Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 30, 2010

Malbadeen rated it:

I think the sign of a great book is when, right inside the cover there is a pull out brochure that encourages you to order more of the authors products - that's some quality shit when you see that.

But the book itself, well it has charts: flow charts, boxed charts, circle charts, up and down charts, sideways charts, charts with arrows, charts with triangles and charts with dotted lines.
This book uses words like "synergy" and "proactive"....repeatedly
Th More...

18 comments like (43 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Manny rated it:

- Hon, did you sleep okay? You look kinda weird.

- Well, I don't know how to say this...

- Yes?

- I had this dream where I talked with God.

- Was She black?

- No, I'm serious! I did! It was, like, utterly real. It was the most real thing that's ever happened to me.

- Uh, okay. So what did God have to say to you?

- Well, He had this message he wanted me to tell people. It was very important. There's this set of seven rul More...

9 comments like (41 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

James rated it:

I decided to check this book out after seeing an endorsement from Stephen Covey on another great book Emotional Intelligence 2.0. I loved it. Covey taps into some fundamental aspects of human nature and, despite being 20 years old, the ideas are fresh and compelling. Covey offers easy fixes and straightforward formulas backed by an incredibly detailed program for boosting your career and efficacy. It's dense and Covey is long-winded, but the wisdom provided is worth the effort.

Each cha More...

1 comment like (43 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

Stephen rated it:

I would like to make clear that David Hasselhoff's appearance in this review should in no way be deemed to imply that I endorse or support his career in any way whatsoever.Thank you for your understanding.

FIVE "PRACTICAL" HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

First, a few comments on the seven so-called “habits” identified in the book, namely:

1.Be proactive,
2.Begin with the End in Mind,
3. Put First Things First,
4. Think Win- More...

74 comments like (70 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2007

Virginia rated it:

Ever since I worked at the bookstore at Virginia Tech, I would watch the douchebag* business major undergrads buy this book for their classes and look down upon them, and the book by association, as, well, douchebags.

*This is not to say that all undergrad business majors are douchebags. I've met one really really awesome one. Additionally, after working at a major university bookstore, a majority of all undergrad students can be fairly classified as douchebags. Jebus.

Cons More...

5 comments like (21 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Leili rated it:

I don't think it is necessary to read the book cover to cover. But I definitely suggest flipping through the pages and reading the main points.

The book uses the famous quote by Aristotle "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" and suggests that we should turn good acts into habits.

Then the book introduces 7 critical habits that can help anyone to have more success and happiness in life.

Here are the habits:

More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 20, 2007

Stacey rated it:

Oh my Gawd, how much did I hate this one. We had to read this the summer before a freshman college Intro to Business Class - perhaps I read it at the wrong age? When Steven Covey starts talking about his kid mowing the lawn and the motivation behind it...ugh!

Needless to say, I only got through about 2 of the 7 habits - I guess I'm not a highly effective person. And I will not be purchasing any of Mr Covey's time management calendar systems either, thank you very much.

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 16, 2007

Kay rated it:

easy to read :) but hard to do :D hahahah

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2008

Beth rated it:

When I told someone that I had just finished "7 Habits", they remarked, "Covey sets a very high bar." I guess I hadn't thought about it that way, because I was too busy flogging myself for all of the time that I was wasting on what he referred to as Quadrant 1 & 3 activities.

Aside from reading the book, I also borrowed each habit on cd from the library. The audio recordings were released recently (within the last 3 years) and I felt that they really helped to di More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2009

Chad rated it:

I keep hoping that one day, I'll read a self-help book that leads to an epiphany that revolutionizes my life. This was not that book. However, it did have a few good points. Here's what I got out of Stephen R. Covey's 7 habits:

1. Be proactive. You choose how to respond to what life throws at you.

2. Begin with the end in mind. Choose your short-term, daily behavior according to the plan you have for your entire life. Think about the legacy you want to leave. Put things in More...

0 comments like (20 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2008

Greg rated it:

Inspirational, developmental, and practical -- what a combination! The principles of behavior covered in this groundbreaking and long-respected book are of great worth to anyone seeking success in career, family, or any other aspect of their life. Covey discusses first the actions we must take (or habits we must develop) internally first - getting our heads and hearts right first. These include being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, and putting first things first. These constitute the More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2008

Tiffany Alaine rated it:

A wonderful book! Stephen Covey is amazing! It's wonderful to think that such awesome things can come from the mind of one person.

It has been a great reminder to me that I need to progress as much as possible in this life, and live a life based on truth, values, and correct principles. ANd that multiple people working together can do a *lot* more than the equivalent of what they can all do working alone.

We have the choice to live a happy and productive life, or not. We d More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 27, 2007

Wayne rated it:

I was a presenter at a conference on Total Quality Management and was basing most of my presentation on information I gleaned from The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge... at the end of the presentation I asked people in the audience to tell me if they knew of other books that covered the same issues as Senge and one person came up and told me that he had just read a best seller that explained Senge's theories in a much more accessible way... the book he referenced was The Seven Habits of Highly E More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2009

Tharon rated it:

The whole world should read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s not like so many feel-good books with fluffy advice and a bag full of tricks to convince others to like you; the principles in this book are universal in nature, and can help all of us be better individuals and team units by focusing our efforts inward. Following every piece of advice Stephen R. Covey gives is not necessary, but he does a great job reminding us of those core principles that every human being knows (excep More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

David rated it:

There are a lot of self help/business improvement books out there... but this is the only one I can fully endorse for everyone. I had seen this book laying around our house growing up and chalked it up to another pop psychology piece of junk. But I was turned onto the book as one of the best bosses and leader I have ever known recommended this book so highly and regarded it with such impact that he was willing to pay me $50 to read it... So I did, of course, and it is an amazing book. I reco More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 13, 2009

Tatiana rated it:

Excellent system for getting more out of life and becoming more who we want to be. Like any such system, it can only work to the extent that you put it into practice, but consistent application of its principles does generate positive change. I find this book to be excellent on re-reading as well. It never fails to inspire me with hope and determination. We really do have enormous amounts of power to change our lives, far more than we usually realize. Showing us that power, and how to put i More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2007

Heye rated it:

If there is a personal guide author on I can recommend reading, it is Stephen Covey. His book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been a groundbreaking book for me. I’ve owned this book for over 11 years, read it once and thought it was a good book. Then I picked it up again and read it many times over I found Covey offers invaluable wisdom on personal growth and principals. I highly recommend this empowering book to anyone wanting a change. An extra bonus to the book is to find a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 13, 2011

Nancy rated it:

SO during our skiing holiday I was locked in a room with only one book. It was Stephen Covey's The 7 habits of Highly Effective People. Once again I am probably the last person on the planet to have read this popular book.[return][return]"natural laws cannot be broken. It is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.'"[return][return]How many times have I seen this with fitness and nutrition? People trying to coerce their body into doing something More...

0 comments like

Mar 30, 2009

Jay rated it:

This was the book the placed the name "Steven Covey" on the map of business and leadership literature.

He centered on the "inside-out" approach, that behaviour can be learned and is not entirely instinctive. A person can break old habits and replace them with more powerful effective habits that can make one's life richer and fuller.

The author believes that we should focus back on the Character Ethic rather than the Personality Ethic. He differentiates More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 04, 2009

Gene rated it:

Read this way back in like 1997 or 1996 when my manager at MCI at the time enrolled me in a course related to the book. I really took a few of the principles to heart that have made me very efficient in my work and one of my favorite principals was something related to 'taking care of small quick tasks immediately'

I can't remember if it was a habit or just some insight but I seem to recall it as the 2-minute rule and have applied it to a lot of my life. Basically it means if you ha More...

0 comments like

Nov 27, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

My copy of this book has a rather sizable misprint of dozens of pages that are duplicated with the subsequent part of the book deleted. As a result, my reading of the end of this book was highly ineffective! It gave me a hearty laugh and some mild irritation.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is repetitious and a little boring in spots.Unfortunately, this is Covey's teaching method in print but if you can wade through it there are some good ideas within the material.

More...

0 comments like

Nov 15, 2011

Jeanmccoy rated it:

I absolutely refused to read this book when it first came out because it seemed to me, at the time, that the world was becoming ridiculously focused on self-help books, self-improvement courses and getting ahead at any cost. However, if you worked in the business world, this book still found you. This book seems to have permeated every management training course that's been given over the past two decades.
I picked this book up at the library the other day and decided to go ahead and read More...

0 comments like

Oct 24, 2011

Shelley rated it:

I know I was supposed to fall down and worship the ground that Mr. Covey walked on after I read this book. I am sure it is a fine book for some people. But not for me. I could not take the sheep mentality that this book creates. I am supposed to repeat the mantras in this book and practice the principles so I can be like everyone else that has read this book. Ummmmm...no? They are actually teaching these principles at the school where I work and my kids come home with these little platitud More...

0 comments like

Sep 13, 2011

Ahmed rated it:

As the title of the book implies, Covey describes the seven habits of highly effective people and techniques for adopting the seven habits. Covey makes clear that an individual must make a paradigm shift before incorporating these habits into his/her own personal life. A paradigm is essentially the way an individual perceives something. Covey emphasizes that if we want to make a change in our lives, we should probably first focus on our personal attitudes and behaviors. He applies different exam More...

0 comments like

May 19, 2011

Marc rated it:

I was actually really, really impressed. My only exposure to Covey, for years, had been people occasionally poking fun at the "self-help" industry. Then over the past year I read some glowing recommendations of 7 Habits from people I trust, such as Chip Conley (Author of Peak).

I consider this an "advanced" business book. I think I've gotten much more out of it because I've been reading "lighter" fare over the past couple years such as "Made to Stic More...

0 comments like

Jan 17, 2011

Jacqui rated it:

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was designed for the business world, but I read it to get a grip on how to balance my work, outside-work and everything else in my life. It was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be with more than 10 million copies sold. What most people don't know is that it is included in the Marine Corps reading list, as an all-round good book for all Marines. Here's why: The habits are no-brainers and easily accomplished by paying More...

0 comments like

Dec 02, 2010

Lisa rated it:

I've wanted to read this book for a long time and I'm kinda surprised I never had to in any business class I took. I've actually even been to the Covey house (beautiful!!) because I went to a party his son threw when I was in college. And my mom had a crush on Stephen when he was her professor. So lots of connections, but never got around to reading the book. I really enjoyed it and felt that there are great principles in there that everyone either needs to learn or just remember on a regular ba More...

0 comments like

Aug 24, 2010

Paul rated it:

I couldn't tell you now what the Seven Habbits are (the only one I still remember and "sharpening your saw") - but a few things still stick out.

The quadrant-based todo list is one such example - a 2x2 grid with tasks being some combination of important or unimportant, and urgent or not urgent. Ideally you want to be aware at the unimportant but urgent opportunities, since those tend to steal your time, while also not forgetting to nurture the important and not urgent ones, More...

0 comments like

Jul 08, 2010

Maria rated it:

Dr. Covey teaches 7 basic habits that will make a person more effective. They are as follows, Habit 1: Be Proactive Focus on the things you can actually do something about. Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind Begin everything you do with a clear picture of your ultimate goal. Habit 3: Put Things First Manage your life according to your needs and priorities. Habit 4: Think Win-Win Integrity: Stick with your true feelings, values, and commitments Maturity: Be considerate of the feelings of other More...

0 comments like

Apr 15, 2010

Jag rated it:

I didn't actually read this book, I borrowed an audio version from my local library and listened to in the car this morning. It was a well-produced audio book and the way that the narrator concentrated on relaying the general content and Covey's voice (taken from a public lecture) was used for the concrete examples really helped take in the material.

To use the language of the book, it helped me realise that while I have the knowledge (what) and attitude (why) to apply the seven habit More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

reviews