Executive #Bookshelf : The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey @StephenRCovey
Synopsis
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.
Covey defines effectiveness as balancing obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces the desirable results. He illustrates this by referring to the fable of the "Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs". He further claims that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio, where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results.
Covey's best-known book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one's values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles.
Covey adamantly refuses to conflate principles and values; he sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people's behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.
Tom’s Take:
This is one of the rare books that took me months to finish, as I kept practicing and re-read the habits from time to time. The book's contents is very compact and that requires full focus to absorb all the ideas. But it's worth. Every time I read excerpts of this book, I am reminded of principles in life, practical guides on how to change ourselves and how important human interaction is. There’s a reason this is a class- it's a must read book for a man in his quest for excellence.