The 7 habits of highly effective people

370 pages

English language

Published Nov. 19, 2004 by Free Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-7432-7245-2

(2 reviews)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.

This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes …

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.

This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price

45 editions

Paul reviewed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

40 million copies sold? 160 million hours wasted

1 star

This book is one of those that I’ve heard lots about and therefore read on the assumption that there must be something to it. What a mistake to make. I can’t even remember what most of the 7 habits are, apart from the cringe-inducing ‘synergizing’ (if anyone uses that word in your presence, run away - you won’t regret it). The only person I can imagine benefiting from this is the author cashing his royalty cheques.

The worst thing about this book though is that the author used these techniques with his family, including his children, and he’s proud of that. I can understand using management techniques at work, but applying them to your children seems wrong.

It took me about 4 hours to read this book. 40 million copies sold? 160 million hours wasted would be my summary.

Damien Ryan

rated it

May 24, 2022

Subjects

Success -- Psychological aspects
Character