|
The purpose of this
excerpt is to either promote reading of this book or to gain
insights. My intention is to publish one excerpt weekly, per
chapter, until we have completed the book.
I invite your participation
and solicit your help in making this endeavor a success for
each participant and our organization.
Chapter One: The
Pain
Covey initiated this
new work with a chapter titled: The Pain. He provides several
personalized statements representing people who are frustrated
with their work, their relationships, or life in general.
He recognizes that some people are energized and engaged in
their work and personal lives but the vast majority are not.
I have heard it said
that we embrace change when the pain of staying where we are
becomes greater than the pain associated with making the change.
I guess this would be similar to putting it off as long as
we can. However, wisdom tells us to live life, work, play,
whatever we do, on purpose rather than as a last resort.
Why do we need an 8th
Habit? The author stresses the dynamic change our world has
undergone since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He talks
and will continue to talk about the Knowledge Worker Age.
I will again draw from
my memory a statement: When the paradigm shifts, everyone
returns to zero. I think this is saying that the advantage
we gained in the industrial age may be irrelevant in the knowledge
worker age. There is now a new paradigm—a new set of
rules.
The purpose of the 8th habit is to find your voice and to
help others find theirs. Covey says this is the voice of the
human spirit—full of hope and intelligence, resilient
by nature, boundless in its potential to serve the common
good.
He also describes voice
unique personal significance. This voice lies at the nexus
of talent (your natural gifts and strengths), passion (those
things that naturally energize, excite, motivate and inspire
you), need (including what the world needs enough to pay you
for), and conscience (that still, small voice within that
assures you of what is right and prompts you to actually do
it).
Zak bought me a biography
of Mother Teresa for Christmas and it contained this report
of decisions made in her younger years: At the age of twelve
she sought guidance as to how she would know which vocation
was right for her. She was told; If she felt joy, that was
the compass pointing her toward her true direction in life.
She found joy in service and devoted more than fifty years
to her mission.
When I read this, it
seems to coincide with what I had read in the 8th Habit.
From what I have read
of her, it was clear that Mother Teresa found joy in her life’s
work. In contrast, many have served faithfully in some task
but without the joy.
This chapter offers
an excellent story of an Indian banker who united his passion
for banking with a great need in his country. Read this story
on pages 6-8 if you read nothing else in the chapter.
A breakthrough is what
we all seek. Covey explains that most breakthroughs result
in breaking away from old ways of thinking. Einstein said:
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at
the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
Our purpose in providing
this book and promoting a study of it is two-fold or greater.
We want each person to experience success and find their voice
in their personal life as well as their work life. In fact,
the two cannot be separated—one effects the other. When
we accomplish success in our personal lives, we are more likely
to find our voice within the organization. We must also structure
the organization in such a way as to promote the whole person
rather than resort to what Covey refers to as “Jackass
theory” where the carrot and the stick are used to motivate.
Application: In an
effort to internalize this information, join me in contemplating;
your talents, your passion, the apparent needs, and test your
conscience on the matter. Do this first in regard to your
role in this organization. Next, repeat the exercise in regard
to your family or personal life.
Please share any insights
or questions you have with me and I will attempt to incorporate
them into these study guides. Peace!
Chapter Two: The
Problem
Peter Drucker said:
“In a few hundred years, when the history of our time
is written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that
the most important event those historians will see is not
technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented
change in the human condition. For the first time—literally—substantial
and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the
first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society
is totally unprepared for it.”
Covey outlines the
progression of human work over the past centuries from hunter/gather
to farmer, from farmer to factory worker, from factory worker
to knowledge worker. Each transition has increased the productivity
of the worker but it did not come without some pain.
Each shift in labor
focus was accompanied by downsizing of the previous age. Current
statistics reveal that only 3% of Americans are farmers. Covey
predicts that a similar decline in industrial workers has
already begun.
Each new age requires
a new mind set, skill set, tool set, and those who refuse
to learn or conform are usually left behind. The main assets
of the Industrial age were machines and equipment. People
were needed but were replaceable. People were needed primarily
for manual labor.
The management practices
born from this age treated people as if they were things that
were expendable. The Carrot (reward) and Stick (fear and punishment)
philosophy seemed to work well in industrial settings. These
practices and conditions were allowed to exist because demand
continually exceeded supply.
We are now well into
the Information age and many managers are still applying the
Industrial age model of management. However, when people are
treated like things today the result is low trust, litigation,
and high unionization. Covey asserts that it also leads to
demoralization of the workers and submission to bad leadership
which results in inefficiency and a very poor work environment
that fails to capitalize on the individual potential of workers.
The little story of Max and Max on the DVD says it all.
The Whole Person Paradigm:
Two very poignant quotes are provided to kick off this section:
“Most ailing organizations have developed a functional
blindness to their own defects. They are not suffering because
they cannot resolve their problems, but because they cannot
see their problems.”
“The
significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same
level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
The first quote was from John Gardner and the second from
Albert Einstein. The reader should note that these conditions
can apply to families or human relations the same as with
organizations.
The practice of Bloodletting
was common at the time our nation was founded. In fact, many
believe the death of our first President, George Washington,
was the result of Bloodletting rather than pneumonia. The
belief behind that paradigm was that the blood was bad or
bore a bad agent and we could rid our selves of the illness
by getting rid of the blood.
The development and
discovery of germ theory came later and completely shifted
this paradigm. However, I am sure that many held fast to the
old paradigm as long as they could. They probably ran out
of patients.
The idea of a whole
person paradigm differs from the carrot and stick philosophy
as much as does Bloodletting and Germ Theory. The foundational
fact to this paradigm is that people are not things that need
to be controlled and motivated. Covey says they are four dimensional:
body, mind, heart, and spirit. He also holds that we all have
an innate desire to live, love, learn, and leave a legacy.
He summarizes, the
whole person paradigm of management should provide each person
with fair pay, kind treatment, opportunities to be creative,
and opportunities to serve human needs in a principled way.
The problem and the
solution to the problem lie in our paradigm of human nature.
Our paradigms are very real to us and they are very powerful
in that they drive all of our actions. It is futile to attempt
changes in behavior without testing or changing our paradigms.
Reading books like this
and introspectively evaluating our own lives and our paradigms
are a step in the right direction. A good question to always
ask ourselves when evaluating our paradigms is: “Am
I clearly seeing this problem as it is?
Chapter Three: The
Solution
“There is nothing
so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” Victor
Hugo
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil
to one who is striking at the root.” Henry Thoreau
The solution lies in striking at the root of the significant
problems we face. Stephen Covey outlined the problem as being
deeply embedded paradigms or traditions in the workplace.
We have some deeply embedded traditions in the school system
that have their root in the industrial age. In fact, our whole
system of education reflects the principles of the industrial
model.
It is time for organizational
change! Our organization, as are others, is perfectly aligned
to get the results we are getting. We must also realized that
change comes one person at a time from the inside-out rather
than from the outside-in.
Our organization is
comprised of people. We must help each one recognize and realize
their talents and develop a vision for what they can accomplish.
This will be referred to as “helping them find their
voice.” After finding our voice, hopefully, we will
choose to help others find their voice.
Everyone will recognize
the following excerpt from a Robert Frost poem:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Covey advocates that
there are two roads in life which force us all to choose.
One is the broad, well-traveled road to mediocrity. The other,
less traveled road, leads to greatness and meaning. The following
paragraph comes directly from the book:
“The
path to mediocrity straitjackets human potential. The path
to greatness unleashes and realizes human potential. The path
to mediocrity is the quick-fix, short-cut approach to life.
The path to greatness is a process of sequential growth from
the inside-out. Travelers on the lower path to mediocrity
live out the cultural “software” of ego, indulgence,
scarcity, comparison, competitiveness and victimism. Travelers
on the upper path to greatness rise above negative cultural
influences and choose to become the creative force of their
lives. One word expresses the pathway to greatness—Voice.
Those on this path find their voice and inspire others to
find theirs. The rest never do.”
Covey strongly advocates
that there is within each one of us a desire to live a life
of greatness and contribution. He shares a story on pages
28 & 29 where a dying father tells his son: “Son,
don’t do life like I did. I didn’t do right by
you or by your mother and never really made a difference.
Son, promise me you won’t do life like I did.”
The son was inspired and changed by his father’s words
and resolved to make a difference in every area of his life.
If you are feeling
trapped or limited by someone or circumstances you should
probably review the description of the two roads outlined
in the opposite column. The road to mediocrity allows you
to be a victim or blame someone else for all your shortcomings.
Or, you may have a scarcity mentality which assures you that
it can’t happen to you because someone else has already
taken the place meant for you.
The greatness we talk
about can be revealed in a broad variety of ways. Examples
could range from finding a cure for cancer to making the difference
in the life of one child or your own home. It is never too
late to find our voice.
Making a conscious
choice to expand our influence or increase our contribution
may lead to inspiring others to find their voice. To inspire,
means to breathe life into another. One way to do that is
to teach or share this material with a friend or family member.
This will increase our learning and expand the benefit as
we include others in the circle of learning.
Many have asked what
the 8th habit is and why we need it. We have covered one of
the definition in this flyer; to find your voice and to help
others find theirs. Many have said that this sounds like the
private victory and the public victory and I agree. The second
definition of the 8th Habit is execution. “To know and
not to do, is really not to know.” It doesn’t
do any good to talk, read, or write about this type of material
if we are not applying it. My hope is that we begin to internalize
these principles in both our personal and organizational lives.
“Self-knowledge
is best learned, not by contemplation, but by action. Strive
to do your duty and you will soon discover of what stuff you
are made.” Johann Goethe
Chapter Four: Discover
Your Voice: Unopened Birth Gifts
Do you have any gifts
or presents that you have not opened? Probably not. This article
is about gifts, or unrealized potential, that we have yet
to break out of the wrapper.
The first gift is our
freedom and power to choose. Unveiling this gift has the potential
to change your life and it is right there in front of everyone
waiting to be used.
“This
power and freedom stand in stark contrast to the mind-set
of victimism and culture of blame so prevalent in society
today.” We are a product of choice, not our genetics,
or our upbringing, or our environment. All of these things
have powerful influence but they do not determine. Our choices
determine our destiny.
The history of free
man is never written by chance but by choice—their choice.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
The freedom to choose
is a human quality. Animals react, robots react, but humans
choose. This innate quality allows us to re-invent ourselves
and ultimately have an influence on others and the rest of
the world.
“This
power of choice means that we are not merely a product of
our past or our genes; we are not a product of how other people
treat us. If we have given away our present to the past, do
we need to give away our future also?”
Between stimulus and
response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom
and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our
growth and our happiness.
The size of this space
is largely determined by our genetic or biological inheritance
and by our upbringing and present circumstances. It also grows
and becomes more obvious with use. Your awareness of this
space from reading this article will eliminate most of the
excuses you currently are using and that will probably upset
you—it does me.
When we gripe, complain,
criticize, and wallow in victimism, we actually forfeit this
gift or our human qualities and become animal in nature. Awareness
of this untapped potential can excite a sense of possibility
that we could not see before.
The range of what we
think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because
we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little
we can do to change; until we notice how failing to notice
shapes our thoughts and deeds.
Recognizing the freedom
and power to choose not only effects us but those around us.
One father recognized with a National Fatherhood Award exemplified
everything we said so far when he said this: “I never
knew my father; my father never knew his father; but my son
knows his father.”
This shifts our focus
from those things we can do nothing about to those things
about which we can do something. In so doing, we take control
of our lives and assume responsibility by making choices and
we stop complaining about the boss or about our spouse.
The second gift is
natural laws or principles. Einstein saw the needle of a compass
at age four and he always understood that there had to be
“something behind things, something deeply hidden.”
Principles are universal, they transcend culture and geography,
they’re timeless and they never change.
Examples of principles
that govern human relations are; fairness, kindness, respect,
honesty, integrity, service, contribution, etc. You can never
have enduring trust in a relationship without trustworthiness.
Values are not principles.
We select values. Thieves have values but their values are
not based on principles. Here is the best example I have ever
heard in this regard. Vertigo is a situation that can occur
when flying an airplane and you are totally lost and lose
all sense of reference to the ground. “Many people walk
through life with vertigo or moral mushiness.” They
base their values on social acceptance or popularity or something
other than principles.
The value in recognizing
this gift comes in the realization of true north and how to
base choices on principles whereby we may achieve an end more
to our liking.
We can choose our actions
but we cannot choose the consequences of those actions. The
consequences will be determined by principles.
You should watch the
video clip on Law of the Harvest. It teaches a powerful lesson
on the role of principles in nature.
Chapter Five
I believe this is the
best package of wisdom that I have run onto in a while. I
also believe that the applications of this wisdom are limitless.
This article will feature
manifestation of the four human intelligences; mental, physical,
emotional, and spiritual and how they relate and compliment
each other.
The mental intelligence
is manifested as Vision. “Vision is seeing with the
mind’s eye what is possible in people, in projects,
and in enterprises. Vision results when our mind joins need
with possibility.” The following quote from William
Blake is a great one to wake us up to the power and relevance
of vision; “What is now proved was once only imagined.”
Without vision, we walk the lower road of victimism and fail
to find our voice.
All things are created
twice. The first creation is the mental creation and it is
an essential prelude to the second step or physical creation.
With people, the most important vision is the one of self,
our destiny, our sense of purpose. We all need to test our
personal vision to see if it includes our voice, our talents,
and our energy. Is it compelling, a calling, or worthy of
my commitment?
“Vision
is about more than just getting things done” or accomplishing
some task. “It is about discovering and expanding our
view of others, affirming them, believing in them, and helping
them discover and realize the potential within them—helping
them find their own voice.”
Discipline is necessary
to translate vision into reality. Stephen Covey says, “Discipline
arises when vision joins with commitment.” The flip
side of discipline is indulgence and I could write a book
on that topic. Indulgence is letting other things get ahead
of what matters most in the pursuit of pleasure or some immediate
gratification.
Discipline is necessary
for the second creation to occur. Someone said, Vision or
dreams that do not translate into action are hallucinations.
There is a lot to be said on this subject and the following
quote from former UN leader Dag Hammarskjold says it well:
“When the morning’s freshness has been replaced
by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles quiver under
the strain, the climb seems endless, and, suddenly, nothing
will go quite as you wish—it is then that you must not
hesitate.”
“Passion
is the fire, the desire, the strength of conviction and the
drive that sustains the discipline to achieve the vision.
Passion arises when human need overlaps unique human talent.”
The following words a very poignantly crafted so I will quote
directly from the book: “When one does not have the
passion that flows from finding and using one’s voice
to serve great purposes, the void is filled with insecurity
and the empty chatter of a thousand voices that drive the
social mirror.” The social mirror is the reflection
or perception of ourselves that we get from those around us—what
they think we are—rather than who we really and truly
are. Without passion, we take another detour to the lower
road and fail to realize our potential—our voice.
Aristotle, the ancient
Greek, said, “Where talents and the needs of the world
cross, therein lies your vocation.” There lies our passion,
our voice, the energy for life and that which drives us to
excel and keeps us at it when everything else says quit.
Conscience represents
the spiritual intelligence. It is the inward moral sense of
what is right and wrong. “It is the guiding force to
vision, discipline, and passion.” Someone may have vision,
discipline, and passion but without conscience they may be
an Adolph Hitler or a Sadaam Hussein. The flip side of conscience
is a life dominated by ego. “When conscience governs
vision, discipline, and passion, leadership endures and changes
the world for good.”
Or, “moral authority
makes formal authority work.” Formal authority without
moral authority fails and does not produce enduring organizations
or lasting change.
“Conscience
is the still, small voice within. It is peaceful and quiet.
Ego is tyrannical, despotic and dictatorial. Ego focuses on
one’s own survival, pleasure and enhancement to the
exclusion of others and is selfishly ambitious.”
“Conscience
is sacrifice—the subordinating of one’s self or
one’s ego to a higher purpose, cause or principle. However,
this sacrifice is giving up something for something better—it
is only sacrifice to the observer.
“A new philosophy,
a new way of life, is not given for nothing. It has to be
paid dearly for and only acquired with much patience and great
effort.” Fyodor Dostoevsky
|
