BOTM - "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

Let's explore what are habits of highly effective people and why you, as a residential designer, should care.

BOOK OF THE MONTH - “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

There is a reason why this book has international fame spanning more than 30 decades...

One of my closest business friends and I decided late last year to set a goal of reading one business book a month together. At the end of every month, we discuss what we’ve learned. There is something completely magical about learning and growing together with another person, even if you met online not too long ago and have only met in person once. She and I have very similar backgrounds and very similar business and life goals.

​So far, we have read the following books:

Interestingly enough, books 2-6 have very similar themes and principled ideas, dispelled through slightly different lenses. (That is magic, in and of itself.) Books 2 and 3 I have previously read multiple times, but continue to discover new thoughts and levels of understanding with each new reading.

THE CHALLENGE OF READING “7 HABITS…”​

While I have known about the 7 Habits book for a LONG time and have attempted reading it a time or two before, I had just never made it very far into the book.

I thought I knew the core of the book enough already.

After all, my children’s elementary school was implementing the 7 Habits in their teaching methods and curriculum. So I had a printout from there that informed my elementary level understanding of each of the Habits.

And then, I listened to the Audible book (graciously read by the author, which I felt made a huge difference in how the words were read and the meaning and teachings were conveyed).

My mind was expanded and new insights were found on every other page (it felt like - not sure since I was listening to it instead of looking at the actual pages).

You know how, when you listen to a book or podcast, you can usually do it AT THE SAME TIME as folding laundry, pulling weeds, doing the dishes, or driving somewhere? Yeah, that was much more challenging with this book.

​I was constantly pausing the Audible app to add a bookmark and jot down a note or thought. It made getting the chores done or reaching my destination a lot more difficult.

PARADIGM SHIFTS & LIVING A 'PRINCIPLE CENTERED’ LIFE

If you love learning and personal growth like I do, this book is a MUST READ.

If you are convinced of your views of the world you live in, this book is a MUST READ.

If you are in a leadership position of any kind - parent, teacher, coach, business manager or leader, politician, religious leader, etc - this book is a MUST READ for you, too.

One of the reasons this book is so powerful is that Dr. Covey truly believed and “acknowledged he didn’t invent these habits, as they [are] based on universal principles or natural laws, such as responsibility, integrity, abundance, and renewal.

But he also believed that ‘common sense isn’t always common practice.’

And thus, he devoted his life to getting his message to as many people as possible.” (From the 25th Anniversary Edition , “A Covey Family Tribute to a Highly Effective Father.”)

If you’re still not certain this book should be added to your reading list, check out the insights and synopses found here on this site.

THE 7 HABITS

Probably the greatest discoveries I made while reading this book is the structure behind the order of the 7 Habits.

They are not random.

Dr. Covey was very intentional about the development of the order and process one works through as they learn, develop, and implement the 7 Habits into their life.

The order of the 7 Habits takes an individual from dependence, to independence, and on to the greatest victory of all - that of INTERdependence. When personally independent individuals come together to solve a problem and know how to EFFECTIVELY work together in an INTERdependent relationship, unfathomable results can occur.

The 7 Habits, in order, are:

Habits 1-3 make up the PRIVATE VICTORY that moves an individual from dependence to independence.

Habits 4-6 are paradigms of PUBLIC VICTORY - that of an interdependent experience.

The final Habit is one of self - RENEWAL that allows us to find the strength and energy to work through the 7 Habits again and again.

HOW CAN THIS BE APPLIED TO YOU (AND WHY IS IT WORTHY OF A BLOG POST FOR RESIDENTIAL DESIGNERS)?

Throughout the decades of personal growth and development I’ve participated in, I have repeatedly discovered, for myself, that when I adopt and implement principles such as the 7 Habits, there is a core alignment that tends to take place.

As that alignment becomes straighter and straighter, we become ATTRACTORS.

What does that mean?

Stay with me here.

When we THINK AND BEHAVE a certain way, we attract that same thought process and behavior in the world around us.

I personally think of it like a boomerang. (I call it “The Boomerang Effect.”)

What I put out into the world, the world then returns that same energy back to me.

​But here’s the catch - we can’t throw the “good” energy out PRIMARILY because we EXPECT that same energy to come back to us. It works best when we put good out into the world simply because that is our core guiding principle.

TOP TIPS & TAKEAWAYS​

Why does this matter to you?

Essentially, we get back what we put out into the world. If we want good things in our lives, we must put some good out into the world.

​In our businesses, it can look like: