The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Stephen R. Covey | One of My Personal Wisdom Resources

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The 7 Habits of Hi...

	The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey Free Press, 1990 - 358 pages average customer review:based on 809 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Don't Kill the Golden Goose

This book is the most famous title of Stephen R. Covey, a professor of Brigham Young University where he taught prior to the publication of this best-selling work. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey holds a BS degree in Business Administration from University of Utah in Salt Lake City, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctorate of Religious Education (DRE) in Mormon Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University. He also holds membership of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.

This book is mainly about the time management (chapters 1, 2, 3, 7) and interpersonal relationships (chapters 4, 5, 6). The other time-management books, like "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and "Time Drive" by Gleb Arkhangelsky, frequently overlook the importance of interpersonal relationships in the time management.

Many of the ideas and much of the language of this book recast the content of the classic 1966 Peter F. Drucker book "The Effective Executive", wherein Drucker wrote: "Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit", and which includes a chapter called "First Things First".

The author consistently opposes "quick-fix" solutions to life or business problems and insists that changes in paradigm or mindset to align with natural principles provide the "true" source of solutions. Covey points out, for example, that the paradigm that produces short-term results in business inevitably leads to an inability to produce results for the long term. He calls this "killing the golden goose". Covey advocates balancing short- and long-term productive capacities as the most effective mindset for the businessperson.

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One of My Personal Wisdom Resources

You can find time to focus on what matters most to YOU. Emphasizes importance of defining and living by YOUR personal values and provides guidance on how to do this.

When I first read this book in the early 1990's, I knew it spoke to me and tried very hard to apply its wisdom; but did not yet have enough insight into myself or life in general to do so successfully. I was not yet able to live an effective life.

The 7 Habits... provides a framework for effective living, as well as a suggested methodology. In the early 90's, I did not yet understand the idea that for any framework, there can be many effective methodologies. Likewise, many different frameworks can be used to articulate wise guidance for effective living.

One of my core beliefs is that what's most important when reading this, or any other book - or for that matter; when watching a show or film, listening to audio, interacting with other humans, surfing "The Net", experiencing nature, or conducting any other activity in life - what's most important is to identify the nugget(s) of wisdom you can extract that will lead to increased enlightenment in your life.

Throughout my life, I returned to this text time and time again. Each time, I was able to apply its ideas a bit more successfully; but was still unable to live life effectively.

Now, after ~18 years of trying to implement the ideas of this book (and ~22 years before then... yes, that makes me 40) I believe I now have a methodology (path) that will work for me and for my life. My path may not work for you. Clearly, S. Covey's path did not work for me. It was only when I was able to customize Covey's path for my life and my personal situation that I was able to make it work. The SPIRIT of my path is the same as the SPIRIT of Covey's. It's only the LETTER of the paths that are different.

The creation of my path is a recent event and I've not yet fully implemented it into my life. I'm excited to finally feel I'm living an effective life. Now it's time to move towards living a highly effective life.

If you struggled to either understand or apply Covey's text on first reading; I strongly encourage you to keep going back. Revisit at least every few years to see how your views have changed. It's wisdom is already there. You must be ready to hear for it to work.

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one of the most influential books of my career

I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a 7 habits workshop with Dr. Covey in the early 1980s and on each reread of his message, it never gets tired. Leadership is not about dragging people through projects and initiatives, but rather, it is inspiring them to see the value in those ideas and to create an environment where they are encouraged to excel. In my management consulting career, I have been most successful and effective when I am able to get others to "own" their ideas. That means focusing on results, while allowing individuals latitude to discover their own best processes. What do those who work for you do when you're not around to oversee their efforts? After you've become a student of the 7 habits philosophy, you'll rarely lose sleep over that concern!

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Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Seven Habits is an enjoyable book. Well written, engaging, thoroughly, relevant to anyone who cares about who they are and being the most they are capable of being. I highly recommend it.

Can All People Be Highly Effective?

The job of this book is to present a holistic approach to leadership that focuses on the principles and character that one has. Effectively, this means that this text would be useless for someone of bad character, but this is not why I am rating a 4 instead of a 5, as I believe that good character is immensely important in leadership.

Instead, I rate this book lower because while it provides a good framework of the optimal paradigm (principle-centered), as well as a good structure in which to execute our paradigm (The Seven Habits), there is next to no consideration of the dilemmas that may occur when principles clash or when moral systems are radically different. An example of the latter would be the difference between "ends justify the means" and "means justify the end", which in itself is an issue that I feel is discussed much better in The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead

Another issue (although not necessairly a flaw) that was unaddressed is that the principle-centered paradigm is neutral to the law; a classic example of a principled decision is that of the man who must steal to feed his family. In reality, however, the law is a pressure that constrains the decisions of people, both good and bad.

Overall, this is a good book for those that GENUINELY want to improve their circumstances (and that of others they're close to), but I would strongly recommend that anyone who reads this is careful in their reading. Unfortunately, the motivational style of writing Covey uses makes it difficult to notice problems that require extra thought and/or reading since it tends to "suck you in".

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