Stephen Covey vs. Ram Charan: Habits and Effectiveness

Introduction

Both Stephen Covey and Ram Charan have written books dealing with the effective habits of individuals and how to get things done. This type of topic is naturally very important to businesspeople around the country and around the world. What makes the work of these two men so important and so lasting in today's society is worth examining closely. This paper begins with a discussion of their books — or at least some of them — and concludes with an assessment of who has given the best advice. That conclusion is ultimately a matter of opinion, since readers could reasonably argue for either man depending on personal preference and individual need. What is learned from books often depends on who reads them and how helpful those readers find the information.

There are, in other words, two sides to this issue. Some readers will get more out of the works of Stephen Covey, while others will learn more from the writings of Ram Charan. Regardless, comparing them is worthwhile because both have much to teach those interested in learning, and both have worked hard to bring their philosophies of business and life to a wide audience. Both men are well past sixty, so they have had considerable time to develop their personal philosophies and to learn what works best. It seems only natural that they would want to share this knowledge so that others might benefit from it as well.

When many people start out in business, they are somewhat lost. They have been through formal schooling, but they have often not learned a great deal about how to be truly effective — how to manage their time so they do not procrastinate and end up completing work at the last possible moment. Procrastination affects many people in their daily lives and is usually not a serious problem in ordinary circumstances. In business, however, it can become a significant obstacle because there is so much that needs to be accomplished, and people need to stay on top of their work. Those in management must also stay on top of the work that others are doing, so that productivity and morale remain high.

This is not always easy to do, but managers and employees who are effective and have good habits often have less trouble with it. Procrastination is not the only habit that must be corrected when entering the business world. How one looks at one's work, and how one regards the colleagues around one, can be just as significant. There are many self-help books available that deal with these kinds of concerns, and it is necessary to understand what sets Stephen Covey and Ram Charan apart from other authors in this genre in order to appreciate the importance and significance of their work.

Stephen Covey has written more books than Ram Charan, but that does not mean the information he has provided is any more significant — only that there is apparently more of it. Some of the work of both men will be examined here, along with information about their personal lives and what others have said about them. What other people think and feel when they read these books is important, because it gives an indication of whether the messages these men are trying to convey are actually getting through.

Stephen Covey: Background and Philosophy

Stephen Covey's most significant work is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but he has written many other books as well. The Seven Habits will be discussed most extensively here, due to its popularity and the number of copies sold — it is considered one of the most significant books of its time. His other books are also very important, however, and some of them will be discussed as well. Covey has written so many books that it would be impossible to cover them all in depth. Many deal with the same or similar themes, but they are restated and reanalyzed in ways that prevent them from becoming redundant.

Not only are his books important, but Covey himself has significance in the business world as a spiritual and motivational speaker. Understanding something about the man is therefore crucial to understanding why he has written these books and why he believes they have such impact on society. This is clearly a subject that matters deeply to Covey, or he would not have devoted so much time to writing about it and touching so many people's lives.

Even though Stephen Covey is widely regarded as extremely important in the realm of management and personal effectiveness, he himself can appear somewhat scattered and disorganized. This is not actually the case — Covey is simply extremely busy, and many of his associates do not understand how he maintains such a frantic pace (Smith, 1994). He has built a very strong business, and most of it rests on the idea of moral transformation (Smith, 1994). This theme runs through many of his books and applies not only to individuals but to businesses, families, and anyone else interested in learning more about themselves and how to be more effective in life (Smith, 1994).

While Covey is not generally considered a religious speaker, he is a spiritual individual who claims that people are spiritual beings having a human experience, rather than human beings having a spiritual experience (Smith, 1994). Part of the reason Covey has been so successful is that much of the American population is aging, and older individuals sometimes turn to a more spiritual approach as they become more aware of their mortality (Smith, 1994).

Technology is also changing so rapidly that many of the older models for corporate behavior are disappearing, leaving many workers feeling relatively insecure about their jobs and the ways they do things (Smith, 1994). This has prompted a stronger search for meaning — both at the office and in personal life — and has given rise to a wave of books and ideas examining total quality management, empowerment, mission statements, service leadership, stewardship, and New Age management training (Smith, 1994). Some of this material is extremely useful, such as the information Covey writes, while a great deal of it means very little.

The question then becomes why Covey's books have become such an important model when so many others have not. In The Seven Habits, Covey writes about leadership and how individuals can have a more meaningful experience in their jobs and in their lives (Smith, 1994). The book has become one of the best-selling books of all time and spent 220 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list (Smith, 1994). Over four million copies have been sold in the United States alone, with nearly one million more sold across forty foreign countries (Smith, 1994). The management training business Covey founded in 1984 with a staff of two has grown to nearly 1,000 employees, generating close to $100 million a year (Smith, 1994). Audiotapes, lecture series, videotapes, training programs, and countless additional books have been produced, and almost 300 school districts throughout the United States use Covey's training program (Smith, 1994).

Reduced to its simplest statement, Covey teaches that for an individual to do well, he or she must do good, and to do good, he or she must first be good (Smith, 1994). This seems clear enough, yet many people struggle to understand exactly how it works in practice (Smith, 1994). Some observers of organizational behavior are concerned about the level of enthusiasm many people have for Covey's approach, arguing that it places the entire burden of responsibility on the individual worker rather than on the organization (Smith, 1994). This is particularly troubling in the context of large corporations that are eliminating middle-management positions, because it can make laid-off employees feel as though their situation is entirely their own fault (Smith, 1994). Some argue that there is no genuine social contract between worker and company if that worker is made to bear sole responsibility for his or her condition (Smith, 1994).

Covey was raised near Salt Lake City in a close-knit Mormon family, and he believes this played a strong part in shaping his outlook on life (Smith, 1994). A great deal of affirmation from his parents and others gave him a sense of security and confidence from an early age (Smith, 1994). He began public speaking very early in life, continued through his college years, and eventually moved into teaching (Smith, 1994). He had to be somewhat careful about using the word "moral" and avoided leaning too heavily on religious language, because the information he tries to impart is spiritual rather than strictly religious — and there is an important difference between the two.

Covey is considered one of the most important management thinkers in America, but for twenty years before achieving that prominence he taught organizational behavior and business management at Brigham Young University (Wolfe, 1998). When he left that position and founded his leadership center, he began giving seminars that were very well received (Wolfe, 1998). Covey talks extensively about interdependence in his books and advises on the importance of time management and mission statements (Wolfe, 1998). Each individual in a company — and in life — should have a personal mission statement that addresses not only what that individual wants to do but who that individual wants to be (Wolfe, 1998). These mission statements are also required of all successful organizations, and they should not be the product of top-down decision-making without input from others (Wolfe, 1998). Individuals throughout the organization should be involved in the process of creating them (Wolfe, 1998).

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

The company Covey runs provides examples of successful mission statements and offers worksheets to help organizations and individuals develop their own (Wolfe, 1998). These mission statements are designed for long-term organizing and are intended to help both firms and individuals realize their goals (Wolfe, 1998). It is also very important that individuals learn to utilize their time not just for long-term goals but in the short term as well (Wolfe, 1998).

Many people today allow urgent activities — such as upcoming deadlines and various interruptions — to determine their priorities (Wolfe, 1998). To avoid this, individuals must distinguish between tasks that are not urgent but very important and those that seem urgent but are not truly important at all (Wolfe, 1998). Covey advocates using a planner or similar tool to write down appointments and other information and to prioritize them (Wolfe, 1998). Planners are not only for remembering important appointments; they help highly effective individuals list priorities for each week throughout the year (Wolfe, 1998). Afterward, individuals can look back and assess how much of their time was actually spent on tasks that advanced their mission statements (Wolfe, 1998).

One of the main reasons for Covey's success is that individuals seeking managerial wisdom today increasingly look toward the sacred (Wolfe, 1998). Many management consultants have become leaders in a moral sense — they seek not to fill gaps in production but gaps in the spirit (Wolfe, 1998). No specific religious idea is attached to this, but no religious notion is entirely alien to it either (Wolfe, 1998). While Covey belongs to the Mormon faith, he does not insist that others become Mormons or that his teachings are exclusively Mormon in nature (Wolfe, 1998). Because he addresses such large audiences, he focuses on ideas that are universal — drawing on Mormon ideals as well as other widely shared sacred values, and using them to help people understand why his teachings matter for both business and personal life (Wolfe, 1998).

Covey is also very nonjudgmental — though most people associate nonjudgmentalism with tolerating what others do wrong (Wolfe, 1998). Being nonjudgmental is not actually the same as tolerance: to tolerate something requires judging it first (Wolfe, 1998). By not passing judgment on the actions of others, tolerance does not become the issue (Wolfe, 1998).

Looking at the habits Covey discusses in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is essential, as they form the core of his work. The habits are:

1. Be proactive.
2. Begin with the end in mind.
3. Put first things first.
4. Think win/win.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
6. Synergize.
7. Sharpen the saw.

Source: Buhler, 1997

The approach Covey takes to life is holistic, and because many managers today work in turbulent times this type of management philosophy has become increasingly important to them (Buhler, 1997). Looking at the seven habits in more detail is essential because they offer a prescription that can literally transform an individual's life (Buhler, 1997).

Habit 1: Be Proactive. The first habit distinguishes between those who are proactive — focusing their efforts on things they can actually influence — and those who are reactive, behaving as victims, blaming others, and complaining about external factors they cannot control, such as the weather (Stephen, 1999). Proactive individuals are much more responsible for their own lives (Stephen, 1999). Covey views the word "responsibility" as a compound of "response" and "ability" — the ability to choose a response (Stephen, 1999). People who are proactive recognize that they have a responsibility to make things happen for themselves and others (Stephen, 1999). If individuals allow their feelings to control what they do, they have abandoned that responsibility and empowered only their emotions (Stephen, 1999). When proactive people make a mistake, they acknowledge it, correct it if possible, and — most importantly — learn from it (Stephen, 1999).

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. This habit addresses leadership and effectiveness (Stephen, 1999). Leadership, in Covey's view, is about vision — about what needs to be accomplished — and requires direction, sensitivity, and purpose (Stephen, 1999). Management, by contrast, is more about efficiency: how best to accomplish the vision (Stephen, 1999). Management depends more strongly on guidance, rules, and control (Stephen, 1999). In order to identify the desired end and develop a route toward it, Covey maintains that there should be a principle-centered basis to all aspects of an individual's life (Stephen, 1999). Many people adopt some specific basis for their lives — pleasure, friends, money, family, church, a spouse, sports, or countless other things (Stephen, 1999). All of these exert some influence, but only when one's principles have been clearly established — often in the form of a personal mission statement — does an individual have a solid foundation on which to build (Stephen, 1999).

Habit 3: Put First Things First. The third habit deals with time management (Stephen, 1999). Covey's first major work, First Things First, dealt with these same views (Stephen, 1999). Covey argues this is not actually about managing time — since everyone has the same amount of it — but about managing oneself instead (Stephen, 1999). Results should be the focus within each specific area of life and work, rather than focusing on methods and prioritizing each one separately (Stephen, 1999). To illustrate this, Covey breaks the activities of life into four quadrants (Stephen, 1999):

Quadrant 1 deals with things that are important and urgent — deadlines, crises, and unexpected opportunities (Stephen, 1999).

Quadrant 2 deals with things that are important but not urgent — recreation, learning, building relationships, planning, and personal development (Stephen, 1999).

Quadrant 3 reflects things that are not important but seem urgent — meetings and interruptions (Stephen, 1999).

Quadrant 4 belongs to things that are neither important nor urgent — time wasters, trivia, and gossip (Stephen, 1999).

For people to be truly effective, most of their activity should focus on Quadrant 2 (Stephen, 1999). There will always be genuine Quadrant 1 emergencies, but effective planning and a commitment to staying in Quadrant 2 should minimize crises (Stephen, 1999). By focusing strongly on Quadrant 2, the outcomes often include perspective, balance, control, discipline, and vision (Stephen, 1999). Quadrant 1 living often leads to burnout, stress, and loss of control (Stephen, 1999). Quadrant 3 living produces a sense of victimhood and shallow, short-term thinking (Stephen, 1999). Quadrant 4 leads to dependency and irresponsibility, and individuals who live primarily in this quadrant are often seen as unsuitable for many types of employment (Stephen, 1999).

Habits 1 through 3 are grouped together under what Covey calls "private victory" — attributes developed on a personal level that provide the independence most people need (Stephen, 1999). Habits 4 through 6 are described as "public victory" because they address the skills required for effective interdependence (Stephen, 1999).

Habit 4: Think Win/Win. This habit deals with cooperation within the workplace or home, while competition belongs in the marketplace (Stephen, 1999). From childhood, Covey argues, many individuals are conditioned into a win/lose mentality through parental approval, school examinations, and other external measures of success (Stephen, 1999). This results in a belief that there is only so much to go around, and that one should keep as much as possible for oneself (Stephen, 1999). This mindset shows up clearly in individuals who are unable to share power, credit, profit, or recognition — and who sometimes take a perverse satisfaction in the misfortunes of others (Stephen, 1999). In contrast, Covey advocates a mentality that recognizes the unlimited possibilities for development and positive growth available to businesses and individuals alike (Stephen, 1999). Celebrating the success of others, and understanding that someone else's success does not come at your expense, is central to this habit (Stephen, 1999). When dealing with individuals who are only interested in a win/lose outcome, Covey advises that sometimes the most principled response is simply to walk away (Stephen, 1999).

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. This habit stems from the importance of listening (Stephen, 1999). People who complain that they have trouble understanding others or that no one will listen must first recognize that they need to stop and listen themselves (Stephen, 1999). Many people are too busy looking for opportunities to interject, eager to get their own point across first (Stephen, 1999). When they behave this way, they cannot understand the other party because they fail to actually hear what that party is saying (Stephen, 1999). Covey defines five levels of listening (Stephen, 1999):

1. Hearing but ignoring the other person.
2. Only pretending to listen.
3. Selective listening — hearing only what one wants to hear.
4. Attentive listening without evaluation, such as taking notes at a lecture.
5. Empathic listening — genuinely intending to understand what the other party is saying.

Empathic listening is very difficult, and individuals who can do it tend to have strong personal security (Stephen, 1999). Listening this way makes one vulnerable to having opinions changed or being influenced (Stephen, 1999). However, Covey argues that the more deeply one understands others, the more those individuals are appreciated (Stephen, 1999). When a person feels that someone is genuinely trying to understand their point of view, that person becomes much more willing to open up and to work toward a win/win outcome (Stephen, 1999).

Conclusion

A great deal more information was presented here on Stephen Covey than on Ram Charan. This is not due to a personal preference for one author over another, but simply due to the information available on both authors and the fact that Covey has written so many more books that have become wildly popular. An examination of the beliefs and ideas these gentlemen hold about business and family life — and how well they serve society — is nonetheless important.