Tribute to Stephen Covey, a Highly Effective Hero

Years ago I read Covey's book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. It was like coming home. His principle based way of looking at the World and the way people behave, opened my eyes and I absorbed it all. At least I thought I did. Getting it out of our library every once in a while I discovered new things and I don’t know if I did not notice them the first time or that I forgot. Later on I read his “8^th Habit”, with some valuable movies on an attached DVD.

The book of one of his sons about “The Speed of Trust” came as a prove of synchronicity. All my contacts and networking partners are talking about the lack of Trust around the World, in Politics  and especially within and between  organizations. The damage the Lack of Trust creates is huge and we don’t understand why others keep on acting as if Trust does not exist and cannot be Trusted anyway.

A few days before the death of Steven Covey I started reading one of his latest books, “The 3th Alternative”. And again it is as if he took the words right out of my mouth, but even before I was aware of the Impact they have. Not that I accuse him of stealing of course. But everything he explains in his easy, almost simple way makes me realise that that is exactly why I like my World and my  Work.

Really listening to people, trying not to judge  and doing so with a clear image of what You are (I am) as a person, with emotions, professionalism, personality and lots of possible shortcomings, is the only way people can make real contact. Authentic listening as they called in in a Leadership Course at the University in Rotterdam. And only after real contact and getting a clear table (every not previously noticed theme out of the way) opens up the road to Synergy. Not my Way, not Your Way, but together working on a Better Way, the 3th Way. If people succeed in creating Synergy, one and one can be seven, or seventeen or even seven hundred. I have seen this happening in many occasions and it feels like magic every time it takes place. It cannot be explained by creativity of brilliant minds. It has to do with energy and the frequency of the minds gathered in the room. Something like that.

Reading about Covey’s 3th way I realised, that what I like about my role as a Value Engineer (among other things and roles), is exactly about all this. Getting multidisciplinary groups together and having them cooperate in a Function Analysis, paves the path to a 3th alternative.  Through the WHY and HOW questions they get to know each other’s wishes and points of view.  All that Values their interests gets on the table and from there, creativity can boost, as well as the co-creation. And the Trust that grows instantly by doing so, forms  the fertilisation of the process.  Amazing in what short notice teams can come up with astonishing results. You want to know WHY and HOW? Read Stephan Covey’s book(s)!