The preamble to the Delta Chi constitution states,
We, the members of The Delta Chi Fraternity, believing that great advantages are to be derived from a brotherhood of college and university men, appreciating that close association may promote friendship, develop character, advance justice, and assist in the acquisition of a sound education, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
The Delta Chi Fraternity was formed at Cornell University in 1890 and at that point the founders, more than likely, had no idea that they would write a preamble with the idea tied to one of the best selling books of the 20th century.
That book is the famous 7 Habits of Highly Effective People authored by Stephen R. Covey. In coveys book he talks about how becoming a highly effective person is an inside-out process and happens in three steps. First, one must be dependent and that happens at birth and through childhood when we are dependent on those around us. The second stage is independence. We are taught that to be successful we must be unique, proactive thinkers and work hard on our own through school and our career to get ahead. Covey has found that to be highly effective one must complete a third stage. The final stage Covey offers is interdependence. Interdependence is when people cooperate to complete a task that is not able to be completed independently. With these three stages in mind I will give a brief overview of the 7 Habits and how they relate to this organization.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Being proactive is the first step to becoming independent. By being proactive people have their own ideas and begin finding new goals for themselves and find a way to accomplish those goals. As a member of Delta Chi, a person very quickly finds out what being proactive means. They have a large number of people who have already become proactive and have accomplished a great deal of things in their college career. The organization as a whole is also very proactive and strives to accomplish new goals all the time.
Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind
Beginning this habit is when a person becomes much more independent. This is the goal oriented habit. When a person is planning new things and setting new goals they must do so with the end result apparent to them. This habit would include writing a personal mission statement for oneself in order to achieve that goal. By writing that personal mission statement the person is well on their way to achieving their goal with ease. In Delta Chi we have a program called the KEY Program. This program is designed to help a new member reach their true potential in all that they do. The KEY program helps the whole organization because we must plan our activities in order to accomplish the tasks laid out in the program, which then leads to a well balanced, well organized organization.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
The idea of this habit is to do what fits you. It is great to do things for others but you also have to keep in mind whose life you are living. Covey references a tail of the goose that laid the golden egg. Each day the goose would lay a golden egg and the farmer was getting very rich. In his greed he decided that there would be tons of golden eggs inside the goose and cut it open to find them. Much to his surprise he found no golden eggs and now his prize goose was dead. The moral of the story is to take care of the goose and let the eggs come as the come. In Delta Chi we run into this scenario time and time again. Many of the men get involved in great things and then Delta Chi comes second. When something like that happens we remind ourself of the goose and focus our attention at what is most important and what really comes first.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
This is where a person begins that transition from independence to interdependence. At this time people begin to work out compromises so both parties are favored in some way. Sometimes the decision may be to disagree and that is the best for both parties. Within the fraternity we also have to make tough decisions where people have different outcomes they would like to see. When we run into differing opinions we try our hardest to make both parties happy because the fraternity belongs to everyone and everyone needs to have a say in what they do. Compromise is extremely important for an organization and must be practiced for the individuals to become interdependent.
Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then Be Understood
The idea expressed in this habit is the idea of listening. Listening is key to making decisions that are effective in an organization and in interpersonal communication. People must strive to understand the opinion of the person they are communicating with so they can then make a relevant response to the message they received. All too often people develop an image of what they think is true and in fact they are not correct in their view. If people would take the time to listen to one another they may find that they would understand why they feel that way on an issue. Our organization is comprised of young men who are all very different but come together to strive for EXCELLENCE. At times we find ourselves disagreeing and we don’t always listen closely to what our brothers are telling us and therefore arguments erupt. Usually it only takes one person to stand up and listen(not yell) to make the argument come to an end.
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 6 goes hand in hand with habit 5. After two people or parties have taken the time to listen with each other they can have effective communication. This is called synergy. Synergy is when two people come together and work together to accomplish a goal or make a decision. In Delta Chi when people argue and when arguing comes to a stop people come together and decisions are made swiftly and effectively. This leads to everyone being very happy with the outcome and much closer as brothers of and organization.
Habit 7: Sharpen The Saw
Here people need to stop and reflect on their goals and their personal mission statement. Many organizations do this through retreats. During retreats, organizations work together to decide if they are on track with their mission statement and goals. Delta Chi works to hold a retreat every year to assess our goals and decide if we still want to follow the same values that we have had for that previous year. Retreats tend to make people more positive with the organizations they are in and people work hard to accomplish their goals. By doing this the organization builds production capacity with out having to work harder to accomplish more.
In the end by following these habits a person will move from being dependent, to independent, using interdependence to work on goals and work with individuals. In an organization like Delta Chi, we rely on interdependence to work things out and solve issues that members may have. By working together we can accomplish more and can make the fraternity stronger. Ultimately, that is the goal; To make the Goose (fraternity) the absolute best it can be.
If we feed the goose the goose will feed us.
ITB,
BOOGER
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