THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE By Stephen R. Covey

      BOOK REVIEW

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

By Stephen R. Covey, Free Press, Pages: 358

With his pioneering work in Principle Centered Leadership, Stephen R. Covey is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on empowerment. Thousands of organizations worldwide including two thirds of the Fortune 500 have adopted his innovative techniques on quality, leadership, innovation, trust, teamwork, customer-focused service and organizational alignment.

Dr. Covey received an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, where he was professor of organizational behavior and business management. His many awards include the Thomas More College Medallion for continued service to humanity and the Mc-Feely Award from the International Management Council for significant contributions to management and education.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey is co-founder/co-chairman of Franklin Covey Company, the largest management and leadership development organization in the world, dedicated to Dr. Covey's vision of empowering organizations to implement principle-centered leadership in their cultures.

Dr. Covey is perhaps best known as the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which is ranked as a No. 1 best-seller by the New York Times, having sold more than 15 million copies in 32 languages and 75 countries throughout the world. He has also written a number of follow-up books, 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 The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness published in 2004. Also, Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version for teens: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers to better understand them. In October 2006 Sean Covey also published "The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make, a Guide for Teens" that highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them. His oldest son, Stephen M.R. Covey has written a book titled "The Speed of Trust."

The book begins with a personal acknowledgements page, followed by a simple and touching dedication, and then moves on to the contents. One glance at the contents page shows that the book is divided into four major parts, each dealing with a theme, building up to the next one. At the end of the main body of the book itself is a personal note by the author, followed by two appendices, and two indexes, of which one is a Problem/Opportunity index dealing specifically with some of the material presented in the book, while the other is a regular index.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of those rare books that actually deliver what they promise, and with the maximum impact possible. Highly informative, absolutely pertinent, very positive, creatively yet simply written, with a crisp and firm tone, and given a very personalized touch, this book is a veritable guide designed to take the reader on a journey of self-exploration that culminates in the reader gaining something positive, no matter how minute, from it.

Stephen Covey builds up his book in a very interesting manner: beginning with paradigms and principles, he deals deftly with the issues of perception, conditioning, growth and change. Using terms such as proactive, reactive, synergy, the P/PC Balance (Production and Production Capability), self awareness,  EBAs (Emotional Bank Accounts),the circles of influence and concern, empathic communication, creative cooperation and balanced self-renewal, Covey charts a path for his readers that astonishes them, and at the same time, rewards them for following it. Time and again, he comes up with the importance of language, perception and the frames of reference that people use in their approach to various issues and challenges of life. Equally applicable and adaptable to individuals, families, and organizations, the framework given by Covey aims at long-term, lasting changes; changes that are there to stay.

The first part of the book deals with Paradigms and Principles, where the reader is given a few eye-openers regarding perception, the strength from within and how the seven habits given by the author can affect the reader. The second part consists of Habits 1, 2 and 3, dealing with Personal Victory: it encompasses principles of personal vision, leadership and management. The third part, Public Victory, acquaints the reader with the principles of interpersonal leadership, empathic communication, and creative cooperation. The fourth part of the book, Renewal, gives the reader some valuable principles of balanced self-renewal, aimed at the long-term practice and maintenance of the habits that Stephen R. Covey puts forth in his book. The seven habits given by Covey are             Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand, and Then to Be Understood, Synergize, Sharpen the Saw.

These habits move us through three different stages: Dependence, Independence and Interdependence. All these stages are interlinked, but one has to work at moving from Dependence, to being Independent, and finally achieving Interdependence. How to do so is what The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People teaches its readers. However, it is a book that has to be understood, and used in context, for it to be effective; one cannot just read it and expect wonders. It is an intricate book, certainly, but well worth the time and effort that a reader will put into it.