Page 63 - stephen covey The seven habits of highly effective people

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE Brought to you by FlyHeart

You can make some points with the boss and further your career. You may give yourself a pat on the
back for putting hours well beyond what is required, evidence of what a hard worker you are. Your
wife should be proud of you!
If you're possession-centered, you might be thinking of the things the overtime income could buy.
Or you might consider what an asset to your reputation at the office it would be if you stayed.
Everyone would hear tomorrow how noble, how sacrificing and dedicated you are.
If you're pleasure-centered, you'll probably can the work and go to the concert, even if your wife
would be happy for you to work late. You deserve a night out!
If you're friend-centered, your decision would be influenced by whether or not you had invited
friends to attend the concert with you. Or whether your friends at work were going to stay late, too.
If you're enemy-centered, you may stay late because you know it will give you a big edge over that
person in the office who thinks he's the company's greatest asset. While he's off having fun, you'll be
working and slaving, doing his work and yours, sacrificing your personal pleasure for the good of the
company he can so blithely ignore.
If you're church-centered, you might be influenced by plans other church members have to attend
the concert, by whether or not any church members work at your office, or by the nature of the concert
-- Handel's Messiah might rate higher in priority than a rock concert. Your decision might also be
affected by what you think a "good church member" would do and by whether you view the extra work
as "service" or "seeking after material wealth."
If you're self-centered, you'll be focused on what will do you the most good. Would it be better for
you to go out for the evening? Or would it be better for you to make a few points with the boss? How
the different options affect you will be your main concern.
As we consider various ways of looking at a single event, is it any wonder that we have "young
lady/old lady" perception problems in our interactions with each other? Can you see how
fundamentally our centers affect us? Right down to our motivations, our daily decisions, our actions (or,
in too many cases, our reactions), our interpretations of events? That's why understanding your own
center is so important. And if that center does not empower you as a proactive person, it becomes
fundamental to your effectiveness to make the necessary Paradigm Shifts to create a center that will.
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 option. Looking at the balanced whole -- the
work needs, the family needs, other needs that may be involved and the possible implications of the
various alternative decisions -- you'll try to come up with the best solution, taking all factors into
consideration.
Whether you go to the concert or stay and work is really a small part of an effective decision. You
might make the same choice with a number of other centers. But there are several important
differences when you are coming from a principle-centered paradigm. First, you are not being acted
upon by other people or circumstances. You are proactively choosing what you determine to be the
best alternative. You make your decisions consciously and knowledgeably.
Second, you know your decision is most effective because it is based on principles with predictable
long-term results.
Third, what you choose to do contributes to your ultimate values in life. Staying at work to get the
edge on someone at the office is an entirely different evening in your life from staying because you
value your boss's effectiveness and you genuinely want to contribute to the company's welfare. The
experiences you have as you carry out your decisions take on quality and meaning in the context of
your life as a whole.
Fourth, you can communicate to your wife and your boss within strong networks you've created in
your interdependent relationships. Because you are independent, you can be effectively
interdependent. You might decide to delegate what is delegable and come in early the next morning