7 Habits--Put First Things First

In this chapter, Covey talks about how prioritizing and putting effort towards what is truly important is both a vital and rare skill.  What struck me in this chapter as being relevant to ROTC and the military was his differentiation between leadership and management.

"While leadership decides what 'first things' are, it is management that puts them first, day-by-day, moment by moment.  Management is the discipline of carrying it out."

This really reminded me of the duties of the officer and NCO teams.  The officer is the leadership aspect of the team, concerned with putting the first things first, making sure that the platoon has its mission priorities clearly in order.  The NCO is responsible for disseminating those priorities to the platoon and ensuring that the mission is carried out.  The officer provides the vision and desired endstate, and it is up to the NCO to make sure that action is taken to make those reality.

Understanding the difference between officer and NCO roles is a vital part of our training and careers.  It is also at times difficult to concretely separate the responsibilities.  But this distinction between leadership and management parallels the officer/NCO relationship and I think it is a good summary of the team's different responsibilities.

7 Habits--Begin with the End in Mind

Beginning with the end in mind is a very simple yet deceptively difficult task.  Picturing who you want to be at the end of your life is easy; becoming that person is the hard part.  We are either a products of our own design or the creation of other people's agendas.  

To do this, to capture that self awareness that allows us to dictate or own path, we must first find leadership.  Last semester, we discussed the difference between leadership and management, and Covey expresses similar thoughts.  "Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right thing."  While both are very important traits for an officer to have, one cannot be effective without being a leader first, manager second.

Also part of this task is finding your center.  This section calls to mind the scene from "Mulan" where Captain Li Shang sings "once you find your center, you are sure to win!"  While it is true that being a correctly centered person is vital to effective leadership, it is not so simple as to be solved in a quick montage.  The real search for center is a long difficult journey that never really is finished.

The section that really struck me as important to aspiring soldiers was visualization and affirmation.  Astronauts and athletes use this process to remain calm in intense situations and think clearly under stress.  Arguably there is no more intense and dangerous job than that of a professional soldier; visualizing yourself calm and collected in the middle of a hectic ambush will help you be just that if such an event were to occur.  Creating an "internal comfort zone" by visualizing the situation clearly and relentlessly will familiarize the event.  This struck me as a good way to prepare for combat action, an additional process to aid in readiness that goes beyond battle drills and training.  Coolness under pressure is a skill combat leaders need to survive, and anything to help develop that is worth pursuing.

7 Habits--Being Proactive

I will admit that to me, being proactive appears to be a difficult task.  The whole idea that you can choose your reaction to a situation is hard to wrap my mind around.  I tend to be frustrated when things do not go as I had planned on, and I'm often exasperated by uncooperative/annoying people.  Clearly, this is a reactive approach to life.

Reading the section about reactive language caused me to furrow my brow in puzzlement.  Phrases like "he makes me so mad" and "I don't have enough time" never struck me as reactive; they just seemed like human phrases, and never really struck me as being environmentally deterministic.  I always figured that if you don't have enough time it was because you used your time ineffectively.  I suppose a truly proactive person would say something like "I will use my time efficiently to achieve this goal in addition to my other goals."  I dunno.  I'm not sure I have ever seen/heard anyone like that.  

Something I am better at doing is working within my circle of influence.  I have always been effective at discerning things I can influence and things I have no control over, and never really stressed about that.  It is a problem I see in many people, however.  Stress management is an incredibly important skill, the one most people lack.  Life, especially as an Army officer, is full of stressors.  Dealing with them in a productive way is vital to maintaining mental health.  Determining whether something is inside or outside your influence is a good way to do so.  Work on what you can do, don't worry about the rest.

Something about proactivity stumped me: how does it apply in a military setting?  In the army we have to follow orders whether we think the mission is stupid or not.  Proactivity supposedly puts you in control of the situation, but isn't that just an illusion in a military hierarchy?  We can choose our attitude toward the mission sure; a positive attitude towards the mission will disseminate to the troops making them (hopefully) more combat effective.  But we are not truly in control of the situation.  For example, I was put on a color guard on Feb 14.  Being Valentine's Day, I would much rather be spending the time with my girlfriend, but this is not to be.  Even if I have a positive attitude, this situation is still not ideal.  What is the best way to be proactive in this situation?

7 Habits--an overview

Covey continues to elaborate on his "Habits" program in this chapter.  It is interesting to read about how we are a composite of habits; I am learning about much the same thing in my psych class right now.  Habits are something we tend to do in a situation.  A group of habits forms a trait.  And traits are the foundation of human personality types.  Covey is all about changing negative aspects of personality beginning with habits.  If habits change, which he assures the reader is possible if difficult, the whole personality will shift as a result.

It was intriguing to read about dependence, independence, and interdependence.  Nowadays, the American ideal is to be independent, and island unto ones self.  Covey points out though, that our obsession with "asserting ourselves" and "doing our own thing," really reveals dependencies like being subject to the emotional weakness of others.  I have never thought about that.  Letting go and breaking off ties really reveals an internal weakness to others, not a personal strength.  It certainly is a break from the self-serving, cover-your-own-back "independence" drivel that we are usually fed.

Interdependence is how the world really functions, Covey says.  This becomes clear upon even minor reflection.  Especially in the Army, interdependence is extremely important.  In order for a unit to function effectively, it has to work and flow like a unilateral body, a team in which everyone contributes their all for the betterment of the whole.  However, a unit cannot function effectively if it is strictly dependent.  Everyone in the unit has to know everyone else's job and how to react to certain situations.  For example, equipment accountability cannot be neglected because a squad leader or a psg is occupied with something else.  Personal responsibility and teamwork have to meld into interdependence for the unit to function.

Also, it is important for one to distinguish between the production and the production capability.  They must be in balance for the situation in question to have a desirable efficient outcome.  If soldiers are the PC, then the mission is the P.  The mission must be accomplished, but if the soldiers are run into the ground, their maintenance (both physical and mental) neglected, then they will not be as effective on subsequent missions.  Their production would decrease to an undesirable level.  One has to find the balance between outcome and method in order to be an effective leader, or to have a desirable result in anything, for that matter.