8th habit book review final
TRANSCRIPT
MGT 131 – V
Raymond Balon
Catherine Dumalaog
Catherine Perez
Maricar Tagapan
Arithia Vianca Violanta
THE 8th Habit – Book Review
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Stephen R. Covey is a highly acclaimed author, family expert, organizational consultant and
teacher. He has received numerous awards from notable award-giving bodies. Among these are
the 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative (which he considers most
meaningful award), the Thomas More College Medallion for his service to humanity’s welfare
and development, the Speaker of the Year award in 1999, the Sikh’s 1998 International Man of
Peace Award, the 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year and the National Entrepreneur
Leadership. In 1996, Dr. Covey was named as one of the 25 most influential Americans by Time
magazine. He was also recognized as one of Sales and Marketing Management’s top 25 power
brokers.
He received his M.B.A. from Harvard University and his doctorate degree from Brigham Young
University where he served as a professor of business management and organizational behavior
and held the position as director of university relations and assistant to the university president.
Among his bestsellers is his seminal work The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which sold
over 15 million copies across the globe and was translated into thirty-eight languages all over the
world. It was also named as the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century and
as one of the top-ten most influential books ever written. His other bestsellers are First Things
First, Principle-Centered Leadership.
He is a father of nine and grandfather of forty-three. He co-founded and is vice chairman of
FranklinCovey Company, a leading international professional services firm with offices in 123
countries.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
THE PAIN, THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION
The Pain
There are a growing number of companies nowadays which expect their employees to produce
more for less. Many people in various organizations feel constrained by their surroundings. They
are limited to acting in uncreative ways and feel as though they were no different from machines.
They cannot express their ideas, creativity, talent and intelligence, which, they believe, may be
their heartfelt contribution to the betterment of the company. They partake no joys in the success
of important projects or tasks but are often blamed when things go wrong. What is more
distressing to them is the fact that they are untapped humans with limitless abilities and
possibilities for great contribution.
The Problem
The 20th century was commonly known as the Industrial age. When the 21st century, called by
Dr. Covey as the Knowledge Worker age, began, there was a dramatic shift brought about by
technological advances and globalization.
Accompanying this abrupt change is the problem of management. Many managers still insist on
controlling the mindset of their subordinates, even though they are fully aware that the new era
puts premium on slackening the reins which have kept their employees in the sidelines. They are
stubborn enough to defy the demands of the present.
The Solution
Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs. This means that individuals should be given the
sufficient liberty to realize their full potentials, to come up with solutions to pressing problems
on their own, to tap their God-given endowments for the benefit of the company. After this
realization, they should share their new-found purpose in life with those who are struggling with
the same or entirely different problems they had faced before.
FIND YOUR VOICE
Discover Your Voice—Unopened Birth Gifts
The potential for greatness is an intrinsic characteristic of every individual. However, the
utilization or dismissal of this innate trait largely depends upon the individual. It will shrink to
mere idea if left unused or it will become an invaluable asset if utilized extensively. The more
you use it, the greater it will become until it becomes second-nature.
There are three important gifts that individuals need to realize before attempting to find their
voice. First, one has the freedom to choose how to lead his or her life. Second, there are universal
principles that transcend time and culture—honesty, fairness and kindness. Third, every person
has four intellectual capacities: mental intelligence (IQ), physical intelligence (PQ), emotional
intelligence (EQ), and spiritual intelligence (SQ).
You can further enhance these intelligences by assuming the following:
(Directly lifted from the book)
1. For the body—assume you’ve had a heart attack; now live accordingly.
2. For the mind—assume the half-life of your profession is two years; now prepare accordingly.
3. For the heart—assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak
accordingly.
4. For the spirit—assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live
accordingly.
Express Your Voice—Vision, Discipline, Passion and Conscience
1. Vision (mental) – You should be able to see the potential for improvement of yourself, others;
the potential for success of every endeavor, task, project and enterprise.
2. Discipline (physical) – You should commitment yourself to transforming visions to tangible
realities.
3. Passion (emotional) – You should desire constantly to bring those visions to realities.
4. Conscience (spiritual) – You should take hold of the moral compass that points to what is right
or wrong.
If you have achieved these four prerequisites, you are assured that you have consciously found
your voice.
INSPIRE OTHERS TO FIND THEIR VOICE
Inspiring Others to Find Their Voice—he Leadership Challenge
Leadership is striving to help others realize their potentials until they themselves see them
without your usual prodding. The leader tries to bring out the best in every individual.
Management and/or Leadership
Both are essential requisites for an organization to function properly. One cannot be solely
employed in the absence of the other. But these two concepts are not interchangeable; they have
their respective jurisdiction.
Leading is the process of helping people to realize his capacity by empowerment. Managing is
the process of organizing.
In a nut shell, a leader leads people while he manages things.
Chronic and Acute Problems
There are two kinds of problems people often face—the chronic and the acute. This can be said
also of the organization. An organization also faces chronic and acute problems.
With the body, the chronic problem is no discipline in organizational structure while the acute
problem is employees, marketplace and suppliers are misaligned. With the mind, the chronic
problem is there is no uniform vision while the acute problem is employees become selfish by
working for themselves, taking no heed of other’s or the organization’s welfare. With the heart,
the chronic is employees are disempowered while the acute is there arise fear, anxiety, and
disinterest in work. Finally, with the spirit, the chronic problem is there is low or no trust
exhibited in the organization while the acute problem is people tend to backbiting, withholding
of information and fighting among themselves.
Leadership Response
(Direct quotation from the book of Four Roles of Leadership)
1. Modeling (conscience): Set a good example.
2. Pathfinding (vision): Jointly determine the course.
3. Aligning (discipline): Set up and manage systems to stay on course.
4. Empowering (passion): Focus talent on results, not methods, then get out of people’s way and
give help as requested.
FOCUS—MODELING AND PATHFINDING
The Voice of Influence—Be a Trim-Tab
Modeling is the center of any leadership method. Modeling is a collective endeavor and not an
individual task. It is involvement that characterizes modeling.
A Trim-Tab
A trim-tab is the small rudder that turns the big one. It is what makes it easier to turn the big
rudder.
To a trim-tab, one must try to widen his or her influence, no matter has small this initial
influence. However, caution is an essential ingredient when initiating to avoid hurting other
people.
Levels of initiative:
1. Wait until told.
2. Ask.
3. Make a recommendation.
4. “I intend to.”
5. Do it and report immediately.
6. Do it and report periodically.
7. Do it.
The Voice of Trustworthiness—Modeling Character and Competence
A leader should be knowledgeable to successfully lead. A leader who is perceived to be
incompetent and not trusted by his subordinates is not a good leader. Being trusted is important.
Personal Trustworthiness
(Quoted)
1. Integrity means you are integrated around principles and natural laws that ultimately govern
the consequences of our behavior.
2. Maturity develops when a person pays the price of integrity and winning the private victory
over self, allowing him or her to be simultaneously courageous and kind.
3. Abundance Mentality means that rather than seeing life as a competition with only one winner,
you see it as a cornucopia of ever enlarging opportunity, resources and wealth.
Three Aspects of Competence
(Quoted)
1. Technical competence is the skill and knowledge necessary to accomplish a particular task.
2. Conceptual knowledge is being able to see the big picture, how all parts relate to one another.
3. Interdependency is an awareness of the reality that all of life is connected.
Modeling Is Living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
1. Habit 1—Be Proactive.
2. Habit 2—Begin with the End in Mind.
3. Habit 3—Put First Things First.
4. Habit 4—Think Win-Win.
5. Habit 5—Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.
6. Habit 6—Synergize.
7. Habit 7—Sharpen the Saw.
The Voice of Speed and Trust
You need to form strong relationship in order to inspire others to find their voice. If you are
trusted, you will be able to easily communicate with them.
Moral Authority and the Speed of Trust
The table below is called the Emotional Bank Account.
Moral Authority and the Speed of Trust
DEPOSITS WITHDRAWALS SACRIFICE
REQUIRED
INTERNALIZED
PRINCIPLES
Seek first to
understand
Seek first to be
understood
Impatience, Ego,
Your Agenda
Mutual Understanding
Keeping promises Breaking promises Moods, Feelings,
Emotions, Time
Integrity/Execution
Honesty, openness Smooth manipulation Ego, Arrogance,
Control
Vision/Values,
Integrity/Execution
Mutual Understanding
Kindness, courtesies Unkindness,
discourtesies
Self, Time,
Perceptions,
Stereotypes,
Prejudices
Vision/Values
Integrity/Execution
Win-Win or No Deal Win-Lose or Lose-Win “Winning means to Mutual
thinking thinking beat,”
Competitiveness
Respect/Benefit
Clarifying
expectations
Violating expectations Kiss-up style
communication
Mutual
Respect/Benefit
Mutual Understanding
Creative
Cooperation/Renewal
Loyalty to the absent Disloyalty, duplicity Some social
acceptance,
Heart Massage
Vision/Values,
Integrity/Execution
Apologies Pride, conceit,
arrogance
Ego, Arrogance,
Pride, Time
Vision/Values,
Integrity/Execution
Receiving feedback
and giving “I”
message
Not receiving
feedback and giving
“You” messages
Ego, Arrogance, Pride
Reactive
Communication
Mutual Understanding
Forgiveness Holding grudges Pride, Self-
Centeredness
Vision/Values,
Integrity/Execution
BLENDING VOICES—SEARCHING FOR THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE
The third alternative embodies the win-win mindset. Both parties involved may not need think of
win-win. Only one may be needed to think of such, then it should listen attentively until it wins
the trust of the other.
The Skill-Set of Searching for the Third Alternative
Communication may be the most important skill ever engendered by mankind. It can be broken
down into four categories—reading, writing, speaking and listening. Forty to fifty percent of the
communication time is used by listening. Below are the five levels of listening.
1. Ignoring.
2. Pretend listening (Patronizing).
3. Selective listening.
4. Attentive listening.
5. Empathic listening.
The Two Steps to Searching for a Third Alternative
1. You should be ready to find a better solution than what is proposed.
2. Ground Rule: Listen first before you make your point.
ONE VOICE—PATHFINDING SHARED VISION, VALUES AND STRATEGY
This book is a confluence of attitude, skill and knowledge. To be an effective leader, you need to
lead people by example.
In order to grasp the fullness of pathfinding, there are four realities to consider.
The four realities
1. Market Realities.
2. Core Competencies.
3. Stakeholder Wants and Needs.
4. Values.
The Pathfinding (Focus) Tools—the Mission Statement and Strategic Plan
Create a mission statement through group interaction that will serve as your road map. You need
also to provide value to your customers and stakeholders; this is your strategic plan.
EXECUTION—ALIGNING AND EMPOWERING
The Voice and Discipline of Execution—Aligning Goals and Systems for Results
An organization should exhibit competence and character to be trusted. At this stage, discipline
is required to align structures, systems, processes, and culture to be able to realize the vision.
Aligning is the process of constantly changing and watching. Systems must be changed to
address the pressing needs of the moment, but changes must also be based on universal
principles that are held to be constant and unchanging.
The Empowering Voice—Releasing Passion and Talent
Empowerment, as the end-product of organizational and personal trustworthiness, permits people
to manage and take control of their own lives and chosen professions. When people are
empowered, the leader should learn to relinquish a part of his authority in order to allow his
subordinates to express their capabilities, giving them the liberty to decide on their own but also
making them realize that their decision will directly affect them.
Empowerment and performance appraisal
1. How is it going?
2. How are you learning?
3. What are your goals?
4. How can I help you?
5. How am I doing as a helper?
THE AGE OF WISDOM
THE EIGHT HABIT AND THE SWEET SPOT
The 8th Habit teaches you to unleash your potential and influence those around you to do the
same.
You must remember the following:
1. Without expecting it, modeling inspires trust.
2. Without demanding it, pathfinding creates order.
3. Institutionalized authority is produced through aligning.
4. Without external motivation, empowering unleashes human potential.
Modeling and pathfinding give you concentration while aligning and empowering make things
possible.
Six-Core Drivers to Execution
1. Clarity.
2. Commitment.
3. Translation.
4. Enabling.
5. Synergy.
6. Accountability.
The Four Disciplines of Execution
1. Focus on the Wildly Important.
2. Create a Compelling Scoreboard.
3. Translate Lofty Goals into Specific Actions.
4. Hold Each Other Accountable—All the Time.
Find you voice and inspire others to find theirs.
STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES of the BOOK
Strengths
It aids people to equip themselves to be successful.
Contained good tips and new representation and didn’t deliver on its perceived promise
Stresses the important of your voice in your career.
The stories cited in the books help you motivate you to seek your instead of listening the
clamouring of others.
Weaknesses
The book contains some terminologies that are harder to understand.
It is much less intuitive than his previous book.
It doesn’t measure up to quality of covey’s original work.
It reads more as an encyclopaedia of covey’s work rather than the intuitive flow of
attribute that make a person great.
Conclusion
The book concludes as it reveals to us that this is a guide book that practical teaches,
enlighten, and inspire us in a setting that seems to represents the reality of the world dealings.
This book is written especially for the leaders for them to have a better understanding of human
behaviors and other aspects in terms of human nature in the new age. As cited in the book this
written masterpiece of Covey enable to help people in the society to be competitive enough and
even to handle effectively the issues that they deal with especially dealing with their own issues
and along with other people. This book springs from the concluding stage of the 7th habit; from
effectiveness into greatness. The 8th habit has the potential to transform the thinking about
oneself, about purpose in life, about the organizations where someone is in and about humankind
in general.
The book taught us that the great leadership starts on the upper management and built in
integrity and trust with each other. Moreover, the realization that is the great leaders don’t just
wait for a change rather they are the initiator of change in the society where they belong. They
change beginning with themselves through learning and improving the talents, skills and gifts
that they have. They use such potentials for them to change, to change something in their desired
work and to initiate change among others. “The visionary leader thinks big, thinks new, thinks
ahead – and most important, is in touch with the deep structure of human consciousness and
creative potential” (Covey, 2004, p. 67). These are the types of leaders that find and express their
voice.
Lessons learned
The book 8th habit from effectiveness to greatness enables to feed us the importance of shared
mission and vision statement, strategies, scoreboards, modeling, path finding, empowering, and
aligning by exercising vision, passion, and discipline through the conscience. Furthermore,
provided us the understanding on how organizations operate as interconnected realities based on
the perceptions of the people who set them up as systems and structures. This student realizes
how important it is to create structure and a culture of trust within the organization. This student
has a greater appreciation of the psyche of the individual, being heart, mind, and body and at its
center the spirit. We realized the essence of culture and trust that is being built within an
organization. We had a greater appreciation of the psyche of the individual, being heart, mind,
and body and at its center the spirit. Also, the learning on a true leader’s characteristics that
inspiring, encouraging, able to help and support their subordinates. Along to leading their
subordinates is the consideration that is no to over-manage and under lead. And lastly, we this
student have come to understand what life’s purpose and meaning is as Stephen Covey related in
the 8th habit; life is short, we are here to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy.
EVALUATION
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, we rated the book 8. We rated the book based on its
strengths and weakness that were specified earlier; and based on the lessons we learned as
readers.
Would you recommend it to your friends to read?
The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness, authored by Stephen Covey, mainly
tackled about discovering more potential within ourselves in response to the changing
environment accompanied with more challenges and complexity.
The book discussed about finding your voice and letting others to find theirs. Finding our
voice comes with being committed to whatever we are about to do and what we love doing.
Through this, we will be able to find out the inner talent and passion that we have and develop it
as well. It is also about knowing what is right and doing things accordingly. In this case, this part
tells us that we should be able to build up our well-being.
Finding our voice includes developing the four intelligences. This will let us be guided
about the things that we do. Nowadays, it can be seen that many people have not yet found their
real voice of have lost it due to some instances. Reading this book will encourage us and let us
know the essence of finding our voice.
On the other hand, Covey also discussed about helping other to find their voice. This is
initiated when you have already found your voice and you already have the knowledge and
ability to inspire and influence others to find theirs. This can be done through extending to them
the soul of finding their voice. Implementing the 8th habit comes with knowing the 7 habits by
heart.
In general, the 8th Habit of Stephen Covey is a good material to read for it guides us for
out self development and betterment. By reading this book, it will motivate us to strive for the
better, or better say for the best, and making the most out of what we really have within. We can
also instigate others to do the same and thorough this, we can attain a better environment for us
to live for.