 Key Habits?which allow them to control their lives with disciplined efficiency in accordance with pure and simple fundamental principles.
In understanding these 7 habits, it is important to notice that they can only be developed in the strict step by step sequential order as follows:
The first three habits are designed to establish a foundation of character, that will lead you from the need to feel dependent on others, to that of independence.
The next three habits will establish a platform for developing quality relationships with others and lead to an understanding of the benefit of interdependence - mutual co-operation with the rest of society for the good of everybody.
The seventh habit is one of ensuring that you continually refresh and renew yourself and your ideas in a process of continual growth or lifelong learning.
Habit 1. Be Proactive
This is the habit of personal responsibility.
The successful person begins by recognizing that we, alone, are each responsible for our own lives.?“Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions.”
These people do not blame their past for the circumstances they currently find themselves in.
They do not blame others, politicians, the economy, the weather, their adversaries, etc., for their current situation in life.
Proactive people understand that we each have the ability to choose our response to any given situation (Covey expands the word responsibility to read?response/ability).
We can CHOOSE to respond positively or react negatively to any event that affects us.
Proactive people take the initiative to make things happen.
These people know that it is basic human nature to act or be acted upon by someone or something else.
They also focus on the opportunities or things they can do something about - (ie. their circle of influence) - and they tend to minimise problems, general worldly concerns, and circumstances over which they have no control.
“The more we exercise our freedom to choose our response, the more proactive we become.”
领英推荐
Habit 2. Begin With The End In Mind
Successful people begin each day with a clear understanding of where they are going.
They have a plan. They understand their purpose in life and their specific aim for whatever project they have committed to.
Covey has noticed that?“..effective people realise that things are created mentally before they are created physically”.
He recommends that people begin this habit by creating a personal mission statement which can be used as a frame of reference for making decisions.
He supplies a superb formula - in his book (pg.118-128) - for clarifying your true values in life and setting priorities before selecting your goals and going about your work.
Ineffective people are caught up in the values and goals set by other people and corporate cultures.
This is why so many people who finally hit the top of the ladder in their organisations are still not fulfilled. They’ve been working someone else’s goals and not their own. They recognise that they have been managers all their life and not leaders.
Set your own plan and values and help others to achieve theirs?without compromising yours.
Habit 3. Put First Things First
Everyone is aware that 80% of what we achieve comes from 20% of what we do (Pareto’s law).
So why do we spend 80% of our time doing things that give us very little return?
“We should give less attention to activities that are urgent but unimportant and devote more time to those things that are important but not necessarily urgent.”
As Goethe said?“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
Habit 4. Think Win-Win
Win-Win is the habit of human interaction and cooperation between two or more people.
We continually enter into relationships such as marriage, games, business, committees and political parties, etc. These are all obviously interdependent realities, and yet most people approach these relationships with an independent mentality.
Covey uncovers six potential results of interaction. They are...
Win/Win;
Win/Lose;
Lose/Win;
Lose/Lose;
Win;
Win/Win...?or No Deal.
Win/Win?is based on the desire to seek mutual benefit for the players in the relationship.
It is based on an?abundance mentality?which comes from a belief that there is enough to “go around” for everybody.
This result is founded upon the essential character of INTEGRITY -?I want you to win and I want to win.
The vast majority of people go through life with a?scarcity mentality?where they believe that everything comes to them at the expense of others. So they always look to “pull-one-over” the others they relate to.
Their counterparts are those kindly souls who lack the courage to go for the ultimate solution -?Win/Win... or No Deal?- and they generally end up with the?Lose/Win?scraps and personal dissatisfaction at the deal.
Habit 5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood
Covey regards this habit as the single most important principle he has learnt in the field of interpersonal relations. It is the habit of effective communication.
It is here where he points out that we all tend to see things from our own point of view, our own frame of reference (like the story of the man on the subway car).
He identifies that successful people have learnt to listen deeply to other people with complete empathy to get to understand their perspective.
But... they also make certain that they lay all their cards on the table - to be understood - to indicate the result they are looking for in the relationship.?“When we really, deeply understand each other, we open the door to creative solutions and third alternatives.”
Habit 6. Synergise
This is the habit of creative cooperation... or team-work... where the end result is greater than the sum of its parts.
Synergy results from recognizing that everyone is unique and?“..valuing differences by bringing different perspectives together in the spirit of mutual respect”.
Often such results are significantly better and very different from either of the original proposals. And everyone wins!
Habit 7. Sharpen The Saw
This is the habit of self-renewal which is a characteristic of all successful people.
On-going learning, exercise, health, relaxation... are all part of the four key areas of our life - physical, mental, emotional/social, spiritual - that have to be kept in balance.
Covey illustrates his point with the story of a woodman vigorously sawing away at a tree to meet his quota for the day.
An onlooker saw that he wasn’t making much progress and said,?“Why don’t you stop and sharpen the saw?”
Replied the woodman,?“I can’t, dummy, I’m too busy sawing!”
How much faster would he have finished the job if he had just stopped to sharpen (or refresh) his saw?
“Without this habit, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish.”
The point being.. that renewal in any one of the key areas of your life, and the dimensions discussed by Covey, will have a positive impact on all the other areas of your life as well - because they are all so highly interrelated.
Covey concludes his great book with a personal note...?“I believe that correct principles are natural laws, and that God, the Creator and Father of us all, is the source of them, and also the source of our conscience. To the degree to which we align ourselves with correct principles, divine endowments will be released within our nature in enabling us to fulfill the measure of our creation."
"In the words of Teihard de Chardin,?‘We are not human beings having a spiritual being. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.’?"
He quotes T.S Eliot as expressing his own opinion on personal discovery and conviction:?“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.”
Isn’t GROWTH great?
Bibliography:
Covey, Stephen R. ‘THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE’ Pub. Simon and Schuster .
Points To Ponder
1. I am what I Do and Say.
2. Old bad habits can be replaced by new good habits.
3. I alone am responsible for the way I live my life.
4. I will act myself or be acted upon by someone else.
5. Integrity is an essential character and principle.
Ends.
I must say that, having read & analyzed the book deeply, I prefer my own summary which probably taps into my reasoning conveyed in Issue 36 of 1idea - Take A Book. Contemplate It. The A.I. generated summary seems to miss a lot of what I personally found to be highly-effective emotional story-telling. What do you think? Share your viewpoint in the comments section below.
I also recognize the importance of considering Peter Diamandis' advice in Embrace AI or Face Extinction. We're in for what heck of a ride in working out how to leverage A.I. in our businesses.. and do it we must!
If you're new to us it is recommended that you read issue 1:?One Idea is All it Takes
About:?Trevor Nel is an 'ideas-generating machine' and co-founder of?WISDOMS?. You can connect with WISDOMS? and become: 1. a?PATRON?and/or; 2. a?PLAYER?, and/or; 3. a?PARTNER?- follow each link for more info.
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Trevor Nel?is author of?One Idea Is All It Takes?and numerous publications & articles, including :