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Summary: If wishes were horses we'd all be highly effective.
Review: Author's Qualifications Stephen Covey brings "25 years of working with people in business, university and marriage and family settings," as his credentials in writing this book. With an MBA from Harvard, a professorship at Brigham Young University and a marriage that has survived many years and nine children, these credentials certainly ring true. The principles he describes are not the products of academic research or controlled studies. Neither do they stem from deeply moving personal experiences that a Nelson Mandela or a Viktor Frankl may speak about. They are the principles that grandma may have talked about, if only she were more articulate. And yet, for this very reason, one feels compelled to listen to Covey for his experiences are close to those of us common folk. Thesis and Critique The book certainly presents a well structured attempt at restructuring our lives in the pursuit of personal excellence. In this review however, I will focus on its role as a management handbook. Covey makes a special effort to remind us that his is not a "time management" book. While this is a book about organizational excellence, Covey emphasizes that the foundation of organizational excellence is personal excellence. The seven habits he describes in great detail are tools leading to that goal. They can be applied in nearly every situation in our lives, and, if successfully practiced, will help us to improve our personal as well as professional lives. In describing Habit 1 (Be Proactive) Covey uses a vast array of allusions ranging from Pavlovian conditioned reflexes to Frankl's holocaust experiences. His erudite tone, laced with pithy personal anecdotes soon lulls the reader into acceptance in true Socratic fashion. The second Habit emphasizes a sense of mission. Under the influence of Covey and his cohorts, every corporate office now has some variation on a mission statement. The more inept and slow-moving the organization, the more prominent is the display of "The Vision of Our Corporation." While mission statements are valuable for organizations such as Procter and Gamble and Coke, they can be a hindrance in today's fast moving biotechnology and information systems companies whose very survival is based on constant redefinition and opportunistic adaptation to market demands and new technological developments. Habit 3 deals with time management and is perhaps the most useful section of the book. A reader in love with the Pareto principle could read this section and get most of the utility out of the book. A unique feature is the analysis of activities based on four quadrants. Covey stresses quadrant II activities such as relationship building and recognizing new opportunities. These are certainly critical management skills and deserve to be emphasized. Covey's worksheets for time management are also novel and represent an improvement over to-do lists and appointment books. The division of time based on ones many "roles" certainly is a way to achieve greater balance between the personal and the professional. With Habit 4 Covey again descends into sermonizing. Predecessors such as Jesus and Buddha have done a far better job at illustrating this principle through their lives and words. From a modern author angling at the management crowd one would expect a more "how-to" approach set in a real-world context, but this is lacking. A far superior treatment of this aspect is Adam Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff's Co-opetition that shows the applications of this noble principle in a business setting. Habit 5 emphasizes empathic communication. The chapter showcases Covey's talents as an empath. Habit 6, Synergy is another great concept much touted by merging organizations. This chapter alone could explain Covey's tremendous success in an otherwise astute business community. Habit 7, picturesquely called "sharpening the saw," belongs more in a Deepak Chopra book with its quasi-religious overtones. The overwhelming success of this book emphasizes the human mind's love of simplification. If seven, easy to understand habits could enrich our lives, the world quickly would become a much better place. These habits and their virtues are not new to us and have been an open secret for millennia. The difficulty of course lies in their application. On closing the book the following verse from Alice in Wonderland comes to mind: 'You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door-- Pray, what is the reason of that?' 'In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 'I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment--one shilling the box-- Allow me to sell you a couple?'
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Summary: We are already living these concepts> Now Put Them To Use
Review: Stephen Covey is teaching us what we are already living. He is able to help us really think about this and put it to use! The 7 Habits has changed my life in such a positive way and I have had the power all along, I just needed to understand and put it all to use. His book helps to bring it all together in a clear and consise manner. If you are able to put it all together in a positive and proactive approach, you will enjoy and get a lot from any of his books. The key is understanding and proactively putting to use each habit in our daily lives. I highly recommend Covey's works to any one who wants to take charge of their life, be proactive and accept responsibility!
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Summary: Inagine someone you respect says........
Review: "THAT BOOK SAVED MY MARRIAGE AND CHANGED MY LIFE." That's what my Regional Sales Manager said when he saw the book on my co-worker's desk. I thought to myself..."If this person-whom I respect and admire, can admit that and speak from the heart the way he did with us... I better polish off the copy I put down 5 years ago and give it another chance." With a 2 year old daughter, and a busy outside sales career, this book has forced me to take the time to define what matters most. And through that excercise I have managed more balance and peace in my life. The book is not easy to work through---You have to stay with it...Even after I finished it, I procrastinated for 5 weeks afterwards avoiding what I knew had to be done...Finally I took the step and pounded ou my mission statement in 2 hours. I nary had a scratch out or mistake...It all flowed from the thoughts this book forced me to face. Once I wrote down what matters most and my Personal mission, defined my roles and goals, everything in my life has been tied to the fulfilment of that Mission. I strive to keep things that in the past would take up a majority of my time or anxiety off my plate... The bottom line, just like with anything that is worth it's while it will take time and effort. But I feel like I'm reaping what I've sown for the last few months.
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Summary: Powerful and profound!
Review: I've read "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" several times now (I've also taken the "Seven Habits" management course), and the book's powerful message never ceases to have a positive effect on nearly every aspect of my life. This is a book about organizational excellence, but with a key difference than most others on the same subject: Covey believes that the foundation of organizational excellence is personal excellence. The seven habits he describes in great detail are tools leading to that goal. They can be applied in nearly every situation in our lives, and, if successfully practiced, will help us to improve our lives at home, work and play. A word of caution, though: the book may not be for everybody; you have to be willing to face yourself honestly and courageously, and apply the seven habits daily, in order to become more effective. For the most part, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" is well written. Covey tends to "sermonize" in places, and his writing style is at times long-winded and a bit patronizing (a flaw common to many writers of management books who think of theirs as the "best way"). However, despite its stylistic shortcomings, the book's message is powerful and profound...for those who have the courage to accept it and put it into practice.
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Summary: Hogwash!
Review: Children do not naturally share anything. They have to be taught. Covey needs to read the Bible if he wants to know the truth. I'm required to read his book for a college course. Its a total waste of time and money.
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Summary: Boring
Review: This book reminded me of a long-winded church sermon. Be good, love people, and try to be happy. Hearing such stuff over and over again probably never hurt anybody, but for me, at least, it doesn't exactly inspire or empower me to run out and change my life.
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Summary: Stephen - where is the workbook to the 7 Habits?
Review: I could not add another single line of praise than all the wonderful things that have already been written about Covey and the ideas and principles contained in his books. I value the The 7 Habits and it has made incredible contributions to my life. However, I would LOVE to see a companion workbook to the 7 Habits so that I could apply the teaching more easily and track my progress.
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Summary: Corporate Indoctrination at Best
Review: Covey's bestseller is nothing more than another management fad and fireplace fodder for that matter. Corporate America's visionary managers who happen to have read this first have bought into its "pull yourself by your bootstaps" mentality and indoctrinated all of their subordinates into this operation groupthink as well, which accounts for its specatular ability to still make money for the author. If you have the ability to set goals and plot out logical steps to achieve those goals, then skip this book. If you have reached the management level already or are in sales, this book reiterates what you already know. Covey will add no insite to you, other than your ability to decipher why your co-workers keep "sharpening their saws" around the water cooler.
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Summary: A masterful work
Review: OK, so this book costs 10 dollars or so. The more important cost is the time you spend trying to read and understand it. Why should you? Because, it is a great book. The problem with Stephen is that his style of writing is not always to the point. But, put in the effort to read and understand what he says, and you will discover a treasure-trove of principles to live by. The first principle, proactivity is alone worth the price of the book. The most powerful idea it implanted in my mind is, that I can choose my response. When a co-worker shows a bad attitude, when my wife is not in a good mood, when things are not going according to plan, I can choose my response. I need not let any of those things affect me. That's because they are stimulus. Between that and my response, I have space to act. Read the book. It will change the way you look at the world.
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Summary: I agree 100% with the reviewer from Colorado!
Review: As a long time Covey fan, I review Seven Habits regularly and conintually try to improve the way I apply these great ideas to my personal life. I also enjoy reading the customer reviews to see what other people are getting from Covey's works. Earlier a reader from Colorado suggested reading another book entitled Winning Ways by Dick Lyles, with the comment that it tied in well with Covey's habits #4 and #6. I couldn't agree more. Lyles obviously shares many Covey philosophies and attributes. But more important, the four secrets of Winning Ways add needed dimension to Covey's work. Reading Seven Habits over and over again in order to create the habit of improvement is the way to go. Reading it along with Winning Ways is the frosting on the cake!
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