The Leadership Alchemist

I first came across Stephen Covey when my employer was kind enough to let me take an unused and rather decrepit Windows 98 PC home to help with my MBA studies.

Whilst setting it up I discovered some preinstalled software called: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which explained the key tennats of Covey's theories.

I decided to purchase the book and found it to be highly useful in terms of concepts although like most reads it tends to drag a bit in the middle before finishing on a strong note.

Due to his success there are many variants on the theme now but I believe the link provided below is the original and definitive body of work that started it all off.

Below are some of the key chapters and ideas from the book.

CHAPTER 1:

If we are affected by things around us it is because we have chosen to empower them. In making such a choice we become re-active. Such people are affected by what goes on around them. If the weather is good they feel good. If it isn't it affects their attitude and their performance. Proactive people carry their own weather with them. Whether it rains or shines it makes no difference to them.

Reactive people are also affected by social weather. They build their emotional lives around the behaviour of others, empowering the weaknesses of other people to control them. Proactive people are still affected by these things but the key difference is that their responses are different, being driven by strong internal values.

Things physically and mentally can hurt us but that doesn't mean our character has to get damaged in the process.

Infact it is the most difficult situations that forge our character, develop our internal strength, our freedom to handle difficult circumstances and characters in the future and to inspire others to do so as well

Our response to any mistake affects the quality of the next moment. It is important to immediately admit that and correct our mistakes so that they have no power over the next moment.

Many people wait for something to happen or someone to take care of them. But people with good jobs and/or happy home lives are the proactive ones who are solutions to the problems and who seize the initiative.

This therefore puts the onus on the individual to assume a responsibility for acting. If you wait to act you will be acted upon and growth and opportunity will attend other roads

Do not focus on the weaknesses of other people because combined with the areas of yourself that have been neglected it greatly reduces the ability to influence individuals and situations. This is because the focus is on the reactive rather than the proactive.

Continually confessing my wife's sins serves no purpose. By saying I'm not responsible is to make myself a powerless victim. Continually criticising her reduces my ability for positively influencing her and only furthers to consolidate her weakness. My criticism of her is worse than the conduct I want to correct.

If I really want to improve the situation I can work on the one thing over which I have control. Myself. I can focus on being a source of unconditional love and support and to try and lead by example.

Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It's not what they are doing that's the issue it's what you are doing and how you are responding that counts. If you start thinking that the problem is out there then it's that thought that is the problem.

People who exercise their freedom will see it grow slowly day by day. People who do not will find that their freedom withers until they are acting out a script written for them by family, associates and society.

Ultimately we are responsible for our own happiness and effectiveness. He who does not know happiness in his mind will only serve to multiply the sense of discontment they are trying to eradicate.

CHAPTER 2: What Will They Say ?

Attending your funeral are 4 people:

family
friends
professional work colleagues
community members

what would they say?

To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination and the journey it will involve

Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.

In the day to day running of things what matters most gets buried under layers of immediacy. I become reactive. The way I behave is not in keeping with my underlying principles.

When we lose control due to stress we revert to the scripts given to us when we were younger. Sympthoms such as anger and overaction start to surface.

It is important to live our life based on limitless imagination rather than limited memory. This will empower creation.

Once you have a sense of mission you have the essence of proactivity as it infused with your values and vision. These are based on long and short term goals.

Whatever is the centre of your life will be the source of your security, guidance, wisdom and power

It is important we don't get overly distracted with leisure activities such as watching tv or listening to music otherwise our creative powers and capacity will remain dormant

A man should not ask of life what is its meaning. He should be telling life what its meaning is to him

We live in a left brain scientific and logic based world.

It is easiest to study successful atheletes because they are so good at visualisation. They begin with the end in mind.

Writing is an activity which helps bridge and integrate the conscious and subconscious as well as crystallising thought processes into parts and embodiment.

Effective goals focus on results rather than activities.

Many families are based on crisis management. As  consequence children grow up thinking the only way to deal with issues is fight or flight.

CHAPTER 3: Put First Things First

What one thing could you do that you aren't doing now that if performed on a regular basis would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal and professional lives.

Manage from the left and lead from the right. Leadership is a high powered art based on philosophy based of asking fundamental questions of life.

Management is self governance around organisation.

Successful people have a habit of doing the things failures don't like to do.

Time mgmt
type 1: notes and checklists
type 2: calendars and appointment books
type 3: prioritisation, long and short term goal setting, daily planning
type 4: self management focuses on relationships and results

type 3 lacks realism resulting in over scheduling, frustration and ripping up the plan occasionally.

A producer has a 1 to 1 relationship with their output.

A manager has a leveraged relationship to their output.

Effective people feed opportunities to starve problems thinking prevention rather than cure

Quadrant 1: Important and urgent
Quadrant 2: Important not urgent
Quadrant 3: Not Important but urgent
Quadrant 4: Not important not urgent

Quadrant 2 is optimum position fed from time from 3 and 4. More time in 2 will disempower Quadrant 1.

Understand to be understood

CHAPTER 5: Understand to be understood

Satisfaction in its own does not motivate

Salesmen sell products, not solutions to needs. This involves correct diagnosis.

Wait for an idea's time to come.

We seek not to imitate the masters, rather we seek what they sought.

Instead of people taking their foot off the brake most people apply more gas.

Force field analysis is the understanding of driving versus opposing restraining forces developed by Kurt Lewin.

CHAPTER 7: Sharpening the Saw

This covers the 4 basic aspects of:
Physical
Spiritual
Social
Mental

Most people are a function of the social mirror, scripted by the opinions, perceptions and paradigms of the people around them.

Teachers being given difficult kids and being told they were high potentials. Standard methods didn't work so the teachers changed their methods which impacted the kids positively.

Increase your ability to live from imagination rather than memory.

The difference between people is how they respond to the gap dividing stimulus and response.

The two greatest things you can give a child are roots and wings.

Break the comfort zone of unworthy habits.

Work expands to fill the time allotte

Dr. Stephen R. Covey is co-founder/co-chairman of FranklinCovey Company, the largest management and leadership development organization in the world.

Dr. Covey is perhaps best known as the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which is ranked as a No. 1 best-seller by the New York Times, having sold more than 12 million copies in 32 languages and 75 countries throughout the world. The book's message has created lasting impact, its sales keeping it on numerous best-seller lists for more than five years running.