Slide presentation by Ken du Pisanie Written by Stephen R. Covey
You’re Going to be “Off Track” 90% of the Time. So What?
Good families – even great families – are off track 90% of the time. The key is that they have a sense of destination. They know what the
“track” looks like. And they keep coming back to it time and time again.
The key is in having a destination, a flight plan, and a
compass.
Invest the next few minutes in this presentation, and you will be given the most valuable tools ever to find your
destination for your family.
Have the end in mind:
A Beautiful Family Culture
HABIT 1
BE PROACTIVE
We do not have to love.
We choose to love.
We do not have to love.
We choose to love.
To do carefully and constantly and kindly many little things is not a little thing.
The way you treat any relationship in the family
will eventually affect every relationship in the
family.
HABIT 2
BEGIN WITH THE
END IN MIND
Create a clear,
compelling vision of what you and your
family are all about.
A family mission statement is a combined, unified expression from all family members of what your family is all about and the principles you choose to govern your family life.
For the most part, families don’t have the kind of mission statement so critical to organizational success. Yet the family is the most important, fundamental organization in the world.
Through a family mission statement you can let your children know that you are totally committed to them, and that you have been from the very moment of their birth or adoption.
HABIT 3
PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
Making Family a Priority in a
Turbulent World
“Okay, now, I know what you’re going to hear from people is “We don’t have the time. But if you don’t have the time for one night or at least one hour during the week where everybody can
come together as a family, then the family is not the priority.”
~ Oprah Winfrey ~
Things which matter the most must never be at the mercy of things
which matter least.
The place to start is not with the assumption that work is non-negotiable; it’s with the assumption that family is non-negotiable. That one shift of mind-set opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities.
The role of parents is a
unique one, a sacred
stewardship in life. Is there really
anything that would outweigh
the importance of fulfilling that
stewardship well?
HABIT 4
THINK “WIN~WIN”
Moving from
“Me” to
“We”
The question is this: “Would you
be willing to search for a
solution that is better than what
either of us is now proposing?”
The commitment is this: “Let me listen to you
first” or “Help me understand.”
The principle is this: What is important to
another person must be as
important to you as the other
person is to you.
Parenting is not about being popular and giving in to every child’s whim and desire. It’s about
making decisions that truly are win-win – however they may appear to the child
at the time.
HABIT 5
SEEK FIRST TO
UNDERSTAND…THEN
TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Solving family problems through emphatic
communication
There’s no way to have rich, rewarding family relationships without real
understanding
Most mistakes with family members are not the result of bad intent. It’s just that
we really don’t understand. We don’t see clearly into one another’s hearts.
When you understand…
You don’t judge.
Each person needs to be loved in his or her own special way. They
key to making deposits,
therefore, is to understand – and
to speak – that person’s language
of love
The technique of emphatic listening is just the tip of the iceberg. The great mass of the iceberg is a deep and sincere desire to truly understand.
HABIT 6
SYNERGIZE
Building family unity through celebrating differences
You must be able to say sincerely, “The fact that we see things differently is a
strength – not a weakness – in our relationship.
Once you realize that each
problem is asking for a
response instead of just
triggering a reaction, you start to learn. You become a
learning family.
HABIT 7
SHARPEN THE SAW
Renewing the family
spirit through
traditions
Every family must take time to renew itself in the four key areas of life: physical,
social, mental, and spiritual.
If you organize your family life to spend ten or fifteen minutes a morning reading something that
connects you to timeless principles, you will make better choices during the day – in the family, on the job, in every dimension of life.
Sharpening the saw is the highest leverage activity in life because it affects everything else so powerfully
From Survival…To stability…To Success…To Significance
I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will really be happy are those
who have sought and found how to serve. ~ Albert Schweitzer ~
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families
by
Stephen R. Covey
1998
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd. (London)
Slide presentation by Ken du Pisanie
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