Rating: 
Summary: well structured book==> good review!
Review: The content in covey's book is far from original. This fact alone would warrant zero stars. However this does not necessary make this book inadequate. What the buyer gets is possibly the best organised book of all time. It progresses gradually from understanding to planning to taking action in both private and public realities. The coherent structure is a metaphor for the logic and sequentiality of the method he prescribes. The only way i can change is by reasoning that changing is for the better, i.e through logic. Covey's book is so logical that it almost feels mathematical. Descartes would be proud.The one reservation i have is that there were some christian references made which deter from the book's universal appeal.
He's not a mormon is he? I love how covey attacks throughout the whole book superficial band aid solutions to social problems evident in many civilization destroying self help books of which i consider Carnegie's "how to win friends and influence people" the worst of the worst.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy another book
Review: This book is all about generality. It has ideas like take your life into your own hands, don't let life drive you.
But it doesn't tell you how to do it.
For instance if I tell you Be a great basketball player, that's not a habit. You have to do several smaller steps to become one, which the book doesn't tell you.
It's also not motivating.
If you want a good book, read the "magic of thinking big"
However, be aware, no book can change your life, like many reviewers say. Only you can change it.
Rating: 
Summary: I have chosen Stephen Covey as my advisor
Review: Are you having professional success but at the cost of personal and family life? Do you set goals and then fizzle out? Do your employees need close supervision? Do your children follow your advice? Are you living the happy productive life you seek? Do you think there should be greater meaning to life? Has your marriage gone flat? These are deep, painful problems that don't get solved with quick fix solutions. These are the kind of problems Covey addresses in this book and it is based on the philosophy that if we want to change the situation we have first to change ourselves. The author starts from the research he conducted about success literature over the last 200 years. There was a critical point about 50 years ago when success based on the character ethic changed to success based on the personality ethic. We therefore find that most of the books of the last 50 years are based on superficial, social band aids and aspirin solutions such as public relations techniques and positive mental attitude. This is the root cause of our problems today - no one is getting at the real deep down solutions to our deep down problems. In contrast, the foundation of success in the prior 150 years was based on such characteristics as integrity, humility, fidelity, honesty, temperance, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty and - dare we say it? -the Golden Rule of treating others as we would have others treat us. But it is no good just giving lip service to these qualities; we have to live them and be them. If my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity and insincerity, I cannot be successful in the long run. What communicates much more than what we say or do is what we are - what radiates out from us. This is something that we can't just produce when facing the press - it shows in our every thought, word and deed. The bad news is that we are the problem and not the other guy. The bad news is that we have to work on ourselves first. But the good news is that Covey helps us along this path. It all comes back to our paradigm, how we perceive, understand and interpret the world, our worldview. The personality ethic is a paradigm. The character ethic is a completely different paradigm. If our paradigm is basically flawed, however hard we work at it, we just get to the wrong place faster. Covey illustrates the fact that we can all see the same world completely differently by the picture of a woman. To some who have been conditioned before hand she is an old hag; to others, conditioned differently, she is a real cutie that we would like to take out. We try our best to be objective but where we stand depends on where we sit. The problem is that 100 people listening to a talk come away with 100 different versions of what the speaker said, but on top of that we interpret what we hear and what we see through the lens we have been conditioned to wear. Sincere, clear-headed people see things differently, each looking through the unique lens of experience. Our paradigms, correct or incorrect, are the sources of our attitudes and behaviors and ultimately of our relationships with others. Thoreau said "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the roots." We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of our attitudes and behavior and get to work at the root - the paradigm from which our attitudes and behaviors flow. But the catch is that to see the world differently we have to be different. The character ethic is based on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness - natural laws in the human dimension that are just as real and unchanging as the law of gravity in the physical dimension. This is what Covey is trying to get us to understand. It seems to me that we are born with a ladder in our hands and the choice of many different walls against which to lean it. We make our choice and spend a lifetime struggling step by step up the ladder and finally we heave a sigh of relief and look over the top where we get a clear view of the world. Horror of horrors! We find that we have spent a lifetime with the ladder against the wrong wall! It has all been wasted effort. We have no alternative but to climb back down, put our ladder against the correct wall and try to make it to the top in our few remaining years. The wise man takes more time before choosing his wall. He asks around, talks to many people, reads many books until he finds a wise man that he trusts. He then puts his ladder against the wall that the wise man points out. So who do you trust? Out of all the people who put on seminars and write books, who do you select? The really wise man selects Stephen Covey.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!
Review: THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST BOOK A PERSON CAN BUY. I HAVE HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH MY GIRLFRIEND AND MY CAREER SIMPLY BECAUSE THE HABITS I HAD WERE NOT PRINCIPLE CENTERED. I FINISHED THE BOOK IN THREE DAYS AND MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED.MY CAREER AND REALTIONSHIP HAVE GONE TO A NEW LEVEL AND I CAN PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEE IF YOU READ THIS BOOK WITH AN OPEN MIND YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE FOREVER.
Rating:
Summary: 1 of 3 timeless classics in personal & career development
Review: The 7 Habits is principles-based and offers solid timeless advice. It takes you from being a victim (dependent on others) to a victor (taking control of your life and relating well with others.) 5 Stars! Emotional Intelligence makes a clear case for the value of emotions and WHY emotional intelligence is more important than IQ for success. 5 stars! Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self, endorsed by Stephen Covey, show you HOW to optimize your mental and emotional intelligence, and make the most of everything in your personal and professional life. 5 stars! Read these three books, and you will never need to read another self-improvement book!
Rating:
Summary: A few nuggets surrounded by drivel
Review: I have to say that overall, I really hated this book. Mostly for the language the author chooses to use. ie: Buzz words, convoluted diagrams and marketing phrases. Biggest annoyance was the word "Paradigm" ( a word I tend to classify as the TV show, the Simpsons does, "a word used by dumb people to sound smart") Deleation of this word alone from the book would have shortened it by at least 50 pages.
Don't get me wrong, there is some very worthwhile material here. I found some of it very relavent to my own life and needs. Through some judicious editing down to the worthwhile material, the author could have produced a very helpful pamphlet. However, the need to wade through the pages and pages of shlock made the book overall very tiresome. I have a hard time understanding how this was on the best sellers list until I remember the overall taste of the general population. Recall the popularity of pet rocks, disco, McDonalds, and reality tv. It helps explain this book's popularity.
Rating:
Summary: How to become More Effective
Review: 7 HABITS has been around now for 13 years and is still among the best selling books ever only because the principles work. Covey is a prolific writer and nows what of he speaks. Effectiveness is different from efficiency. Many people are busy everyday, doing a lot of things, but are they effective? Effeciency is merely being busy. Effectiveness is getting results. Stephen Covey shows how to reach maximum effectiveness. I also recommend Superself by Charles Givens. Another book that is all about effectiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Life-enhancing, but occasionally feels like an ad
Review: This book provides an excellent framework for objectively assessing your maturity level as a person and really getting a better hold on your life. The incremental buildup as the book progresses doesn't feel that overwhelming, but at the end, you really feel that you've come a long way and that you never want to go back to the old way of doing things. The only downside was that you occasionally feel like you're reading a product catalog from Franklin Covey. Everybody's got to make money, though, so it's not a huge detraction.
Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowing/Brain Storming/
Review: Extraordinary, splendid work. This book just is the fact. Read and for God sake try and implement it in your life, I bet your life will transform. All the best Imtiaz..
Rating:
Summary: A Great Life-Changing Book
Review: "It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses." (page 201). This is my favorite quote of the book. My job places me in a position of leadership over other leaders. Often I see these leaders locked into a limited vision when faced with a difficult situation. They see only a win/lose or lose/lose scenario. I direct them to this book's section on win/win and seeing outside the box. The first version of this book was released over a decade ago, but if you still do not have it, don't waste anymore time. Pick up a copy.
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