什么铸就了高效领导者

    他体系内的理念不会受到时间的影响。它们是法则。这就是这些理念能够发挥作用、能够为何要球不同年龄的人们所接受的原因。在一个不断改变、分裂、混乱、无情而充满变数的世界，人们渴望能有一个定位点、一系列构念，在他们面对动荡时给予他们指导。柯维相信永恒不变的法则确实存在，寻找它们并不是什么愚蠢的事，而是英明的做法。他反对那些从屋顶上传来的观点：“没有什么是神圣的，没有什么永垂不朽。在这个不断变化的世界，构建的一切都无法持久！一切都是新的！过去的一切都无法用于现在！”

    我自身的研究关注于这样一个问题：“是什么让一家伟大的公司长盛不衰——为什么一些公司能从‘优秀’蜕变为‘伟大’（而其他公司不行），为什么一些公司基业长青（而其他公司逐渐倒闭），为什么一些公司在混乱中茁壮成长？”我们的重要发现之一是“保持核心/促进发展”的理念。面对不断变化的世界，如果没有保持一套核心的法则用以作为建设基础、担当定海神针、提供正确指引，公司就不可能实现蜕变，也不可能保持真正的伟大。与此同时，如果不促进发展——改变、更新、完善、无畏地追求困难的远大目标，也没有哪家公司可以保持繁荣。当你把“保持核心和促进发展”这两点结合起来，你就会发现让一个公司或组织生生不息的神奇的辩证关系。柯维在个人效能领域发现了类似的情况：首先建立一套强大到不受持续剧变所影响的核心法则；与此同时，不断地追求完善和更新。这个辩证关系让个人能够保有坚如磐石的基础，同时得以在人生中不断进步。

    不过我认为，让《高效能人士的七个习惯》这本书不仅实用、而且意义深远的最重要的一点，是它对塑造品格、而不是“赢得成功”的强调。没有法则，就没有效能；而没有品格，就没有法则。我在撰写这篇前言时正要结束在美国西点军校（United States Military Academy at West Point）领导力研究1951班的执教工作。我个人认为，西点军校的核心理念之一就是，伟大的领导能力首先是一个品格问题——领导能力主要是一个函数：你是谁，这是你做一切事情的基础。如何打造领导者？首先要塑造品格。因此我认为“七个习惯”不仅关乎个人效能，还关乎领导力的培养。

    我回顾调查中研究的一些特殊的领导者时，惊讶地发现柯维的法则在许多人的故事中都得到了验证。我们不妨来关注一下我最喜欢的一个案例：比尔•盖茨。近年来，人们很流行把比尔•盖茨这类人所取得的巨大成功归因为运气好，认为他们在正确的时间出现在了正确的地点。不过如果仔细想一想，这样的论述就会土崩瓦解。当年，《大众电子》（Popular Electronics）以“牛郎星”作为封面，宣布第一台个人电脑诞生的时候，比尔•盖茨与保罗•阿伦合伙成立了一家软件公司，并为“牛郎星”编写了BASIC语言。是的，盖茨正好在那时掌握了编程，但是其他人也会——那些在加州理工学院（CalTech）、麻省理工学院（MIT）和斯坦福大学（Stanford）的计算机科学和电子工程的学生们；那些在IBM、施乐（Xerox）和惠普（HP）工作的老练的工程师们；还有政府研究室里的科学家们。成千上万的人在那时都可以做比尔•盖茨做的事情，但是他们没有做。盖茨当即就采取了行动。他从哈佛（Harvard）退学，搬到了阿尔伯克基（“牛郎星”的所在地），开始没日没夜地编写电脑代码。在那个历史时刻，把比尔•盖茨与其他人区分开的并不是运气，而是他在恰当时机采取的积极主动的行动（习惯1：积极主动）。

    The ideas embedded in the framework are timeless. They are principles. This is why they work, and why they speak to people in all age groups around the globe. In a world of change, disruption, chaos, and relentless uncertainty, people crave an anchor point, a set of constructs to give them guidance in the face of turbulence. Covey believed that timeless principles do indeed exist, and that the search for them is not folly, but wisdom. He rejected the view of those who shout from the rooftops, "There is nothing sacred, nothing enduring, nothing durable to build upon in this ever-changing landscape! Everything is new! Nothing from the past applies!"

    My own research quest has focused on the question, "What makes a great company tick -- why do some companies make the leap from good to great (while others don't), why do some become built to last (while others fall), and why do some thrive in chaos?" One of our key findings is the idea of "Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress"; no enterprise can become or remain truly great without a core set of principles to preserve, to build upon, to serve as an anchor, to provide guidance in the face of an ever-changing world. At the same time, no company can remain great without stimulating progress -- change, renewal, improvement, and the pursuit of 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 organization vibrant over time. Covey found a similar pattern in personal effectiveness: first build upon a strong core of principles that are not open for continuous change; at the same time, be relentless in the quest for improvement and continuous self-renewal. This dialectic enables an individual to retain a rock-solid foundation and attain sustained growth for a lifetime.

    But I think the most important aspect of The 7 Habits -- what makes it not just practical, but profound -- is its emphasis on building character rather than "attaining success." There is no effectiveness without discipline, and there is no discipline without character. While writing this foreword, I'm in the midst of finishing a two-year journey as the class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point. I've come to a personal belief that a key ingredient in the West Point recipe is the idea that great leadership begins first with character -- that leadership is primarily a function of who you are, for this is the foundation for everything you do. How do you build leaders? You first build character. And that is why I see the 7 Habits as not just about personal effectiveness, but about leadership development.

    As I reflect upon some of the exceptional leaders I've studied in my research, I'm struck by how Covey's principles are manifested in many of their stories. Let me focus on one of my favorite cases, Bill Gates. It's become fashionable in recent years to attribute the outsize success of someone like Bill Gates to luck, to being in the right place at the right time. But if you think about it, this argument falls apart. When Popular Electronics put the Altair computer on its cover, announcing the advent of the first-ever personal computer, Bill Gates teamed up with Paul Allen to launch a software company and write the BASIC programming language for the Altair. Yes, Gates was at just the right moment with programming skills, but so were other people -- students in computer science and electrical engineering at schools like CalTech, MIT, and Stanford; seasoned engineers at technology companies like IBM (IBM), Xerox (XRX), and HP (HPQ); and scientists in government research laboratories. Thousands of people could've done what Bill Gates did at that moment, but they didn't. Gates acted upon the moment. He dropped out of Harvard, moved to Albuquerque (where the Altair was based), and wrote computer code day and night. It was not the luck of being at the right moment in history that separated Bill Gates, but his proactive response to being at the right moment (Habit 1: Be Proactive).