It occurred to me recently that the pursuit of enlightened self interest promoted by Rand in Atlas Shrugged is very similar to Covey’s habit of seeking win/win outcomes in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Though it has been a while since I read either book, I seem to recall that Rand argued that a fair trade, or exchange, is the ideal form of interaction between two persons because the self always benefits. She plays down the fact that both parties benefit. Covey reverses the emphasis, focusing on the benefit to both parties, and downplaying the benefit to the self, but I think he makes basically the same point: the most desirable outcome is one where both parties benefit. Rand stated it provocatively make for more interesting reading while Covey softened it to make it more acceptable.
Anyway, could it be that Rand’s enlightened self interest and Covey’s pursuit of win/win are one in the same?
Ken Dyck 