Love Reading Books

The work of Stephen Covey, about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is an excellent book that all leaders, managers and even individuals running small businesses, who have high goals in life must read the book.

Result of several years of research, work and experience shows the results in this book as it is loaded with facts and explanations and even if sometimes the language used by the author is highly academic and scientific, but it does not detract from the quality of education provided.

what these 7 habits really are is the important question

1) the proactive approach: this concept holds good weight-age and is very complex to explain, it is the opposite of reactivity. Most people are reactive as they complain about what happens to them, they blame and dump the responsibility on others, they are always victims and behave like they can not take any initiatives.

As against a person who is proactive and is led by admitting that he is solely responsible for what is happening to him and his actions. the person is proactive and does not complain. he seeks an opportunity in the problems he faces and sees the solutions and not obstacles.

2) Begin with the end in mind: addressing the problems facing the projects that we develop, we tend to look for quick and easy solutions to what is happening.

But in most cases, these quick fixes do not solve the problems in depth, and the problems resurface in the future with more serious consequences, we apply these quick fixes because we do not solve problems with the end in mind.

3) Putting first things first: is used for good organization of time. What are the priorities and tasks to accomplish, Do you spend most of your time doing the most important things (for you) or not.

4) think win-win situation: it is the habit of negotiating or know administering. It is used to see the potential benefits for each party involved in an action, a process, a deal – and focus on what everyone can benefit from.

5) Seek first to understand – An individual should first try to understand an individual sitting across the table and then to be understood the habit of looking for good relationship. It is a habit that is based on empathy, on listening. It is the habit that makes it possible to find the true source of problems, to be able to fully implement pattern no. 2 and no. 4.

6) Creating synergies: Stephen Covey explains this by the usual formula: 1 +1 = 3, 4, 10 or 1,000,000. This does not mean he is not very good at calculations, but it means that the sum of what each individual can do by acting alone – is nothing compared to what can be achieved by all the individuals together and working in synergy.

7) Sharpen your blade: is used to search for perfection. It is usual that people who are continuing to train and develop acquire. It is the habit of those who believe that life is an eternal learning process.

In short, the book by Stephen Covey is a must in leadership, management and personal development. It would be a shame to deprive them of it.

CEDAR FALLS — Sean Covey was raised in a “seven habitshome.”

His father, Stephen Covey, spent years researching the habits ofeffective people and used his own family as guinea pigs, theyounger Covey said. Eventually, Stephen Covey penned “The 7 Habitsof Highly Effective People.” his son, who first read the book incollege, was not impressed.

“My first impression was it was really boring,” Sean Covey toldthe group that gathered at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing ArtsCenter Monday night for the launch of the Leader Valley initiative.But, over time, he began to see the wisdom in his father’s wordsand eventually Sean authored his own bestseller, “The 7 Habits ofHighly Effective Teens.”

Fourteen years ago principal Muriel Summers used the elderCovey’s findings to develop a program — later dubbed Leader in Me— that would turn her failing school around.

“I don’t know what it is like in Iowa, but in North Carolina themessage we are sending our children is their worth and value is ascore on a piece of paper,” Summers said. “We need to stop themadness. what you have seen tonight, the kindness and support, thecreativity, nothing on any test measures what we are seeing. These are life skills that our children are learning that will helpnavigate them through life.”

Steve Dust, president of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance,helped bring Leader in Me to the community about two years agoalong with Bob Justis, Alliance vice president for communitydevelopment. Schools in Waterloo and Cedar Falls have adopted theLeader in Me program, which helps develop life skills students needin order to thrive, according to theleaderinme.org. more schoolsare expected to come on board in the coming years.

Now, the organization, along with the Greater Cedar ValleyChamber, is launching Leader Valley to work with educators on moreinitiatives that will facilitate working partnerships amongbusinesses, educators, administrators and the community.

“This is an amazing group of students that will hopefully havean impact on the economic growth of the Cedar Valley,” Dustsaid.

Several local students shared their experiences with the Leaderin Me and even more helped entertain the crowd with their versionof the University of Northern Iowa’s Interlude Dance — the CedarValley Leaderlude.

Mallorie Sckerl, a North Cedar Elementary School graduate,explained that each piece of the dance corresponded with one of theseven habits outlined in Covey’s book.

Chris Sink, a senior at Columbus High School, said the school’sfootball team has followed the habits for several years.

“The Covey training has showed us what we had to do on and offthe field,” Sink said. He told the crowd about a young boy at afootball camp who told Sink he regularly watched the Sailors playand would specifically look for Sink on the field.

“I know that during the game, if I’m not proactive, butreactive, (the boy) will see that and do the same during hisgames,” Sink said, using the common language laid out in theleadership program to show the crowd how he lived the habits everyday.

Summers, who shared several of her own Leader in Me successstories, applauded the students and the community for theircommitment to the program.

“We need to remember tonight, because it is quite historic thata community can come together to celebrate its children andcelebrate its future,” Summers said.

There’s something tauntingly accessible about “The seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” the 1989 Stephen Covey self-help book that’s sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Not surprisingly, the prospect of making meaningful improvements to one’s life in just a few easy steps holds universal appeal.

Given their inherently unpredictable nature, the markets, alas, can’t be so easily mastered. But while thinking about what makes an effective trader, I considered the attributes of successful investors I’ve known along with historical financial figures. And while there is no simple checklist of criteria for market success, there are certain qualities many accomplished investors tend to share.

Effective traders are disciplined. Some investors use technical analysis, others follow the fundamentals. No approach works all the time except discipline, which is essential regardless of how one invests. When it comes to stop-loss orders, for example, it’s not that a 15% stop is that much better than 12%, only that some discipline is set and adhered to over time. It only takes one slip-up to crater an otherwise healthy portfolio.

Effective traders are on time. They’re used to the rigidity of markets opening and closing at fixed times, of bond and interest payments being made — and due — on fixed dates. they don’t pay late charges on bills or interest finance on credit card debt, understanding that money is scarce and has a time value associated with it.

Effective traders think in percentages and probabilities. the best traders know that a strong $100 stock has even more of a chance of doubling than a weak $1 one and that, despite many pundits eager to link any news story to the market, on any given market day, a 50-point swing in the Dow Jones Industrial Average doesn’t mean much. Percentages are also vital to consider when it comes to limiting risk. For example, a holding that drops 25% must then gain 33% in order for one to break even on the investment.

Effective traders are humble about gains. Markets are not ATMS. Those who trade in them know income is irregular at best, with frequent periods of losses punctuated by gains. yet when one of our holdings soars, so can our overconfidence and recklessness. Effective traders understand that no investment is infallible and are able to keep a clear head amid both profit and loss.

Effective traders are skeptical. From Wade Cook to Kevin Trudeau, there’s always been an assortment of get-rich-quick scam artists claiming “the secret” to untold millions. Not only does such a Holy Grail not exist, but even if it did, why on earth would anybody sell it in a $24.99 book? Effective traders are natural skeptics, questioning assumptions and acting on objective evidence rather than faith or blind trust.

Effective traders have lives outside the market. When it comes to money, it’s easy to become a little obsessed. That’s especially true in markets, which are now totally accessible, along with plenty of leverage, nearly 24 hours a day. When markets are volatile and anxiety is high, it’s easy for our self-worth to become confused with our net worth. the danger comes when one starts internalizing emotions into trades, opting to “get back” at the market by doubling down or making irrational, all-or-none decisions. outside interests help keep some perspective: even famed trader Jesse Livermore went fishing now and then.

Effective traders practice money management. the dirty little secret is that market results are a function of how you invest much more than what you invest in. From Internet stocks to oil, bull markets come and go with each passing season. the experienced trader maintains consistent initial position sizes and follows the golden rule of cutting losses and letting winners run in order to survive and prosper in any market environment.

Jonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC .

Let me start with a little re cap. The 7 Habits, written by Stephen Covey provide the core of a principle centred life. it will guide us through three parts, each as challenging and rewarding as the other. The first part is all about Paradigms and Principles which can potentially change the entire way you think.

Parts two and three concern themselves with the concepts of Personal and Public Victories.

The Public victories come in the form of the first 3 chapters entitled.

- be Proactive
- begin With The End In Mind
- put first things First

The following chapters will arm us for the challenges with Public victories.

- Think Win/Win
- Seek first To Understand, then to be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw

Having looked at the first 3 chapters in earlier posts, today is all about an a way of thinking that can totally change the way we communicate.

Think Win/Win

Our ability and desire to conquer this habit is a critical key to living The 7 Habits.

The journey up to this point has been about moving from a state of dependence into independence which will ultimately lead to interdependence.

It matters very little what your title is because the moment you move from independence into the realm of interdependence you have assumed the role of a leader.

As a leader you are now in a position to influence people. The golden key to effective leadership lies in your ability to think win/win.

There are 6 ways or paradigms that are prevalent in human interaction.

Win/win

This is the frame of mind that seeks mutual benefits. The result is satisfying to both parties and proves that there doesn’t always have to be a winner and a loser.

Win/lose

A way of thinking that has been drummed into many people since the very early years. Comparisons have been a part of life but does it have to be that way?

Lose/win

Getting sand kicked in one face is nothing new here. They are the seekers of popularity not wishing to express their own feelings in fear of rocking the boat.

Lose/lose

Determined, stubborn people who are ego driven individuals will often prefer that both sides lose if what they are wanting doesn’t look like eventuating.

Win

The most common of approaches whereby the only thing that matters is getting what they want. this is the win mentality that worries little about the looser.

Win/win or no deal

If there is no solution to be found with both parties gaining a mutual benefit, the call is for a no deal. It’s possibly the second best result you could hope for.

Personal characteristics and the way we are guided by our values will determine which of the categories consume our negotiations.

Whilst win/win thinking holds the key, it’s not always the way to go with so don’t panic.

There are a lot of realistic scenarios discussed where alternative interactions may yield the best results.

However, the principle of win/win is a fundamental necessity in our interactions.

The chapter flows through five critical areas of life that we need to be aware of when looking to follow the win/win abundance mentality.

1. Character
2. Relationships
3. Agreements
4. Systems
5. Process

Win/win is really only achievable when your personal levels of integrity, maturity and abundance mentality have established enough trust for mutual benefits to become a reality.

Whether they are of a personal nature or business, think about all the negotiations we enter into every day.There are plenty

How many of those situations could actually result in win/win if you wanted them too?

In his book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey talks about the correct way to delegate to other people. If you do delegation well, you will achieve a tremendous increase in your ability to deliver. If you adopt the wrong approach you will end up fighting fires created by other people. Ignore the fundamentals of good delegation at your peril

The most powerful way to leverage your time is through delegation. as an individual you only have 24 hours in any day to create the results you want. By delegating responsibility for tasks to other people, you can increase the number of man hours you control in each day.

Delegation, particularly for people who are learning to manage other people is often one of the most difficult things to do right. If managed poorly, rather than creating more time you will end up spending more time solving crises created by other people or using their time ineffectively and inefficiently.

Stephen Covey identifies two main styles of delegating, to which I will add a third. In today’s sophisticated work environment, only one of these styles will produce the desired result of multiplying your effectiveness.

Gofer delegation

In this style of delegation you give the person detailed instructions for every task they have to perform including when and how to do the tasks. you end up telling them go for this, go for that. hence the name You’ve probably come across someone like this – the micro manager who wants to know everything you’re doing and control every aspect of your work.

This style of delegation works up to a point. the micro manager can manage several people all of whom can be performing specific tasks which if suitably co-ordinated can lead to a greater result than any one person on their own.

However there are several limitations to this approach. the micro- manager can only manage as much as he can control during the space of one working day. His team have little room to contribute their own ideas and creative inputs. If properly managed these inputs could deliver a far greater result.

This is often the first style of delegation people adopt as they start supervising others. It is a simple extension of their approach to managing themselves.

Delegation by Abdication

I think name tells you that this is not a good approach. This is often adopted by people who lack self confidence, who have had a bad experience with a micro-manager, or don’t have a clear plan for what they want to achieve.

It is often mistaken for true delegation by stewardship that we will discuss below, but it differs in a number of critical ways.

In this style the manager tells his team roughly what he wants done and then leaves them to get on with it. Sounds ok? well, there are plenty of potential problems:

The team members may not know what to do and may end up doing their own thing.

Unless the people being delegated to are used to working in teams with each other for a long period of time, there is little chance that the activities will be co-ordinated and produce coherent results.

There are no expectations of results so no-one knows where they are going. They’ll get somewhere sometime, but there’s no guarantee they will produce anything that is useful or that they will do it in a reasonable timescale.

Essentially, the person delegating has abdicated their responsibility.

Delegation by Stewardship

Delegation by Stewardship, as advocated in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People takes the best of the two methods you’ve read about so far and fixes their weaknesses. It does not dictate the methods – those are left to the person, but it does focus on delivering specific results.

This process starts with a clear vision of what is to be achieved at the end of the process. This can be a project goal or it can be a clear set of metrics that describe the output of a particular task.

The manager shares the vision with the person who is going to be doing the work and they jointly develop a plan and identify the gaps in the persons knowledge. If the person doing the work does not have much experience, the manager may have to do a lot of this on their behalf.

The next step is to set up the ground rules for the work – when it has to be done, how you want progress to be reported, important things that should be avoided, any problems that you can foresee, what resources are available.

Finally the person should be given clear performance standards that have to be achieved and the consequences of both good and bad performance should be explained.

As the person carries out the work, you will encourage them to report progress and problems and also to ask for help where they need it. however, you will give them the latitude to carry out the task within the guidelines, provided that they meet the agreed objectives.

Stephen Covey advocates the method of delegation by stewardship in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This method empowers members of your team to achieve outstanding results while at the same time ensuring that they stay focussed on the big picture. It enables you to maximise the leverage that you can achieve from delegating to other people.