Product Description

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE is recognised as one of the most influential books ever written. In this seminal work, Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centred approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity -- principles that give us the security to adapt to change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. Translated into thirty-four languages and with phenomenal sales, THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE has been the key to the success of legions of business leaders and individuals the world over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #225 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
According to Steven R. Covey, to live with security and wisdom, and to have the power to take advantages of the opportunities that change creates, we need fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. Quite a tall order when you consider that most of us live our lives in a permanent state of flux, questioning our ideals and values and fighting a daily battle with the lack of self-confidence that stops us from taking risks of any kind. But, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey manages to make it sound as if changing the way we look at ourselves and the world around us so that we can become more successful both personally and professionally an absolute doddle. He defines the "habits" as "the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire" and states that the "Seven Habits" of the title are not mutually exclusive, but rather when developed together help to form a well-rounded, sensitive, confident and effective human being.

As with many self-help books, much of what you read here is based on basic common sense and can at times be irritatingly obvious. However, what Covey manages to do so successfully is to break down the barriers which prevent all of us from taking a long hard look at ourselves, and then gradually introduces new rules which allow us to move first from dependence to independence and then towards the ultimate goal of interdependence. But of course, the only real way to test the value of The Habits--be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think "win/win", seek first to understand and then to be understood, synergise, sharpen the saw-- is to work on them. This book is as good as any place to start on the road to self-awareness and self-improvement in the workplace and in the home without becoming too irritatingly smug and self-satisfied. --Susan Harrison

About the Author
Stephen R. Covey is an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant and founder of the Covey Leadership Center. He has made teaching Principle-Centred Living and Principle-Centred Leadership his life's work. He is the author of several acclaimed and bestselling books.

Customer Reviews

Not an E-Z read.
For a personal change book, I found it rather a hard read. The book to me is, well, complicated. The seven habits make sense and all, but the whole process seems to involve making layers of change, with each layer being a whole book in itself. Not a very quick read, and I'm not saying its not worthwhile and all, it's more a book that you have to be willing to work with. Readers who like less sophisticated personal change books might enjoy The Sixty-Second Motivator.

Humanistic source of motivation for life change
This became a major best-seller, highly influential in both management and personal development circles. Covey's seven habits are fairly obvious, fairly simple, yet are lost in the morass of hype and counter-hype his book provoked.

Covey looked at the characteristics of the successful, reducing these to seven principles, seven good habits that successful people generally demonstrate. Developing good habits is an advantage: by definition, if they are 'good' habits, they do you good. Brian Clough, the football manager, used to insist that his players learned good habits, that they learned to do the basics, the simple things well; once they could trust themselves to do the basics, then they could progress to try the novel, the special, to inject that little spark of genius which would win the game.

But Clough was talking about football, and doing what was necessary to win the game. Covey talks about successful people. You have to keep asking, what constitutes 'successful'? Becoming rich? Or being happy, contented, in harmony with the world and the people around you?

Covey suggests you choose your own definition of success. You set your own goals. And, the first thing you have to do is believe that you can change your life. Covey's principles, then, become the yardsticks by which you both measure change and motivate yourself to change - you decide on the good habits Brian Clough demanded, and get into the habit of doing things which will aid your change.

Covey, however, relates change and success to quality of life - although his book has often been seized upon as a manual for business success and profit. He says there is no easy way to achieve change. It requires work - and requires that you develop new, good habits while eradicating old, bad ones. It's a simple, logical piece of self-motivation, but it does require you to sit back, analyse your life, and work at change. Covey does not provide a quick fix.

He argues that we need to work with others, respect others, show tolerance, and value the rights of others. This is not a recipe for get-to-the-top regardless. Covey identifies the need for values and a moral commitment, for a spiritual aspect to your life. He spends the first 50-60 pages emphasising this.

He then identifies the seven habits - be proactive, he says. Believe, go, do. Don't put off or make excuses. Get in the game and try. You can change your world. Set yourself goals, achievable goals, taking a step at a time towards them. Don't rush ahead, 'put first things first'. And so on.

Covey provides a recipe for self-motivation and goal setting, and he argues for a holistic approach, for mind, body, the spiritual side being in balance, for working with your partner, family, friends, colleagues, community. It's the harmony and the spiritual which often get cast aside as go-getters try to rush ahead.

What Covey presents is simple enough. He writes with purpose and with passion, and it's a very easy book to pick up and begin to absorb, with lots of practical messages as well as theoretical ones. Essentially, however, you have to believe that your life needs to change and that change is possible. Thereafter, Covey will provide inspirational messages and encouragement to develop new, better habits.

It's a book which is worth reading, but disregard the hype and use it as a basic means to analyse your own life, lifestyle, hopes, aspirations and potential, and appreciate that Covey is at his best when he asks questions - you are the one, ultimately, who has to come up with the answers.

Great for being efficient, poor for finding true happiness
When I first got this book, I worked for a large company and I thought this books principles principles greatly improved my productivity.

Now I work for myself and have time to consider things more thoroughly, I realised that this book was partly responsible for me making myself thoroughly miserable.

It's fine to be an "effective" person - but what about your happiness? And the people around you? Is that not far more important than simply being "effective"? This book is grey and uninspiring because - although substantially better than most similar books - you still risk being turned into an automaton with regard to how you organise your life.

The first step in the book revolves around planning what people will say about you at your funeral. Well, interesting idea, but as you get older your values change. I've been "road testing" this book for three years now. I've now given up. I realise now that life is far more enjoyable when you are riding the crests of its waves, than if you spend your time locked up in a stuffy room pouring over your weekly diary, philosophising about what is the most "effective" way of slicing your life into neat half-hour chunks.

Too much emphasis on speculating on the future in todays society means few people are living life for the moment, and even fewer are fully tuned into the thoughts and feelings of those around them at any particular time.

I no longer recommend this book. As the old cliche goes: "Life is what happens whilst you are planning something else".

Jezar.