About Stephen R.

Covey
PERSONAL BIO Recognized as one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans. Stephen R. Covey dedicated his life to demonstrating how every person can truly control their destiny with profound, yet straight forward guidance. was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Covey was born in 1932 and died on July 16, 2012, aged 79 years old, due to complications from a fall, having lost control of his bicycle on a steep road the previous April
He was a professor at the School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death. As an internationally respected leadership authority, his advice has given insight to millions. Some of Stephen R. Covey's milestones (hitos): Over 20 million books sold (in 38 languages) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. Authored four titles with sales exceeding one million copies each: First Things First , PrincipleCentered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Latest book, The 8th Habit , has sold nearly 400,000 copies. International Man of Peace Award. National Fatherhood Award (father of 9, grandfather of 44) Author of the best-selling nonfiction audio in history (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) No. 1 best-selling hardcover book on family (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families) MBA from Harvard, doctorate degree from Brigham Young University Board of directors for the Points of Light Foundations Co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, the leading global professional services firm with offices in 123 countries. International Entrepreneur of the Year Award Awarded eight honorary doctorate degrees

Covey was athletic but an accident, requiring him to change his focus to academics. He was a member of the debate team and graduated from high school early. He studied and graduated in the university of UTA, a MBA from Harvard university (business administration)

Covey wrote several books between them the best seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. He promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning ones values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey proclaims that values govern people's behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.

In March 2008 Covey launched the Stephen Covey's Online Community. The site was a collection of online courses, goal management and social networking. Covey used it to teach his thoughts and ideas on current topics and self leadership.

Covey developed his 2008 book The Leader in Me On April 20, 2010 he made his first post to an education blog entitled Our Children and the Crisis in Education

Covey lived with his wife Sandra and their family in Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, where Covey taught prior to the publication of his best-selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of fifty-two, he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

He received severals Honors and awards Bibliography

Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970) (ISBN 0-87579-705-9) The Divine Center (1982) (ISBN 1-59038-404-0) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989, 2004) (ISBN 0-671-70863-5) Principle Centered Leadership (1990) (ISBN 0-671-79280-6) First Things First, co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill (1994) (ISBN 0-684-80203-1) Living the Seven Habits (2000) (ISBN 0-684-85716-2) 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems (2004) (ISBN 1-57345-187-8) The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (2004) (ISBN 0-684-84665-9) Quest: The Spiritual Path to Success by Stephen R. Covey (Editor) (1997), with Thomas Moore, Mark Victor Hansen, David Whyte, Bernie Siegel, Gabrielle Roth and Marianne Williamson. Simon & Schuster AudioBook ISBN 978-0-671-57484-0 The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time (2008) (ISBN 1-43910-326-7) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Network Marketing Professionals (2009) (ISBN 978-1-933057-78-1) The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems (2011) (ISBN 978-1451626261)

STEPHEN COVEY
Dr Stephen R Covey was born in 1932. He lived with his wife, Sandra, and their family in Utah; in the Rocky Mountains. Sadly, he died as a result of complications, following a bicycle accident, on July 16th 2012, aged 79 years old. 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 Coveys principle-centred approach to leadership and management. He is widely acknowledged as one of the worlds 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 havent 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 whats 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.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Perhaps the best overall prescription for becoming effective is contained within Stephen Coveys bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Published by Simon & Schuster, this book provides a useful, sequential framework for understanding much about the process of Personal Development. Covey does not claim to have invented the 7 habits, but rather to have discovered them and to have found a simple language for articulating them. In fact, he says that these basic principles of effectiveness may be found in all world religions; and it can be noted that many highly successful people seem to have naturally developed them. Being effective is learning to do that which produces the desired result. If you want to be extremely successful in business or very happy in life or achieve some large goal, then being effective is consistently doing the things that will bring about the results you are after.

Los hbitos Un hbito est en la interseccin de tres componentes que se solapan: el Conocimiento, las Habilidades y el Deseo (o actitud). El Conocimiento le indica qu hacer y por qu. Las Habilidades le ensean cmo hacer las cosas. El Deseo es la motivacin, sus ganas de hacerlas.

Habit 1 Be Proactive
It is perhaps a great compliment to Stephen Covey that today, the substance of this first habit is deeply embedded into the management psyche. We are told, in business, that we should be proactive; and broadly what is meant by that is to focus our efforts and attention on the long-term and to think in terms of the long-term consequences of our actions. Covey contrasts being proactive or having a proactive mentality with being reactive. Reactive people, he says, are those who are resigned to the truth that whatever they do in the present can have no effect on their circumstances. And interestingly, for reactive people, it really is a truth, for whatever we believe in our heart affects our thoughts, words and actions. If we really believe that we can do nothing about our unreasonable boss or the daily events in our lives, then we simply do not make the effort. Proactive people, on the other hand, simply will not accept that there is nothing that can be done about the unreasonable boss or the events of daily life they will point out that there are always choices. It is by the decisions we make, our responses to people, events and circumstances that proactive people can and do affect the future. We may have no control over what life throws at us but we always have a choice about how we are to respond. Now this notion that having a particular attitude of mind (which is really where this habit begins) can make such a huge and positive difference to almost everything we experience in life is foreign to those who have already internalised the opposite habit as a part of their personalities. For some people, the glass is always half-empty and the feeling of melancholy is a pleasant reminder that something is indeed missing. For such people, this habit represents a bitter pill to swallow but, says Covey, it is also completely liberating. When we are finally prepared to accept full responsibility for the effects that are manifest in our lives; when we have the strength of character to admit it when we make mistakes (even big ones); when we are completely free to exercise the options available to us in every situation; then it can be said that we

have finally internalised this habit. The other six of the habits require that we first work on our basic character by becoming proactive and thereby transforming ourselves into men and women of integrity.

Ser proactivo significa tomar la responsabilidad por su propia vida ejercitar la habilidad de seleccionar su respuesta ante cualquier estmulo. Esto implica comportarse segn su decisin consciente, basado en sus valores, no en las condiciones en las que se encuentra, ni en la forma como fue

Habit 2 Begin with the End in Mind

Comience con un fin (objetivo) en mente Este es el hbito del liderazgo personal, que indica la necesidad de comenzar cada da con un claro entendimiento de su direccin y destino deseados. Es necesario entender que todas las cosas son creadas dos veces. Piense en la construccin de una casa antes de comenzar la construccin, se dibuja un plano (la primera creacin). Posteriormente, construye la casa (la segunda creacin).
Many people in the west identify with the frustration of success. Being successful at their chosen career and committed to its progress they come to realise that it does not, in the final analysis, bring any sense of real satisfaction. The reason for this ultimate dissatisfaction is that they did not begin with the end in mind. For many people, it is not just that they did not begin with the end in mind; it goes a bit deeper they did not ever get around to defining the end itself and so they simply could not begin with the end in mind. So what does all this mean? The end represents the purpose of your life. Until you can say what that purpose is, with assurance, then you just cannot direct your life in the manner that would bring you the greatest satisfaction. There are no short-cuts here. To engage in this habit, you need to have a dream, define your own vision and get into the practice of setting goals which will allow you to make measurable progress toward the dream. If you practice a faith, then you will want to consider how this affects your purpose in life; if you do not, you will still need to get involved in deep self-examination to find out exactly what it is that will bring you fulfillment. To help you with this, you may wish to obtain my book The Deepest Desire of Your Heart; available from this site. Until you have defined your vision the big dream to which you will be working you will be unable to move on to habit 3 which provides a basic framework for you to re-align your efforts so that you will ultimately achieve your hearts desire.

Habit 3 First Things First

Poner primero lo primero En el hbito 1, aprendi que puede crear su propio paradigma. En el hbito 2, descubri los principios bsicos por los cuales debera vivir y trabajar. Una vez aprendido esto, estar listo para poner primero lo primero cada da, a cada momento.
Following the amazing popularity of his work on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey published a second book that deals with the 7 Habits; and the title of that book is also First Things First. Both the book and this habit deal with subject of managing your time effectively.

Consider the simple 2 x 2 matrix shown below. It plots the concepts of urgency and importance against each other; and represents where you are spending your time. To really understand and apply this habit, you need to have first done habit 2 that is, you should already have defined what is important to you. Without first doing this, habit 3 has no power because you simply cannot separate what is important from what is not important. This representation shows four categories of demand which may be made on your time. Quadrant 1 consists of activities which are both urgent and important in other words, things to which you absolutely must attend. Why must you do these things? Because they are important meaning that they contribute to your mission; and they are urgent meaning that they have some sort of deadline associated with them. Choices about where to invest your time really are made in the other categories; and most people driven by the concept of urgency get drawn into Quadrant 3; doing things that consume their time but do not contribute to their goals. Highly Effective People (yes they all fit together you see) understand that the high leverage activities are all Quadrant 2 important but not urgent. Planning, preparation, prevention, relationship-building, reading, improving your professional knowledge and exercise are all examples of Quadrant 2 activity not an exhaustive list, by any means. We all intuitively know that Quadrant 2 activities are the key to getting results; but you need to have internalised the first two habits before you can benefit from the high leverage this habit brings. In other words, you first need to have developed the strength of character (proactivity) which allows you to be able to say no to demands on your time that fall into Quadrants 2 and 3; and you also need to have defined what importance means for you otherwise the Quadrants do not exist. Put habits 1,2 and 3 together and you have the ultimate success formula. Stated simply get your mind right; define what is important; then organise your life to maximise your Quadrant 2 efforts. By spending appropriate time on Quadrant 2 activities, you will gain control over the circumstances of your life; Quadrant 1 will actually get smaller because you will have anticipated and prepared for much Quadrant 1 activity. Concentrating on Quadrant 2 is absolutely fundamental to achieving success. The 4tm Spreadsheet, which is provided as a bonus with my book, can help you to make this key adjustment in the use of your time.

Habit 4 Think Win Win

Piense ganar-ganar Los hbitos del 1 al 3 tratan de victorias privadas, cmo trabajar consigo mismo para desarrollar su carcter. Los hbitos 4 al 6 lo llevarn a victorias pblicas, cmo desarrollar la personalidad para tener xito trabajando con otras personas.
The next of the 7 Habits is Think Win-Win. This habit is again an attitude of mind. It concerns fostering an attitude that is committed to always finding solutions that will truly benefit both sides of a dispute. Solutions do not, of course, exist in themselves; they must be created. And, even if we cannot see the solution to a particular problem, it does not mean that no such solution exists. The win-win idea is not based upon compromise that is where most disputes naturally end. But compromise is the result of not properly perceiving the possible synergy of the situation. The more you practice this habit, the more committed you will become as you find solutions which truly do benefit both parties, where originally it looked as if no such agreement might be reached. Covey has amended the wording of this habit slightly in recent years to read: Think Win-Win or No Deal. This attitude works well because it liberates the individuals concerned from the effort of trying to persuade the

opposite party to shift ground or compromise. The effort is instead spend on trying to understand, which is where habit 5 comes in you see, they are also sequential.

Habit 5 Seek First to Understand then be Understood

Busque primero entender, luego ser entendido Este es el hbito de la comunicacin efectiva. Es tambin el hbito mas emocionante, y que puede poner en funcionamiento en forma inmediata. La mayora de las personas pasan su vida aprendiendo a comunicarse en forma escrita o hablada, pero tienen poco entrenamiento en escuchar en entender
The fifth habit is Seek First to Understand. What most people do, naturally, when involved in some type of discussion, meeting or dialogue is exactly the reverse they seek first to be understood. And, as Stephen Covey says, when both parties are trying to be understood, neither party is really listening; he calls such an interaction, the dialogue of the deaf. This habit is an important key to inter-personal relationships and it seems to be almost magical in its ability to transform the course of discussions. Why? Because by making the investment of time and effort required to understand the other party, the dynamics of the interchange are subtly affected. This habit is not just about letting the other person speak first; it concerns actually making the effort to understand what is being said. It is about understanding that our natural habit of mind is to misunderstand. When we are engaged in conversation, error is always present. NLP tells us that we simply make our own meaning based on our own experiences and understanding of life; and frequently we make the wrong meaning. You might like to take a look at the answers given by school-children on history exams which illustrates this principle we are no different! If however, we are prepared to invest the time and effort to really understand the other persons position; and to get into the habit of spending the first part of the discussion doing so; then, when it is felt by the other person that you do indeed understand, the dynamic changes. People become more open, more teachable, more interested in what you may have to say and with the mutual understanding that flows from this habit, you are ready to practice habit 6; which concerns finding creative solutions.

Habit 6 Synergize (Synergise) Sinergice

Sinergia significa que el todo es mas que la suma de sus partes. El hbito de sinergizar implica entonces la cooperacin creativa y el trabajo en equipo: las personas con mentalidad ganar/ ganar, y que escuchen con empata, pueden aprovechar sus diferencias para generar opciones que no existan
The sixth of the habits is Synergize. This habit involves you putting your head together with the other party or parties in order to creatively brainstorm a synergistic solution to a problem i.e. to find a solution which contains win-win benefits. It can only be done successfully if you have first practiced habits 4 and 5. The well-known definition of synergy is as follows: Synergy When the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Finding a synergistic solution means finding a solution which is better than either party might first propose. Such a solution can only be found if both parties truly understand the other parties position the fruit of habits 4 and 5. There have been many books written on successful brainstorming techniques;

my own favourite techniques are those proposed by Edward DeBono professor of thinking and perhaps most famous for Lateral Thinking. Putting habit 4, 5 and 6 together, you have a perfect model for human interaction. Put simply: first be mentally committed to the idea that a solution that will benefit all parties may be constructed; next invest the necessary time and effort to really understand the other party and do that first; finally creatively brainstorm a synergistic solution a natural product of mutual understanding and respect.

Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw

Afilar la sierra Es el hbito de la auto-renovacin, el mantenimiento bsico necesario para mantener los hbitos restantes funcionando adecuadamente. La efectividad, como se mencion anteriormente, se logra cuando se puede mantener el equilibrio entre la produccin (P) y la capacidad de produccin (CP).
The last habit of the 7 Habits is Sharpen the Saw. In this habit, you are the saw; and to Sharpen the Saw is to become better, keener and more effective. Highly Effective People always take time to Sharpen the Saw. What is meant by Sharpening the Saw is to regularly engage in the exercise of the three dimensions which make up the human condition: body, mind and spirit. Covey also adds a fourth dimension the inter-personal.

Spiritual Exercise
Let us begin by considering Spiritual Exercise this is the area which is perhaps the most misunderstood. I believe that, in the west, we have become spiritually blind. The progress of our science, education and technology has lead us to construct a view of the world and the universe that excludes the agency of God. Freud famously said that it was man that made God in the image of his father. It is, of course, a very clever statement and not one I wish to here challenge whether this statement or the reverse is true is for you to decide. However, as the west has, by and large, abandoned faith in the creator God, so it has simultaneously abandoned the idea that life has any meaning or purpose; and it is purpose and direction in life that this habit refers to as Spiritual Exercise. Of course, if you are a religious person, then there will be a tie-up here with your personal faith; however, if you are not religious, dont also abandon the idea that life holds a special purpose for you. To exercise spiritually, I recommend that you consider engaging in some form of meditation. Meditation involves regularly sitting in a relaxed position and thinking about nothing for a period of about 10 or 15 minutes. Why this practice should bring about any material benefits is an interesting question. You might consider that you relax your mind quite enough when you sleep, but it turns out that we dont really relax our minds when we sleep. The brain is active during sleep during REM sleep, the brain appears to be processing information. Though it is not yet known exactly what it is doing, the brain is certainly not passive and so the mind is not relaxed during sleep. Meditation is the practice of disciplining the mind, It is difficult to do at first, but if you stick with it, positive health benefits will follow. Making use of Jack Blacks House on the Right Bank is an excellent tool for combining what is really guided meditation with the practice of regularly reviewing your mission, your roles and your goals; and that is what Stephen Covey means when he talks about spiritual exercise the regular, review and preview of the things that are most important to you in life. These are the first things that you must define in habit 2 Begin with the End in Mind.

Physical Exercise
Regular aerobic, physical exercise is essential for health, energy and a feeling of well-being. Naturally, you should always consult your doctor or physician before you embark upon any course of physical exercise; and it should be obvious that such professional advice as may be given, should always be taken into account. To practice this part of Habit 7 requires that you commit to at least three sessions of at least twenty minutes per week. If you are not already engaged in this sort of exercise, you will find that after a period of about six weeks, you will feel much better, much healthier and indeed your body will become more efficient at processing oxygen which is the key to energy.

Mental Exercise
Ask yourself these questions. What am I doing to sharpen my mind? Am I engaged in a programme of education or learning of some kind? What am I doing to improve my professional knowledge? How you should go about this part of the habit is, of course, for you to decide, but you should ensure that you are reading regularly. What should you read? Naturally you want to put in the good stuff so its not a case of reading for its own sake; it is reading carefully selected material which allows you to broaden and deepen your understanding. You will naturally be paying particular attention to the important areas you defined in habit 2, but you should also consider reading all the great works of literature and also ancient wisdom literature which includes books like The Psalms and Proverbs..

Interpersonal
This part is not really a discipline, as are the other three parts, it is really a commitment; and for me, I make the commitment during the spiritual part of the habit, that is, during a meditation. It is simply to commit to approaching inter-personal relationships by making use of habits 4, 5 and 6. Even if people approach me making use of language, actions, or behaviour which I personally believe to be inappropriate, my commitment is to not react, but to use my proactive capacity to engage in the exercise of habits 4, 5 and 6 which I believe will lead to the best possible outcome in such circumstances.