Book Review

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

By Stephen Covey

Reviewed by Steve Buchwald, CIRM

If you are like me, your first reaction is probably, great just what we need another self help book That is just the reaction my family had when I tried to listen to the tape in the car the other day. Yes, we purchased both the book and the audio tape. The tape is not an unabridged version of the book, and while it doesn't give you much meat on its own, it is a good primer/review for the book.

The book, on the other hand, is well written. As Warren Bennis put it, Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principal-centered approach for personal and professional problems. Covey concentrates on the idea that we think we are objective and see things as they are. However, we see things not as they are but as we are conditioned to see them. It is because of our "maps" and thus our existing paradigms that influence our behavior and our ability to be effective.

This book describes the importance of Interdependence and how it differs from Dependence and Independence. As an interdependent person, you have the opportunity to share yourself with others and to have access to the vast resources and potentials of others. It is this journey from dependency to interdependency that the seven habits are all about. The first three habits deal with self mastery. They are what Covey calls the "Private Victories"; the essence of character growth. These habits are: Be Proactive; Begin the End in Mind; and Put First Things First. The next three habits deal with teamwork. They are what Covey calls the "Public Victories" These next three habits are: Think Win/Win; Seek first to Understand, Then to be Understood; and Synergize. Habit 7 is the habit of renewal. It is the habit of continuous improvement.

This is not a book for casual reading. You can read it once straight through for an overview. However, if you really want to become more effective you need to be willing to study the concepts in this book and to commit to them every day. To this end Covey has included numerous stories to help prove his many points. In addition, at the end of each chapter he has included exercises that will keep you focused on the task of becoming more effective. These exercises and the ideas in this book are powerful lessons in personal change and can only work if approached with diligence. Again, this is not some blind faith preaching that we have all recently seen the effects of. This is about positive change for better effectiveness both in your personal and your professional life. You don't have to take it from me just read what Skip LeFauve, President of Saturn Corporation/General Motors had to say. ".[It] played a major role in the development of Saturn's operating systems and philosophy. Our commitment to quality and to our customers has it roots in the Seven Habits."

Good reading!