This document summarizes Stephen Covey's book on the 7 habits of highly effective people. It discusses each of the 7 habits in turn: 1) be proactive, 2) begin with the end in mind, 3) put first things first, 4) think win-win, 5) seek first to understand, 6) synergize, and 7) sharpen the saw. The author reflects on how she has applied lessons from the book in her new role as a supervisor at her workplace, such as taking a more assertive leadership role rather than letting others dominate group activities. The 7 habits teach the importance of independence, interdependence, self-awareness, goal-setting, time management, mutual understanding, cooperation, and

1. Being the Change
Emily Hartranft
Leadership Seminar, Section 03
04 December 2016
Professor Kamila Pavezzi
“Change – real change – comes from the inside out.”

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“Change – real change – comes from the inside out” (Covey 328). This quote struck me
because in so many moments of my life, I am unhappy with what is going on around me. It is so
often that I think to myself “I can’t wait for something external, or out of my control, to occur
that will have an effect on the way that I am feeling right now” such as meeting a new person or
receiving a compliment. It is so often that I rely on others to change the way that I’m feeling
rather than relying on myself, for it is me who knows what I like best and what I would most like
to see change in my life, so why don’t I go after that myself? This quote gives me the motivation
to achieve my own personal greatness and happiness. Rather than waiting on the chance that
someone else may make the effort to make me feel good, I need to be the one who makes this
effort because in the end, that is how I will achieve the most positive self image and value.
In his book, Stephen Covey discusses 7 habits practiced by highly effective people. These
habits are significant in that they give insight on how to live your life to its fullest potential –
seeking benefit and offering guidance when it is most needed within yourself and with others.
These habits help to shape the lives of those who are able to maximize their actions and be able
to fully and completely live.
In the beginning of life, we are completely dependent on others. We rely fully on others
to supply us with necessary tools for survival such as shelter and nurture. Without the care of
others, we would not survive. But as we grow and follow the maturity continuum, we begin to
become more and more independent in every way – financially, emotionally, mentally, and
physically. With this independence, we can take care of ourselves, “becoming inner-directed and
self-reliant” (Covey 57). Covey explains that “Independence is the paradigm of I – I can do it; I
am responsible; I am self-reliant; I can choose” (Covey 57). However, as we move further along

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the maturity continuum, we begin to realize that nature, overall, is interdependent – “we can do
it; we can cooperate; we can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater
together” (Covey 57). It is with interdependence that we see our greatest successes. Habits 1, 2,
and 3 move an individual from dependence to independence. They teach of self-mastery – how
to benefit the most from yourself as a human being with the capability of self awareness,
conscience, imagination, and independent will. Once true independence is achieved, you have
the capability of attaining interdependence, which envelopes habits 4, 5, and 6. These habits
guide us to greatness within teamwork, cooperation, and communication.
In habit 1, Covey discusses being proactive. In his words, “proactivity is more than
merely taking initiative, it means that as human beings we are responsible for our own lives. Our
behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to
values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen” (Covey 78). Before
thorough proactivity can occur, however, the importance of self-awareness and developing our
human endowments such as imagination, conscience, and independent will, is necessary. What is
important in this chapter is the difference between being proactive or reactive, which is allowing
conditions the empowerment to control us. To understand the difference, Covey explains that
reactive people are “driven by feelings, circumstances, conditions, and their environment while
proactive people are driven by values – carefully thought about, selected and internalized values”
(Covey 79). Even when proactive people are influenced by external stimuli, like reactive people,
proactive people create their response based upon value-based choices. The main take away from
this chapter is Covey’s encouragement for taking control of our own lives – the power to make
and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of
effectiveness. (Covey 99).

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Habit 2 discusses beginning with the end in mind. To put it simply, Covey suggests using the
image or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which
everything else is examined. Using this image whilst going through life will allow you to live
every day to the standard you have set for yourself to have in the end – every day will contribute
value and meaning to what you have imagined for the at the end. Highlighted in this chapter is
the importance of identifying goals and missions to achieve throughout life. Maintaining these
goals will help to maintain inner balance and harmony and will allow you to effectively visualize
what is important in life.
In the next habit, Covey discusses the principles of personal management – putting first
things first. Along with the human endowments discussed in habit 1, you must have a fully
developed proactive nature and ability to shift your paradigms to fit the “big picture” of how you
want to see yourself in the end. Therefore, you can not effectively achieve habit 3 without first
achieving habits 1 and 2. The essence of this chapter is to “organize and execute around
priorities” (Covey 158) or in other words, understand your priorities in order to achieve most
efficient time and personal management.
Think win/win is the title of habit 4 – learning of the principles of interpersonal leadership.
This chapter highlights the importance of producing personal and organizational excellence with
the use of the win/win paradigm of interaction. “Win/win is a frame of mind and heart that
constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions” (Covey 217). This paradigm is
centered around the idea that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of
the success of others. This paradigm allows us to create an environment where not only we can
flourish, but those around us can flourish as well.

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The title of habit 5 is “seek first to understand, then to be understood” – it focuses on the
principles of empathic communication. Covey states, “We want to be understood, so our
conversations become collective monologues and we never really understand what’s going on
inside another human being” (Covey 251). As communication is the most important skill in life,
it is essential to understand the significance of taking the time to diagnose and deeply understand
a problem before prescribing. In other words, we must listen to understand an individual before
we offer advice - or any response at all. This chapter teaches of empathic listening, which
involves listening not only with our ears but also with our eyes and heart. This allows you to not
only listen for words, but for feeling and meaning as well. Empathic listening allows us the
ability to focus on “receiving the deep communication of another human soul. Not only does this
behavior benefit others, but it also benefits the individual practicing it. This emotional
investment is deeply therapeutic and healing.
“Synergize” is the title of habit 6, where we learn the principles of creative cooperation.
Defined, “synergy is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the
relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and off itself. It is not only a part, but
the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part” (Covey
274). This chapter outlines the significance of applying creative cooperation to create a result
better than ever imagined. This skill can be useful in every aspect of life, whether it be within
the workplace, with friends, or at home.
Lastly, habit 7 is entitled “Sharpen the Saw” – principles of balanced self renewal. This
chapter focuses on the four dimensions of personal production capability; the physical
dimension, the social/emotional dimension, the mental dimension, and the spiritual dimension. It
is the sharpening and enhancing of these dimensions that allow us to make all of our other habits

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possible and be inherently better human beings while continuing on through the upward spiral, or
continuous improvement, of our lives.
In the beginning of this class, I was at the start of my role as a supervisor where I work, the
Cook Douglass Recreation Center. Throughout the semester, not only have I been able to learn
of my leadership ability through this class, but also through my experience as a new supervisor.
Transitioning from a regular employee close with her coworkers to the boss of those same people
has been tough. It’s hard establishing a role as supervisor - having to change the way I speak to
people and address issues within the workplace – while trying to keep the balance of supervisor
and friend to all of my coworkers. One example from class that I have taken a lesson from is the
marshmallow/spaghetti structure-building activity. In this activity, my group members and
myself all worked together to build a self-standing structure out of spaghetti and a marshmallow.
Rather than offering guidance and support like a true leader would, I sat back and let the more
strong personalities in the group take over in the building process. Instead of letting this happen,
I should have offered my suggestions more, which may have resulted in better results, benefiting
not only myself, but the entire group. If I were to allow this to happen at the Recreation Center,
nothing would ever be accomplished and decisions would never be made. The lesson that I
learned was that I need to assert myself as a leader more in life, and not just the places in my life
where “leader” is my official title. Next, during the mock interview, I had the opportunity to act
as the leader of the interview, introducing the individual being interviewed and conducting the
beginning of the interview process. This task of mine was little, however I still managed to make
myself feel uncomfortable while trying to act as the leader. This activity allowed me to see that
not only do I have to sharpen my confidence during times of being interviewed, but also during
times where I may have the power in conducting the interview. People must see a figure whom

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they would wish to look up to, and individuals who visibly lack confidence are not role models
that you would strive to emulate. Learning of the democratic style of leadership has given me
insight to the type of leader I hope I am now, and the type of leader I would like to remain as in
the future. I value having a relationship with those that I lead while keeping communication
open, honest, and encouraging. As a future leader, whether it is in the workplace or while raising
a family, I strive to be the type of leader who encourages employee growth and creativity, a
figure who can offer guidance, and an individual who my employees can trust, all while still
maintaining authority.
While watching Randy Pausch’s last lecture – a lot of thoughts and emotions were
brought to mind. In the beginning of his lecture, I had very low expectations. My initial thoughts
were that this lecture would be like any other that I have been told to watch throughout my four
years in college – a male professor lecturing on his subject, spewing knowledge and trying to
make it as relatable to his young adult audience as possible. However, once Randy shared his
“elephant in the room,” I was hooked. Because he invoked emotion, he had me invested. Much
of what he said reminded me of Covey’s habits. For example, the class that he designed at
Carnegie Mellon in which he randomly selected teams of artists, actors, and computer scientists
exemplified exactly what I interpret while learning of synergy. These students worked
cooperatively and used each of their creative talents to create something together which was so
much greater than anything they could have created on their own. Of even greater significance
to me was that Randy started off his life with certain dreams that he wished to achieve when he
grew up. These goals included experiencing zero gravity, playing in the NFL, and being a Disney
imagineer. So much of what he did throughout his life was to catapult him to achieving these
dreams, or coming as close as possible to achieving them at least. This, to me, is the essence of

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Covey’s habit 2 – beginning with the end in mind. Because he was able to set goals for himself
from the beginning, not only was he able to achieve these goals, but he was able to use these
achieved goals to bring him ever more greatness, such as sharing his experiences and lessons
learned with others. Lastly, what really hit home to me, was his constant reminders of the brick
wall – that a brick wall may present itself, but it only proves how badly we want what we’re
going after. In every part of life, we are going to hit brick walls, but it is up to our perseverance,
courage, and trust to push ourselves forward once that brick wall shows us how badly we really
want something.
My mission statement:
My name is Emily Hartranft, a hard-working Public Health student looking to expand my
knowledge in the field of public health. After being taught by many distinguished professors, I
have been inspired to continue my journey through this field and acquire the many skills and
qualities that makes public health professionals successful. I value and practice honesty,
compassion, diligence, and inclusion, and I believe these to be core qualities that will catapult me
into success within my career.
I built this mission statement based on my desires and qualities that I feel I possess in this
moment in time while being general enough to still have relevance 10 years from now. This
mission statement is important because it showcases who I am and what I want in the simplest
way possible while still succeeding in showcasing my ability to present myself with dignity and
modesty.

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To close, I will quote Covey once more - “…your change can affect many, many lives
downstream” (Covey 328). This, to me is what I see as having most importance. Not only do I
want to be the best me that I can be, but I want my best me to be able to create change in this
world. I want to be a positive influence on all of the lives that I touch, whether it be in passing or
within life-long relationships. To me, the best me that I can be is the me that creates positivity
and greatness in others, and the first step to achieving this greatness is through being proactive,
beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, creating an environment that is win/win,
seeking to understand, and embracing synergy.

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References
Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic.
New York: Fireside Book, 1990. Print.
Pausch, Randy. “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Last Lecture. Carnegie Mellon. 4
Dec. 2016. Web.