help needed due in days res. pap

Overall, I thought the book How to Get People to Do Stuff was interesting and insightful, however, I think there were some basic concepts included that most people should already know and should be already implementing in their daily lives.

Synthesis and Critical Analysis

Effectiveness is a word that can be used to describe the lessons taught in both Susan Weinschenk’s book How to Get People to Do Stuff and Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. They each describe, to a certain extent, how to be effective at what you do. This is an important word. Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that effective means, “producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect”. Some related words are: competent, accomplished, adept, consummate, experienced, expert, masterly, proficient, skillful, versed, and many more. Who wouldn’t like to be described with all of these words? But what really is the true definition of effectiveness? Susan tells us that to be effective, we need to understand what motivates and drives others so we can get them to do stuff. Stephen, on the other hand tells us that to be effective, we need to understand what motivates and drives ourselves so that we can ultimately be a well-rounded, interdependent individual. These two books certainly talk about many of the same subjects; motivation, habits, understanding, balance, mastery and so on. However, each author uses different strategies to get the reader to reach different goals.

The main strategy in Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is to get individuals to live by correct principles and “natural laws” so they can experience a life full of happiness and success. These principles include fairness, integrity, honesty, human dignity, and service. They incorporate excellence, potential, patience, nurturance and encouragement. Covey describes it as a “New level of thinking”. He explains that, “This new level of thinking is what Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is about. It’s principle-centered, character-based, ‘inside-out’ approach to personal and interpersonal effectiveness” (Covey 42). The structure of the book enables the reader to look at personal traits and habits that may need adjusting to become the absolute best person they can be.

I’m not so sure that Covey would agree with Weinschenk’s guidance on getting other people to do stuff. Covey’s main goal is for people to look at themselves and to change different aspects of their lives so that everything else around them will fall into place. I think Covey would be one of those people that think Susan’s ideas and directions could possibly be unethical. At the very least, he would say that there really isn’t a need to change other people’s thinking if everything in your own life was in order. Covey states in his book that, “Dependent people need others to get what they want. Independent people can get what they want through their own effort. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve greatest success” (Covey 49). I guess it would be possible for Covey to agree with some of Weinschenk’s principles as long as everyone involved is working together to reach a certain goal.

I can see using the information presented in each of these books dependent on particular situations. Covey’s direction in his book is more geared towards the individual and achieving personal balance. He writes that, “The inside-out approach says that private victories precede public victories, that making and keeping promises to ourselves precedes making and keeping promises to others. It says it is futile to put personality ahead of character, to try to improve relationships with others before improving ourselves” (Covey 43). This approach says that if you can maintain a correct balance in life, consisting of the correct principles, then you will “come to know yourself in a deeper, more meaningful way – your nature, your deepest values and your unique contribution capacity” (Covey 61). In contrast, Weinschenk’s objective is to get the reader to look at how other people act and react to situations. I believe this direction would work better in a group environment or a workplace setting. Susan talks quite a bit about getting groups of people to succumb to what you want them to do. She talks about getting people to buy into your way of thinking. She mentions workplace habits and group settings more than she does individualized scenarios.

Covey’s Habits 4, 5, and 6 do examine dealing with other people and probably come the closest to intertwining with some of Weinschenk’s ideas. Habit 4, Think Win/Win, closely parallels Susan’s chapter on Carrots and Sticks. By using rewards and reinforcement to get people to do the things you want then do, it ends up being a win/win situation because both parties are happy. Susan’s whole book revolves around understanding and knowing what motivates others. Covey’s Habit 5, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, can relate to this by suggesting that we listen and understand others first. Covey tells us to “diagnose before you prescribe” (Covey 243). Well, this is exactly what Susan tells the reader in her book. She explains that we must first know what drives other people (diagnosis) before we can use certain strategies (prescription) to get them to do things. Covey’s Habit 6, Synergy, discusses the use of mutual trust and understanding and by using the combined efforts of everyone involved in resolving a conflict. Weinschenk also states in chapter 2, The Need to Belong, that, “when people feel they are working with others as a team to reach a goal, they are more motivated to achieve the goal, even without extrinsic reward, than if they are working alone” (Weinschenk 10).

So, which book better describes effectiveness? Well, it depends on the readers goals. I personally believe that everyone should be mandated, somehow, to read Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This book is inspirational, developmental and practical. The principles that are covered in the book would be of great value to anyone seeking success in their career, family or any other aspect of their life. These principles do not happen overnight and even require “sharpening the saw”…a constant refresher and reminder that all aspects of your life need to be in order to lead an effective, balanced life. If the reader’s goal is for personal enlightenment and enrichment, then 7 Habits is the right book.

Susan Weinschenk’s How to Get People to Do Stuff revolves more around effective persuasion and motivation. Does the book make the reader more effective at these tasks? Sure. It gives great insight into the drives and motivators that make it easier for you to get others to do stuff. The strategies are not guaranteed, and as I mentioned earlier, some of the strategies and techniques are common sense. However, all of the drivers of motivation that Susan explores are backed by psychological research and can be used to create an effective personal, working or social relationship. The bottom line to remember is that the goal is to get people to want to do things. Susan explains, “Ultimately it’s not about manipulation – it’s about understanding” (Weinschenk 163).

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