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ANCESTRY DAILY NEWS
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ROOTSWORKS:
THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE GENEALOGISTS
by Beau Sharbrough
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In 1990, Steven Covey formulated the ground-breaking list of "Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People." They are:
--- Be proactive
--- Begin with the end in mind
--- Put first things first
--- Think win-win
--- Seek first to understand, then to be understood
--- Synergize
--- Sharpen the saw
I work in a building that once housed Mr. Covey's company. I work
with a guy who once dated his daughter. Upon reflection, I don't
think that either of those experiences has given me any special
insight into his mind. I'll just do what I do all the time and say
what I think. Please don't confuse that with informed commentary.
This isn't a short course in the 7 Habits--they are the kind of thing
you want to approach with patience, deep thought, and an open mind.
You can change your own life if you want--and you created the one
that you have. Enough of that, let's talk about genealogy.
BE PROACTIVE
That means actively addressing the issues that confront you. Your
method of address might range from something as passive as simply
making a list of brick walls you have found in your research or areas
where you'd like to improve your skills. It might continue through
analysis of problems, buying and reading books, joining a genealogy
society, meeting Helen F.M. Leary, or attending a national genealogy
conference. The idea is to ask yourself what you can do, and then to
take some kind of action. You have to be very lucky for the answers
in life to come to your door and knock.
BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
How important is it to visualize success? When I was younger, I
played golf. If I stood over the ball and could see the shot in my
mind, I usually hit the ball something like I wanted. If I drew a
blank, I usually duffed the shot. That experience has been
generalized in my mind to include having a big picture of what you
want to accomplish. If you're doing research, you may want to publish
a family history or cover a wall in your house with pictures of
castles or coats of arms. You might want to give a talk on keelboats
at a national conference in front of hundreds of smiling people. What
steps you take next depend a great deal on where you would like to
go.
PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
No matter what your goals, they can be accomplished by proactively
working a list of tasks you set for yourself. One of those tasks will
be the "first thing" you need to do--today, this week, or this month.
Only you can choose what is most important, and you should do that
first. Covey uses the metaphor of putting big pebbles into a jar
before the little ones. He also analyzes things that must be done in
terms of whether they are Important or Not Important, vs. Urgent or
Not Urgent. Covey points out that we spend a lot of time doing
Unimportant Urgent tasks, when we should be doing Important Not
Urgent tasks. Ask yourself, "What should I be doing right now?" and
then do that thing.
THINK WIN-WIN
Genealogy is not a solitary pursuit. We not only collaborate with
other researchers working on our families, but we put time and
resources into our genealogy that our families might wish to see go
to other activities. Many situations that you encounter turn out like
baseball: one side wins and the other must lose. Covey's habits would
suggest that you look for ways that you and the cousin who has the
family Bible to both win. Clearly you can't both have the Bible. But
can you both feel connected to the ancestors? Can you share the
information in it? Can you make the trip to Arkansas and keep your
spouse happy?
SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
This is an important feature of communication with others. I see
meetings where one person is simply waiting for his or her turn to
speak and not listening to the other person. One person in particular
always starts talking before the other person finishes a sentence. If
you can't state the other person's position in your own terms--in a
way that the other person would agree describes his or her view--you
probably won't resolve the interpretation of that old will or the
relationships among all of the Millers in Travis County. It's
important to collaborate and to understand.
SYNERGIZE
This refers to the whole being greater than the sum of its parts and
has many applications, but in this instance refers to finding
creative ways to communicate with others. It also implies that by
being creative when dealing with opposing views, we can sometimes
find a Third Way--an approach that isn't a compromise but part of a
larger view that incorporates all views. A common example is the
argument of whether to use the birth date implied on the census or
the one on the gravestone. Look for a wider view of reality, where
contradictory information is the rule rather than the exception, and
find a way that you and your cousin can agree about the history of
your family.
SHARPEN THE SAW
I play favorites among the 7 Habits. I like "first things first" the
most, but right after that, I like "sharpen the saw." This means do
things to help you work better. I spent 15 years as a computer
consultant, and it seemed like every 3 years I had to learn a new
language, a new database, a new set of tools to work. As a
genealogist, you will find that there are many ways you can sharpen
your saw through learning, practice, and communication.
WRAP IT UP
If you spend some time reflecting on your genealogy practices,
thinking creatively about your opportunities, choosing actions to
make a difference, and balancing your ideas and needs with those of
others, you might be a more effective genealogist. Covey's 7 Habits
apply very well to genealogy and might be a useful discipline for you
to adopt.
Links
The Franklin Covey site
http://www.franklincovey.com
Condensed Summaries
http://www.profitadvisors.com/7habitlist.shtml
MORE INFORMATION
If you want to discuss genealogy technology issues, please drop by
the RootsWorks Forums (
http://www.rootsworks.com/forums ).
Registration is free, and I'd be interested to know what kinds of
issues you are facing.
____________________________________________________________________
Beau Sharbrough is a product manager at Ancestry.com. His articles
contain his own views and opinions and do not reflect any corporate
policy or statement by the company. He lives in Provo, Utah, where he
can't wait to see what plant blooms next. The RootsWorks series of
articles focuses on genealogical applications for generic
technologies. Please note that he cannot assist you with your
individual computer and genealogy problems. Visit the RootsWorks
website (
http://www.rootsworks.com ) for links to previous articles
and Beau's lecture schedule (next stop: FGS conference in Austin.
Texas, in September).
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