A visitor came to my organization yesterday to present a day-long seminar to about fifteen people based on the book by Steven Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Aside from the content, I was happy there was very little sales talk. We were given 20% coupons for the expensive FranklinCovey planners and accessories, but we weren’t subjected to any sort of sales pitch. The facilitator did not even suggest we sign up for additional courses. Thankfully, the experience was much more professional and less cult-like than my brush with Landmark Forum a few years ago.
The tips we received throughout the day were good, but there was nothing earthshattering for anyone who has the most basic understanding of psychology. I liked the visualization of tasks on a two-dimensional matrix, with the categories being “importance” and “urgency.” I did “discover” that much of my time is spent in “Quadrant III” and “Quadrant IV,” which consist of unimportant tasks, whether urgent or not.
I struggled a bit with an activity in which we were to write a personal mission statement, but I was probably overanalyzing myself.
If you have the opportunity to attend a 7 Habits seminar, perhaps if it is being paid for by your company, it may be worth your time if you’re not getting the most from yourself. Don’t buy any of their materials, however; you can make any changes in your life you feel necessary without paying for anything fancy.
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12:28 pm (reply)
Hey Flexo, at my company, we have a trainer certified to teach the 7 Habits class and all staff can take it if they like, although it’s not required. It’s one of the benefits of working here.
I agree that some of it is basic and that it’s not a class for everyone, but parts of it resonated with me, particularly Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind.
As for the mission statement, that one takes some time to do. Definitely not something you can just throw together in 15 minutes.
2:01 pm (reply)
The 7 Habits are designed to resonate because they do take a deeper look into psychology than would normally happen in a business setting. Some did resonate with me.
12:45 am (reply)
A mission statement is very difficult to whip out in an afternoon. It took me months to come up with mine.
12:09 pm (reply)
Flexo,
I also found Landmark to be cult-like. I just couldn’t swallow the Kool-Aid.
Not to get religous on you, but have you ever listened to Joel Osteen? Positive messages without the fire and brimstone.
5:48 pm (reply)
I haven’t heard Joel Olsteen, but what fun is religion without fire and brimstone?