Quotes from Stephen Covey

In the last analysis, as Marilyn Ferguson observed, "No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal.

Inside-out means to start first with self; even more fundamentally, to start with the most inside part of self—with your paradigms, your character, and your motives.

Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual has phrased it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic." No

All of us are interested in things outside of our stewardships, and we should be, but the most important way to do anything about them is to magnify our own stewardships. When you focus on your own responsibility, you become relatively unconcerned with other peoples stewardships...The highest form of influence is to be a model, not a critic; a light, not a judge.

Proactive people subordinate feelings to values.

Viktor Frankl shared a brilliant insight about developing mission statements. He said, "The thing I learned is that you don't invent your mission, you detect it. You uncover it, as it were." You see, everyone has special gifts, unique qualities, and characteristics. And they need to work inwardly until they detect those aspects.

Our basic nature is to act, and not be acted upon. As well as enabling us to choose our response to particular circumstances, this empowers us to create circumstances. Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen.

If there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success.

Private Victory precedes Public Victory. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others.

BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). When you blend these two together - Preserve the Core AND Stimulate Progress - you get a magical dialectic that keeps a company or organisation vibrant over time

Love is a value that is actualized through loving actions.

The two additional unique human endowments that enable us to expand our proactivity and to exercise personal leadership in our lives are imagination and conscience.