As you walk to the front of the room and view the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. As you enter the building you are surprised to know everyone in attendance. This wastes time and shrinks their circle of influence.Ĭovey asks us to close our eyes and consider attending a funeral. Reactive people will often blame or complain about these concerns.

Examples include the weather, the news, and the economy. For example, leading the team will give you more influence than if you are a team member!Ĭircle of Concern (but outside the Circle of Influence)Īvoid the negative energy of focusing on areas that concern you but you don’t influence. Being nice to someone influences whether they will like you, but it doesn’t guarantee it!īecoming a more effective person will expand your Circle of Influence. Making the best choices won’t always be easy (we will write more about that next month), but you are in charge.īeing proactive in your Circle of Influence will help you become more influential, but there will still be areas that you do not fully control:įor example, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly will influence your health, but healthy people still get sick. What time you go to bed and get up in the morning.What you buy, read, listen to, and watch.Productive people exert effort in their Circle of Influence.īe proactive in the areas you have direct control over. The inner circle represents matters you directly control. Some areas of the outer circle are areas where your choices have a direct impact – this is your circle of influence. The outer circle of concern includes everything that impacts you. We can ignore areas outside of these three circles as they are of no concern to you. The key lesson in Habit 1 is understanding whether you control, influence, or only have concern about an impact. Effective people choose to take the initiative and act back. Whenever something impacts you, YOU are in control of the response. Here is a brief summary of the key lessons from the 7 Habits. Since Covey’s book is now 30 years old, I wonder how many millennials have never read the book or learned its timeless lessons? Covey’s bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The current (July, 2020) racial tension in the United States has led me to recall one of my favorite productivity lessons: “ seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This is Habit 5 from Stephen R.

Stephen covey principles