Reflections for Highly Effective People

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas but difficult presentation style
Review: This is not an easy tape to listen to. You really have to sit down with it and study it to get all the points it is making. I think that a lot of what he says is common sense but in addition there are also other interesting concepts that may be of use to business people and families with troubled teens. What I would criticise this tape for is the way the ideas are presented. It feels a little like being in a seminar given by a professor of psycology rather than a tape meant for all. It is not straight forward. The concepts seem too abstract which doessn't help as many of them are presented through metaphore like "sharpening the saw", for instance. And in the same section as "sharpening the saw" there is an anecdote about smallpocks innoculations that doesn't seem to fit unless, as I say, you really make the effort with the tape. You can't listen to it effectively in the car, for instance. "Well don't, then!" you may be saying, but if you campare Covey's style to someone like Anthony Robbins, you will find that Robbins is just so much easier to understand, and the ideas are presented in a tangible way, rather than like a cryptic crossword. Still, there are some good, new things in the tape, and that is what you really want, isn't it? I didn't like the fact that as well as Covey, there are two other speakers taking it in turns to read the book. Why? What is the purpose? OK, one more thing. Why do people have to quote Shakespeare are though he were the authority on everything? In this tape Covey says things like "Shakespeare put it this way". So what? Why doesn't anyone have the guts to tell the truth? Bill Shakes is BORING!!! And yes I DO understand it. But it is totally out of place on a tape like this. I find anyone who reverts to quoting Shakespeare very suspect. Quote Plato, quote The Buddha, quote Annie Oakley if you want but PLEASE! Spare us the Bill Shakes!