EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR'S
REPORT
Seven Habits... By William A. Martin
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a popular book by Dr. Stephen R. Covey. The National Association of Bar Executives at its August meeting had a speaker from the Covey Leadership Center, Todd King. He not only gave us a quick tour of the seven good habits but went beyond the book and contrasted them with seven habits of ineffective people. Both are worth thinking about and the following table gives us some reference points. INEFFECTIVt HABITS
- Be reacti ve -Wander - Do the urgent first -Think only of winning - Try to get own ideas accepted -Compromise - Fear Change EFFECTIVE HABITS
- 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 The balance of this column is my summary of a few of the highlights from Todd King's presentation. I hope to whet your appetite to think on these matters and perhaps read Convey's book. Adopting and building these habits can make us better people and better lawyers. These habits develop somewhat in
sequence. ineffective people start from a position of dependence and continue to depend on other people for how they feel about themselves. The ineffective habits reflect immaturity and lead people from dependence to counter dependence to codependence. Effective habits also start with dependence but they reflect maturity and lead to self confidence and independence and then lead on to interdependence and effective working relationships. One of the big differences starting out is the reactive person responds to a stimulus at once and with little thought. The proactive person who perceives a stimulus has the self confidence to make a choice based on values and then respond in accordance with a sense of direction that comes from having developed principles and goals. An effective person has the results desired-the destination-in mind from the start. The ineffective person is inclined to wander as in the old saying: "If you don't know where you are going any road will get you there." The tyranny of the urgent is often the enemy of accomplishing important things. We tend to do tasks which have deadlines attached and may never get to important tasks that seem less urgent but in the big picture return far greater benefits. King commented: "Successful people have a habit of doing things unsuccessful people do not like to do. " Another old saying is: "There is no limit to what someone can accomplish if he or she does not care who gets the credit. " Most human interactions involve
situations in which each party can benefit-win/win. It is based on the idea there is plenty for everyone. This frame of mind and heart is conducive to on going, long term coopera ti ve relationships. It is an approach which can enable us to settle cases. Empathic listening-really trying to understand where the other person is coming from is the beginning of effective communication. Often we are so busy thinking how we want to reply that we fail to receive the message being sent. When we truly understand the other person's point of view, needs, and interests we can adapt to them and make our message responsive and more likely to be appropriate and understood. The exercise of the good habits just described puts us in a position to put everything together to create synergymaking the whole greater than the sum of the parts. It may sound illogical, but putting good things together can release creative energy and produce results far beller that logic says is possible. "Sharpen the saw" is a way of telling us we cannot sit back and relax if we develop the six habits just discussed. Like a saw that cuts wood we will get dull if we do not go through a sharpening-a renewal- process. We must exercise the physical, mental, spiritual and social/emotional dimensions of our nature to continue to be highly effective persons. Then we can live confidently and effectively and meet the challenges each day brings.
39 ARKANSAS LAWYER
FALL 1994