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Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey Quotes

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Famous Stephen Covey Quotes

“The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values - carefully thought about, selected and internalized values.”

PeoplePersonsFeelingsValuesAbilityVisionEnvironmentConditionsCircumstancesEssenceDrivenImpulseSubordinatesSelectedProactive7 Habits
Book:The Stephen R. Covey Interactive Reader - 4 Books in 1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and the Best of the Most Renowned Leadership Teacher of our Time
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“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

KnowsMindMeanEndsValuesUnderstandingVisionStepsClearDestinationWhere You AreRight Direction
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“In a very real sense, there are only two roles in organisations: customers and suppliers. Everybody functions simultaneously in both roles, whether inside or outside the organisation the essence of good business, therefore, is the quality of the relationship between customer and supplier.”

TwoRealQualityRolesEssenceFunctionCustomersOrganisationGood BusinessSuppliers
Book:The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
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“At the core, there is one simple, overarching reason why so many people remain unsatisfied in their work and why most organisations fail to draw out the greatest talent, ingenuity, and creativity of their people and never become truly great, enduring organisations. It stems from an incomplete paradigm of who we are - our fundamental view of human nature. The fundamental reality is, human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four-dimensional - body, mind, heart, and spirit.”

PeopleMindHumansHeartReasonBodyRealitySpiritHuman BeingsSimpleViewsCreativityFourFailingTalentHuman NatureDrawsFundamentalsEndureCoreReason WhyWho We AreControlledMotivatedStemParadigmIncompleteOrganisationIngenuityUnsatisfiedMind Heart
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Whatever your present situation, I assure you that you are not your habits. You can replace old patterns of self-defeating behavior with new patterns, new habits of the effectiveness, happiness and trust-based relationships.”

SelfSituationHabitBehaviorPatternsEffectivenessPresent SituationNew HabitsSelf Defeating Behavior
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Interactive Edition
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“We may find it convenient to live with the illusion that circumstances or other people are responsible for the quality of our lives, but the reality is that we are responsible-response-able-for our choices.”

PeopleMayRealityAbleChoicesQualityOur LivesCircumstancesIllusionResponsibleResponseConvenientOur Choices
Book:First Things First Every Day: Daily Reflections- Because Where You're Headed Is More Important Than How Fast You Get There
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“As a principle-centered person you try to stand apart from the emotion of the situation and from other factors that would act on you, and evaluate the options. Looking at the balanced whole-the work needs, the family needs, the other needs that may be involved, and the possible implications of the various alternatives - you'll try to come up with the best solution taking all factors into consideration. We are limited but we can push back the borders of our limitations.”

NeedsTryingMayPersonsWholeEmotionSituationFamilyPrinciplesBalanceInvolvedSolutionsCome UpVariousFactorsAlternativesLimitationBordersConsiderationBalancedImplicationsEvaluate
Author:Stephen Covey
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“If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.”

IfsFirstsImportantWould BeHealingPrinciplesFieldsCommunicationKeysConflictUnderstoodRelationSentencesI Have LearnedOne SentenceInterpersonalInterpersonal RelationshipInterpersonal Communication
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“When trust is high, the dividend you receive is like a performance multiplier, elevating and improving every dimension of your organization and your life.... In a company, high trust materially improves communication, collaboration, execution, innovation, strategy, engagement, partnering, and relationships with all stakeholders.”

LeadershipCompanyCommunicationConsciencePerformancesOrganizationInnovationStrategyDimensionsCollaborationEngagementExecutionImprovingDividendsElevatingStakeholderPartnering
Book:The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
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“Our struggle to put first things first can be characterized by the contrast between two powerful tools that direct us: the clock and the compass. The clock represents our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, activities - what we do with, and how we manage our time. The compass represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction - what we feel is important and how we lead our lives. In an effort to close the gap between the clock and the compass in our lives, many of us turn to the field of "time management."”

FeelsFirstsTwoImportantValuesTurnsGoalPowerfulEffortVisionPrinciplesStruggleOur LivesFieldsActivityConscienceCommitmentToolsDirectManagementMissionsManageClockOur TimeGapsTime ManagementContrastSchedulesCompassAppointmentsLife StruggleFirst Things FirstPut First Things First
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things.”

LearningManagementPrioritiesFasterRight ThingProgrammingSubstitutesTime ManagementDoing The Right ThingComputer ProgrammingProgramming LanguagesComputer Language
Book:First Things First Every Day: Daily Reflections- Because Where You're Headed Is More Important Than How Fast You Get There
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“We develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and obstacles.”

CharacterChallengesOvercomingObstaclesMusclesOppositionLooking ForwardOvercoming AdversityOvercoming ChallengesLife ChallengesAdversity And CharacterOvercoming HardshipObstacles And ChallengesOvercome TrialsDaily Challenges
Book:First Things First Every Day: Daily Reflections- Because Where You're Headed Is More Important Than How Fast You Get There
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“All things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default.”

PeopleIfsWantFirstsDreamEffortCreationBuildingCircumstancesShapesConsciousAll ThingsWho You AreWhat You WantEmpoweringDefaultBlueprints
Author:Stephen Covey
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“The leader is the one who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the entire situation, and yells, 'Wrong jungle!' ... Busy, efficient producers and managers often respond ... 'Shut up! We're making progress!'”

SituationLeaderKnowledgeLearningProgressTreeManagementBusyProducersManagersClimbsEfficientShut UpJungleSurveys
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“Most people say their main fault is a lack of discipline. On deeper thought, I believe this is not the case. The basic problem is that their priorities have not become deeply planted in their hearts and minds.”

PeopleMindBelieveHeartProblemI BelieveLeadershipCasesDisciplineManagementFaultsDeeperPrioritiesTime ManagementHeart And MindPrioritize
Book:The Stephen R. Covey Interactive Reader - 4 Books in 1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and the Best of the Most Renowned Leadership Teacher of our Time
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“Many people think in terms of either/or: either you're nice or you're tough. Win-win requires that you be both. It is a balancing act between courage and consideration. To go for win-win, you not only have to be empathic, but you also have to be confident. You not only have to be considerate and sensitive, you also have to be brave. To do that-to achieve that balance between courage and consideration-is the essence of real maturity and is fundamental to win-win.”

PeopleThinkingRealWinningTermNiceAchieveBalanceToughEssenceFundamentalsBraveMaturitySensitiveConsiderationBe BraveBe ConfidentConsiderateWin WinEither OrBe ConsiderateBalancing Act
Author:Stephen Covey
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