THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE: POWERFUL LESSONS
IN PERSONAL CHANGE
A BOOK REVIEW
A REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE
EDAM 511
QUIINTIN E. FRONDA JR.
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Stephen R. Covey was one of the most influential American since 1996
for his contribution on management principles. His worldwide teachings have
been distributed through the Franklin Covey Company, wherein, he was the cofounder and co-chairman. This company is now the largest educational and
training institution in the world. He authored his famous book entitled The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People accounts for more than 20 million copies sold.
Dr. Covey earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Utah, an
M.B.A. from Harvard University, and a PhD in Religious Education at BYU, a
prominent Mormon institution. He also served as a college professor, business
consultant, and public speaker. In 2012, he died at the age of 79.
SYNOPSIS
Highly effective people were the desired outcome of this book for the
readers by providing practical and conceptual application as the basis for
continual growth of every individual. This personal growth can only be achieved
when character ethics has been moved as its paradigm. These developments
focus on the principle of inner character and competency so that personal
trustworthiness and interpersonal trust will keep relationships maintaining
satisfaction in all areas of life.
In Covey’s book, he presents the seven habits which require balance
between the short-term production and long-term production capacity. These
principles are in three areas: (a) Private Victory, (b) Public Victory, and (c)
Renewal.
In private victory, the focus of the first three habits is to build inner character.
He describes this process as gaining self-mastery, moving from being dependent
on others to become independent from others. These habits are progressive and
reliant, and are in line with Covey’s insight into timeless, universal, and self-evident
natural principles that govern the consequences of our actions. The habits are as
follows: (1) Be proactive, take initiative for your own growth. (2) Begin with the end
in mind. Visualize what you want and decide how to get there. (3) Put first things
first; focus on the most important things that help you reach your goals maximize
long-term effectiveness. Regular use of these three habits will lead to increasing
effectiveness as an individual, resulting in one becoming truly independent.
Independence is the foundation of interdependence, the goal of the next three
habits.
According to Covey, inner characters are developed when the first three
habits are crucial to the development of the next three habits. The required for
public victory are: (4) Think win/win or no deal. (4) Seek first to understand, then
to be understood. (6) Synergize, use the resources of the team to come up a
solution better than any one person. Practicing these habits will result in genuine
interdependence within a team. Lastly, the seventh habit which is sharpen the
saw, the lone habit under the heading of renewal, requires a regular focus on
continued personal growth in four areas of life: physical, spiritual, mental, and
emotional. Covey concludes with the reminder that all real change must begin
on the inside. He encourages the reader to live “inside out” by learning the
principles, and by seeing life through those principles to live a fulfilling, effective
life.
EVALUATION
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People contains timeless and truthful
ideas for personal development. Covey set out to teach his reader how to nurture
self-awareness and principle-based living. The reviewer believes Covey
accomplished his goal, though there is evidence to suggest Covey does this in
the context of a worldview that leans toward moral autonomy.
Dr. Covey’s writings have truly engaged insightful and meaningful principles
for character development to show deep care for people and to help them
strengthen their inner life. This concept of building character and developing
habits to gain self-mastery is as important as the foundation. This foundation
called spiritual formation expressing commitment and dependence on God.
This book also encourages all readers to understand the maturity
continuum with the learners through the guiding principles. These guiding
principles are identified the two congruent circles such as circle of concern and
circle of influence displaying the importance of time to be invested. On other
hand, this time investment is asserting every individual as proactive person with
increasing circle of influence by his teachings.
The most important and influential components of his book are the
principles on guiding relationships, business, leadership, time management, and
parenting to increase the circle of influence. According to him, to be truly
effective is to begin with the end of mind. This identifies the distinction between
management and leadership.
Covey also introduced a valuable time matrix divided into four quadrants.
The quadrants address what is important, not important, urgent and not urgent.
He insisted the heart of effective personal management occurs in quadrant II,
which consists of important but not urgent activities. He describes the second
quadrant as that which impacts relationships, personal mission, planning, and
preparation for future pursuits. By actively doing the things in quadrant II our
effectiveness takes quantum leaps.
His ideas had influenced many authors to improve their capabilities by
strengthening their leadership abilities. These “Six Paradigms of Human
Interaction,” are valuable for conflict resolution in all institutional body when
coupled with biblical standards and guidelines.
CONCLUSION
This book is really a worthwhile to read and re-read. It will benefit us much
on personal development, spiritual formation, and long-term growth and goals.
Through practicing these habits perfectly will alter our paradigms, affect our
attitudes toward our situation, and help us to focus our time and energy on what
we can control seems has borne fruit since the book was first published in 1989.