Reference no: EM133723584

Homework: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Book Report

We have looked at the seven habits one at a time and done some exercises looking at how they can be applied. We've seen how these ideas and techniques can be applied in both a professional (or working environment) setting as well as to your personal life, family life, clubs, and other organizations not necessarily related to employment. Now it is time to step back and look at the entire system and the book as a whole. The book itself has a section towards the end that summarizes 21 key practices that summarize the system.

Private Victory

Habit 1:

a. Pause and respond based on principles and desired results.
b. Use proactive language.
c. Focus on your Circle of Influence.
d. Become a Transition Person.

Habit 2:

a. Define outcomes before you act.
b. Create and live by a personal mission statement.

Habit 3:

a. Focus on your highest priorities.
b. Eliminate the unimportant.
c. Plan every week.
d. Stay true in the moment of choice.

Public Victory

a. Build your Emotional Bank Account with others.

Habit 4:

a. Have an Abundance Mentality.
b. Balance courage and consideration.
c. Consider other people's wins as well as your own.
d. Create Win-Win agreements.

Habit 5:

a. Practice Empathic Listening.
b. Respectfully seek to be understood.

Habit 6:

a. Value differences.
b. Seek 3rd Alternatives.

Habit 7:

a. Achieve the Daily Private Victory.
b. Balance production and production capability.

It is unrealistic to review and comment on all 21 of these key practices for the purposes of this class within a reasonable timeframe. Yet, at this point they should all have contributed something to your overall perspective in some fashion or another. Some of you went into your current studies straight out of high school. Some of you have been out working in industry for five, ten, or even twenty years and have made the choice to continue your education for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the path that got you to this point, consider what your mindset was five or ten years ago. What was the focus of your life? How much has actually transpired since then? How much differently do you think and act now versus then? How much more experience and insight do you have now as compared to then? How much is still fundamentally the same?

You have been presented with additional techniques, tools, advice, and insights from this book. I would imagine some of it you may agree with and some of it you may not agree with. Some parts resonated with you, while other parts maybe didn't seem to fit at all. So look at how much you've changed in the last five or ten years. And if you don't think you've changed then you are clearly desiring change of some kind, otherwise you wouldn't be pursuing a degree and be in this class.

Therefore, your book review homework is to select a minimum of four of these key practices that you agree with the most and explain how you can use them to bring about an equal or greater amount of change in your professional development in the next five or ten years as you've seen in yourself in the last five or ten years. The difference is that now you have more knowledge and tools to help you accomplish the change you want. There is passion in every single one of you, so how are you going to use that passion and your new knowledge to intentionally create the workplace environment and career that you want? What change do want to create in your professional life in the next five years and how can you use the 7 Habits and these 21 key practices to intentionally bring about that change?

This book review discussion should be a minimum of 1200 words in length. Make it clear in your writing which habits and key practices you are discussing.