智与仁:
高效人士的七个好习惯 (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

这本小书,卖了两千万本。作者柯维(Steve Covey)是个摩门教徒,毕业于犹他大学,在哈佛商学院拿了个MBA,在企业界做了多年后,拿了个神学博士。他把对摩门教义的体会延伸到为人与处世,他的七个习惯可以运用到人生各个方面,几乎就是老生常谈,了无新意。他的真正贡献是把这七个为人法则,收集在在一起,提醒我们这七个人人只要想想就了解的道理, 几乎是没有几个人身体力行、贯彻始终。然而,只要我们稍微观察身边的成功人士,就发现身体力行成为习惯,是他们的共同点。
我第一次听到他的演讲,是在十年前美国会计学会年会上。他不是会计学者,他的演讲却吸引了近千的听众,这是我一生中听到最令人感动的演讲之一。
他的七个习惯中,头三个是“智”,后三个是“仁”,第七个是行之有恒成为习惯。我说的仁信智清,他只说了一半。没说的信与清,在一个成熟的、民主法治的商业社会中,是大部分公民都做到的事。信与清也是在停滞稳定农业社会的乡里中,大部分的街坊邻居都视以为然的事。但是在一个迁徙转型的社会,它们是相当稀缺的习惯,不只是现代的中国如此,两百年前的欧美也是如此。做不到信与清,就用不到智与仁。
1. Be Proactive 主动进取
“Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen.”
2. Begin With the End in Mind 从终想起
“(This habit)…is based on imagination—the ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with our minds what we cannot at present see with our eyes…”
3. Put First Things First 循序而进,要事第一
“Create a clear, mutual understanding of what needs to be accomplished, focusing on what, not how; results not methods. Spend time. Be patient. Visualize the desired result.”
4. Think Win-Win 双赢思维
“Win-Win is a frame of mind that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-Win means that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying.”
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood 先了解,才能被了解
“‘Seek First to Understand’ involves a very deep shift in paradigm. We typically seek first to be understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They’re either speaking or preparing to speak. They’re filtering everything through their own paradigms, reading their autobiography into other people’s lives.”
6. Synergize 团队合作,一加一大於二
“Synergy works; it’s a correct principle. It is the crowning achievement of all the previous habits. It is effectiveness in an interdependent reality—it is teamwork, team building, the development of unity and creativity with other human beings.”
7. Sharpen the Saw 持之以恒、磨成习惯
“This is the habit of renewal…It circles and embodies all the other habits. It is the habit of continuous improvement…that lifts you to new levels of understanding and living each of the habits.”