As I wrote out the 2012 year end note I forgot one of the biggest losses – Stephen Covey. Stephen Covey brought back the character ethic, that was forgotten in the wake of the personality ethic that Dale Carnegie and his kind promoted. Basically, the difference being outward cosmetic changes won’t work, as long as there is no internal re-engineering !
Three of Stephen Covey’s books should be made bibles for all entering adulthood – Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Principle Centered Leadership and First Things First. Gift it to your children as they step out of troubled teens and enter college and insist they read them. They will certainly help them find their way in the maze of career options and life options …. Build their character and not let them look for shortcuts.
Krishnan and I first read Seven Habits way back in 1992 and we infact had a study circle in Chennai with some of our close friends to read the book together. We both have gone back to these books several times as we faced situations at work or in life. “Be Proactive”, “Begin with the end in mind”, “put first things first”, “think win-win”, “seek first to understand than to be understood”, “synergize”, “sharpen the saw” – the seven habits … If you notice the whole world suddenly became abuzz with the words “proactive”, “think win-win” and “synergize”. He also introduced the paradigm shifting concept and that became a buzz word too. He groups these habits under “independence”, “interdependence” and “self renewal” – again all these became buzz words, sometimes understood, sometimes misunderstood 🙂
I guess I forgot to mention Stephen Covey’s loss last year because he is so alive through his books. What an enduring legacy.. Stephen, you certainly climbed the right ladder leaning on the right wall. God bless you and thank you.
Yes Bindu , his contribution has been amazing…. One of the most significant things I got to learn from that book is that between an action and your reaction there is a space … in which u decide how to react …. that decides lot of things … Probably u can word it better….:)
Hi Rose, wish you a very happy new year. Yeah the gap between stimulus and response – invaluable insight. I have written about it as part of some other topic, but I should write separately as well. It’s an interesting topic.