...The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness Author(s): Publishers: Edition: ISBN: Reviewed by: Stephen Covey Simon & Schuster 2004 0743206827 Gill McKay, Director, Extensor Limited It is 18 years since Stephen Covey published his seminal work “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, which was a hugely impactful book, selling millions of copies across the globe. In that book, Dr Covey showed us how to become as effective as we possibly could be. In the 8th Habit, he opens up more potential for us all – by moving from “effectiveness to greatness”. The world today is different, with more challenge, ambiguity and complexity and while the 7 Habits form a strong basis upon which to start, it is this next step – the 8th Habit –that will take us to true fulfilment in what Covey describes as the age of the knowledge worker. I learned a lot from his previous books, particularly the 7 Habits, and approached the 8th Habit with real enthusiasm. Unfortunately I found it a much more difficult read which, although it contained some good tips and new and metaphors, did not deliver on its initial perceived promise. The book’s synopsis promises that The 8th Habit is the answer to the yearning for greatness, the organisation's imperative for significance and superior results, and the human’s search for its "voice". I believe there are some handy tips to be found in the book, but it is a much less intuitive read than his previous works. The book is divided into two sections...
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...FINDING FORRESTER TEACHERS’ NOTES Finding Forrester is a film about the inspirational relationship between a street-wise black teenager and a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. This study guide is for pupils of GCSE and A level English and Media Studies. The areas of study include starting points for creative writing, writing a critique, what makes great writing, representation and mise en scène. SYNOPSIS He was a vibrant personality who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning classic novel four decades ago. And that is the last word heard of William Forrester (Sean Connery). That is until Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), a brash sixteen-year-old with writing aspirations of his own, cracks the veneer of Forrester’s sheltered existence and re-ignites the dreams of this literary legend in the winter of his life. Known as the neighbourhood recluse, silver-haired Forrester is a man whose mystery and eccentricity border on the mythical. When he discovers that Jamal - a talented African-American scholar-athlete who is recruited by an elite Manhattan school for his brilliance on and off the basketball court - has sneaked into his apartment and left his backpack full of writings behind, they both get something unexpected in return. Forced to look past skin colour and suppositions, Jamal encounters not only his first fan, but a mentor who will challenge and change him forever, and Forrester has his first reason in years to emerge from his self-imposed solitude. Visit www.columbiatrlstar.co.uk/forrester...
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...Did you hear the one about the boss who was asked how many people work in his company? About half of them on a good day, he replied. While the worlds of comedy and business may not initially appear to have much in common, a growing number of firms are in fact turning to comedians to help them boost staff communication, performance, and creativity. And to enable senior bosses to improve their public speaking and presentation skills. For businesses who want their workers to be as happy and productive as possible, it is no laughing matter. Except when it is. Companies that are now using comedians include internet giant Google; social media firm Twitter; soft drinks business Red Bull; and German engineering group Siemens. And if those four firms ever walked into a bar together, Red Bull would be the best mixer... Image copyright Ecole nationale de l'humour Image caption Participants at the National Comedy School's training days are asked to embrace their inner clowns At Quebec's National Comedy School in Montreal, Canada, its team of comedians has been offering training courses to businesses since 2009. It currently has 30 clients on its books, including insurance group Sun Life and Siemens' Canadian division. Rather that teaching people to tell jokes, the visiting workers are typically asked to put on red noses and behave like clowns. They are asked to practise pratfalls, pretend to bump into things, and even mock-slap their colleagues in the face. "These kind of games...
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...Achieving Greatness S.C. PSY-211 March 26th, 2014 Rogelio Calderon II Achieving Greatness Every day individuals face the challenges of life. You wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed, and head into work to take on the multitude of potential stressors that attempt to prevent you from succeeding. This is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs at its best, developing motivation and the potential to achieve your goals and your fullest potential. Using the hierarchy, an individual will be able to understand psychological needs, face daily challenges, achieve higher promotion potential, and maintain a positive and rewarding personal relationship. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is referred to in a pyramid. The base, and the largest part of the pyramid, is the first level of the 5 needs. The base of the pyramid is the physiological needs of a person. Food, water, rest, warmth, oxygen, etcetera are the primary needs that need to be met before a person can advance to safety needs. The second level of the pyramid, safety needs, are not just defined as personal safety. This level is comprised of needs such as job security, security of family, of health, of personal possessions, of self, and even of money. An individual that is continuously worried about the security of these aforementioned items cannot successfully meet the requirements to move on to belongingness and love needs. At this third level of the pyramid we delve into what I consider the greatest rewards that you can...
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...SEMINARY Practicing Greatness, 7 Disciplines Of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders By Reggie McNeal Submitted to Dr. Debra Warren, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of LEAD 510-B02 LUO Biblical Foundations of Christian Leadership by Dora Rabb September 27, 2015 Contents Abstract 1 Concrete Response.………….……………………………………….………………….……….3 Reflection 4 Action.……………………………………………………………..……………………………...5 References……………………………………………………………………….………………..8 Abstract Reggie McNeal leads the reader to think that perhaps spiritual leaders are looking for greatness in all the wrong places. He also seem to hint that some spiritual leaders do not hope to achieve greatness, because they are not using their God given gifts and talents in ministry. McNeal uses the following words as the heading for his introduction, “NEEDED: GREAT SPIRITUAL LEADERS.” From the introduction one might assume that McNeal feels that great spiritual leaders are few and far in-between in the age in which we currently live. McNeal also quotes opening words spoken in a chapel service by Elton Trueblood which were, “Deliberate mediocrity is a sin.” McNeal seemingly feels that far too many churches and spiritual leader operate at such a low level that they are unable to motivate, inspire, or excite others. Unfortunately, some spiritual leaders believe that to desire greatness makes them anything...
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...josh hernadez Mrs. Pontes English 11 24, February 2014 Gatsby’s Greatness “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (97). This quote from Nick says a lot about how much Gatsby really cares about Daisy. Everything Gatsby had ever done was to impress Daisy and give her a reason to be with him. When he saw that Daisy was really impressed with his things, he knew he deserved her now. The only thing he needed to do after that was convince Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him. With the look in Daisy’s eyes, he knew she still loved him and he finally won her. This makes Gatsby really great because Nick knew that everything was for Daisy and this made him respect Gatsby. He had a goal and didn’t stop until he had gotten his dream. His determination alone made Gatsby “great” to Nick. “He did it without smashing up things and creatures and retreating back to the money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (9). Nick thinks Gatsby is so great because everything he has, has been earned without hurting anyone. Tom and Daisy both don’t take responsibility for the things they do. To Nick, if you don’t earn what you have, you will never be a great person, no matter how much money you have. Gatsby was able to take the blame for Daisy’s murder, and she would...
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...In the city of Omelas, between the ages of eight and twelve the children of are taken to see a child which is secluded from the rest of the population and forced to live in harsh conditions. The sight of this child is both shocking and sickening; however, it is known that the secluded child cannot be released into society. By each child in the community being introduced to the child in the basement, they are all forced to be aware of the conditions which the child is living its life in. For the majority of the people of Omelas it is this awareness that is instilled into all of them that helps them make Omelas a seemingly utopian community. Instead of using their awareness of the child’s poor living condition to help it they try to justify its condition with their own actions. On the other hand however, those who choose to walk away from Omelas use their awareness of the child as a reason to leave the community. It is their ethical decision to do the only thing they can to help the child in the basement and that is not be a part of those who keep it there. In a non bias way the text allows you as a reader to observe two different ethical viewpoints on the treatment of the child in the basement, and ultimately make your own ethical decision regarding the issue of the child’s mistreatment. In the beginning of the story the text focuses mainly on the people and the seemingly perfect living conditions of Omelas. The people who live in Omelas believe that their lives depend...
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...Gatsby’s greatness all depends on the perspective of other, meaning that some people might think he was great, but others might’ve not, but there are three people whose judgement is positive in all ways; those people are Nick Carroway (thinking that he is a very lavish, luxurious man), Daisy Buchanan (seeing him as her escape to happiness from Tom Buchanan), and F. Scott Fitzgerald himself (portraying himself as the protagonist of the story). The first example would have to be Nick’s perspective. Since the beginning of the book, Nick believed that Gatsby was a very lavish and materialistic man because of all the things that he had, especially his giant mansion. Nick goes on describing Gatsby’s luxury and his formality when he states, in chapter three, that a man formerly came and invited Nick to one of...
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...“Moments of Greatness” Summary: The Moments of Greatness article explores entering the fundamental state of leadership. The author, Robert Quinn, discusses how individuals can strive to always lead at their best. It doesn’t come from traditional training methods which believe leadership comes from studying behavior of others. Quinn concluded that when leaders are at their best they don’t copy anyone. They draw on their own values and frame a reaction appropriate to their personality. This is at the core of fundamental leadership. Quinn believes that everyone can function at a fundamental state of leadership by asking the following 4 questions: Am I results centered? - Have you articulated the results you want? Am I internally directed? - Are you willing to challenge others’ expectations? Am I others focused? - Have you put your organization’s needs above your own? Am I externally open? - Do you recognize signals suggesting need for change? You cannot always perform in the fundamental state. But by entering this state you become more comfortable and will return more often and inspire others at the same time. In the normal state people stay in their comfort zone. They allow others to direct how they react. This creates a pattern of leadership where imaginative ideas or thoughts are never explored. Boundaries are never tested to see how far you can go. The result is to stay complacent and in the same state of mind. Getting into the fundamental state can be very uncomfortable...
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...UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE - FHEL1012 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC STUDY ACADEMIC YEAR: 2015/2016 SEMESTER: JAN 2016 Tutorial 2 Task 1: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. 1. What is the specific purpose of the passage? 2. Based on the information in the passage, it can be inferred that animals raised in CAFOs live indoor because of TWO reasons. The reasons are: (a) ___________________________________________________________________ (b) ___________________________________________________________________ 3. The author describes CAFOs as having a negative impact on environment for various reasons. State THREE (3) of the reasons provided. (a) ___________________________________________________________________ (b) ___________________________________________________________________ (c) ___________________________________________________________________ 4. The author of the passage has presented various facts about CAFOs which are credible yet there is a statement in the passage which is intended to stir the emotions of readers so that the readers would agree to the author’s opinion. Identify the statement. 5. Paragraph 5 mainly discusses the use of land by farmlands which are expanding. The author managed to make the stand in this paragraph by committing a fallacy. (a) Which statement would you consider as fallacious? (b) What...
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...The Secret of England’s Greatness (Queen Victoria presenting a Bible in the audience chamber at Windsor, 1863) Thomas J Barker’s “The Secret of England’s Greatness” really captures the seemingly intertwined themes of sovereignty and divinity. The idea of sovereignty is depicted through the two cultural figures, which are central focuses of the painting. The Queen’s alluring white dress accentuated with the purple banner creates connotations of royalty and prestige. Equally, the garments that Barker has depicted on the Ambassador are atypical to the attire worn by Britons in this period. However they are by no means less significant. The Ambassador wears an animal skin cape, lavish jewellery, and fine linens; Barker has localised England’s prestige to the Ambassador to indicate to the viewer that he is clearly of importance. This then raises the question about the fact that this is an Ambassador, as opposed to the actual leader. One could then argue that the garments worn represent the King. This then sparks the question of what the context was that disallowed the actual King to be there. Were there domestic problems he had to tend to? Was the Ambassador merely collecting “The Secret of England’s Greatness” as a means to resolve the greatness that they might had lacked? Divinity is also explored because of how the non-physical concept of “greatness” is presented as something religious– a Bible. Given the context of a vastly religious 19th century Britain, the Bible is probably...
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...Throughout the course of history, many have debated what qualities make a person great. Historians have deemed both kings and peasants as successful. Nations have thought of war generals and peaceful protesters as heroes. Scholars have thought of educated and illiterate persons alike as revolutionary. Yet, greatness can be questionable, like with the character Jay Gatsby from the Great Gatsby. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows greatness in Gatsby through his charisma and his determination. One of the qualities about Jay Gatsby that made him a person worth admiration was his charisma. In his time with Dan Cody, “[his]... vague contour... had filled out to the substantiality of a man”(77). He learned how to be rich from old money, so when he finally got his fortune, he had that classiness as well. Nick Carraway recounts that, “[Gatsby's smile] understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey” (38). Unlike the majority of wealthy people can be, Gatsby does not try to intimidate people to make himself seem...
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...“Great people often receive violent opposition from violent minds” Albert Einstein This quote typifies the conditions in which both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois were challenged with. Not only were they two exemplary examples of African American greatness, but they proved themselves to be two of the greatest leaders of the early twentieth century regardless of race. However, as Aristotle once said “people fear what they don’t understand, and hate what they can’t conquer” thus steps were taken to dismantle their “movements” at all costs. It was because of this the two were commonly pitted against each other in media outlets to create a rift in their collective following. Not that there was any truth to their “rivalry”, contrarily many times they admitted to seeking the same result for the black race. They were seen as rebels to society because of their hopes to replace the oppressed psyche of our race with one of self-efficacy and prosperity. They perpetuated the notions of equality, diligence, self betterment, unity and accountability to name just a few of the platforms they spoke on which so affected our race during their time. They arguably had the potential to rectify three hundred years of anguish and repression had they been able to follow their directives unimpeded, but now we’ll never know. Although both Washington and Dubois had very similar intentions for the black race, they came from entirely different backgrounds and thus had different views on society...
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...In his piece titled “The Greatness of George Washington”, Gordon S. Wood is trying to show the reader that George Washington was great not because of his intellect or his military genius, but because of his virtuous character. When you look closely at George Washington’s life, it is evident that he was not a prominent scholar, especially when compared to some other Founding Fathers. Although he was brilliant at running his plantation, Washington never went to college, and, as Jefferson said, his “‘colloquial talents were not above mediocrity” (Oates 135). For these reasons, it is hard to imagine Washington “expressing his views on Plato in the Jefferson and John Adams did” (Oates 135). Also, even though his role as general during the Revolutionary...
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...In 1989, Stephen R. Covey penned The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People(public library), a book that went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and defined a new genre bridging self-improvement, business management, and personal productivity. This week, Covey died at the age of 79. Here's a look back at his legacy with some of the keenest insights from his beloved bestseller. Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do). Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.* People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them. Until a person can say deeply and honestly, 'I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,' that person cannot say, 'I choose otherwise.' To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know. It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. How you treat the one reveals...
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