7 Habits ...

"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" is a famous book by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in thirty-eight languages since first publication in 1989, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent "effectiveness".

Indeed, a great book. I am just summarizing those 7 habits here ...

The first three habits can be summarized in a single expression: Make and keep Promises.
Habit 1: Ability to make a promise
Habit 2: Content of the Promise
Habit 3: Keeping the Promise

The next three complementary-team Habits can be summarized in a short phrase: Involve people in the problem and work out the solution together.
Habit 4: Mutual respect
Habit 5: Mutual understanding
Habit 6: Creative cooperation

And
Habit 7: Increasing your competency in the 4 areas of life: body, mind, heart and spirit.

Here go all the 7 ...

1. Be Proactive
Being Proactive is more than taking initiative. It is recognizing that we are responsible for our own choices and have the freedom to choose based on the principles and values rather than on moods or conditions. Proactive people are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others.

2. Begin with the End in the Mind
Individuals, families, teams and organizations shape their own future by first creating a mental vision for any project, large or small, personal or interpersonal. They don’t just live day-to-day with no clear purpose in mind. They identify and commit themselves to the principles, relationships and purposes that matter most to them.

3. Put First Things First
Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. Whatever the circumstances, it is living and being driven by the urgent agendas and forces surrounding you.

4. Think Win-Win
Thinking win-win is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit and mutual respect in all interactions. It’s thinking in terms of abundance and opportunity rather than scarcity and adversarial competition. It’s not thinking selfishly (win-lose) or like a martyr (lose-win). It’s thinking in terms of “we”, not “me”.

5. Seek first to Understand, Then To Be Understood
When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building. Opportunities to then speak openly and to be understood come much more naturally and easily. Seeking to understand takes consideration; seeking to be understood takes courage. Effectiveness lies in balancing or blending the two.

6. Synergize
Synergy is the third alternative-not my way, not your way, but a third way that is better than either of us would come up with individually. It’s the fruit of respecting, valuing, and even celebrating one another’s differences. It’s about solving problems, seizing opportunities, and working out differences. It’s the kind of creative cooperation of 1+1 = 3, 11, 111 … or more. Synergy is also the key to any effective team or relationship. A synergistic team is a complementary team-where the team is organized so that the strengths of some compensate for the weakness of others. In this way you optimize and run with strengths and make individual weaknesses irrelevant.

7. Sharpen The Saw
Sharpening the saw is about constantly renewing ourselves in the four basic areas of life: physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual. It’s the habit that increases our capacity to live all other habits of effectiveness.