7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey
3 founder lessons from 7 habits of highly effective people…
You’ve probably at least heard of the book by Stephen Covey . It sold 25 million copies. The original seven habits are: Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, Synergize, Sharpen the Saw
Rather than summarize each habit, here are three ways to readily apply them for you, the founder
1. Try the funeral test
In the habit of “Begin with the End in Mind” Covey issues a warning that plowing away and getting a massive amount of tasks done is only useful when you’re running in the right direction. Otherwise, weeks, months, and years will pass, and you may be in a place that you never wanted to be in the first place. As founders, when coming up with a startup idea or company mission, think about the funeral test. Ask yourself:
What do I want people to say about me at my funeral?
What sort of person do I want to be remembered as?
What do I want to be remembered for?
2: Say two No’s, for every Yes
As founders, we want to do everything. Launch every product, try every feature, and seize every market. However, knowing exactly where you want to go makes it easy to find out what’s important to you and what's not. You’ll often find that important things aren’t urgent, and urgent things aren't important. That means most things don’t deserve to be done at all. To all those things, you’ll eventually have to say no. It’s not easy, especially if money is involved. But, as Covey says: “Put First Things First.”
3. Practice active listening.
Entrepreneurs are eager to hop on the phone and start selling. But rather than start a call by saying "This is what we do", ask, "What problems are you having?" This completely changes the dynamic of the chat. That's why it's so important to “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood”. But how do you do this in practice? Here’s an easy 3-part approach:
You’re listening to understand the person you’re listening to, not primarily to give advice or respond.
You make sure you understand by repeating back to them what they said and mirroring their emotions.
You help them structure their own thought process.
