Effectiveness
As the title indications, effectiveness is the dominant theme. But what exactly does the author mean by being effective? Pretty simple, really: setting a goal and achieving it. Of course, it is more than just achieving a goal and that is the basis of the author’s approach. This theme may be better expressed not simply as effectiveness, but principle effectiveness. When the author says that being effective is meeting a goal that has been set, he means that the route taken must come with a set of pre-install rules and guidelines which must be met. In other words, merely achieving the end when anything goes as the means is not an example of being effective. To be effective means overcoming obstructions in the means which—tempting though they may be—violate your principles.
Efficiency
Another important aspect of being effective is management. Efficiency usually translates into time management, but the author presents an alternative perspective. Time management is directed toward the process of achieving results, but the author argues that greater efficiency is gained by managing time to produce the most important results. This is, of course, better known as prioritizing, but even that word in usually directed not to results, but process: focusing on what is urgent at the expense of what is important. Peak efficiency is achieved almost universally by focusing not on unexpected or emergency situations and not on those things deemed urgent, but which almost always prove not very important to target one very specific set of tasks: anything deemed important, but not recognized as urgent.
Identifying the Value of Interdependence
The final three habits are the most buzzwordy. Here you will find terms like synergy, selective listening, spiritual renewal. Collectively, they form a thematic schematic covering the vital utilization of recognizing the value of interdependent relationships. This term extends from the relationship between employees to the relationship between work and leisure. When everything is working in tandem with each other under the terms of peak efficiency and in accord with principled management, however, one must always be prepared to recognize that even greater efficiency may be attained by not being so committed to the process that the goal becomes subservient. The author illustrates the significance and complexity of interdependency with a story about a woodcutter who is so focused on the process of sawing the tree down that he doesn’t recognize the value of sharpening the saw.
