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The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in thirty-eight languages since first publication, this was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent "effectiveness". Covey believes this is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north"; principles of a character ethic that, unlike values, he believes to be universal and timeless.
The book was enormously popular, and catapulted Covey into lucrative public-speaking appearances and workshops. He has also written a number of sequels and spinoffs, such as Power of the Seven Habits; Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families; and Beyond the Seven Habits. A sequel to The Seven Habits is From Effectiveness to Greatness published in 2004, ISBN 0684846659.
A course based on The Seven Habits is offered at the United States Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. *
A Principled Approach
Throughout the book Covey points to principles as the focus. The book presents the principles as an approach rather than a set of behaviors. The book imparts the principles in four sections.
- Paradigms and Principles. Here, Covey introduces the basic foundation for the creation of the habits.
- Private Victory. Here, Covey introduces the first three habits intended to take a person from dependence to independence, or one's ability to be self-reliant.
- Public Victory. Here, Covey introduces habits four through six which are intended to lead to interdependence, the ability to align one's needs and desires with those of other people and create effective relationships.
- Renewal. Here, Covey introduces the final habit which directs the reader to begin a process of self-improvement.
The Seven Habits
A chapter is dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:
- Be Proactive. Here, Covey recommends an attitude of initiative-taking and compares this to the less effective, but more common "reactive" stance.
- Begin with the End in Mind. This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true-north principles". Covey recommends to formulate a "personal mission statement" to document one's perception of one's own purpose in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational mission statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization, rather than being prescribed.
- Put First Things First. Here, Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans.
- Think Win/Win describes an attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought, that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as others, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a working communication.
- Synergize describes a way of working in teams. It is purported that, when this is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
- Sharpen the saw focuses on balanced self-renewal. Regaining what Covey calls "productive capacity" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities.
Criticism
Critics claim Covey over intellectualizes management philosophy.
Other critics point out the profound difference in the world since The Seven Habits was first published in 1989 and dispute the relevance of the habits in today’s technological society. However, Covey persists that the habits remain as fundamental as ever, since he believes the concepts to be timeless truths.
Analogous Books
- Principle Centered Leadership, published in 1992 (ISBN 0671792806).
- First Things First, co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, published in 1994 (ISBN 0684802031).
- Living the Seven Habits, published in 2000 (ISBN 0684857162).
- From Effectiveness to Greatness, published in 2004 (ISBN 0684846659).
External links
- Complete article detailing each of the habits
- Information on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Coaching
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"