book data
5,832 ratings,
3.81
average rating, 778 reviews
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published
November 9th 2004
(first published 1989)
by Free Press
binding
Paperback, 373 pages
isbn
0743269519
(isbn13: 9780743269513)
description
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues...more
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avg 3.81
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone
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
*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
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4 comments
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
people that don't think Stephen Covey has enough money
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
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
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10 comments
Read in August, 1997
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.
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.
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
folks looking to increase their productivity
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
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
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2 comments
Read in March, 2009
recommended to Chad by:
Jeff Disher
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
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
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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
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who wants to improve their life and the lives of others.
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
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
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Read in January, 1991
recommends it for:
Anyone who is cynical about the book
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
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2007
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
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
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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 (exc...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone willing to change for the better
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
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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
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Read in March, 1996
recommends it for:
those seeking personal change
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...more
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Read in June, 1997
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
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
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Read in August, 1996
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
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
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First I want to say that this book requires a certain level of maturity from the reader to be thoroughly understood. It is common now days to find "self-help" literature that centers on superficial solutions. The 7 habits goes out of its way to explain to the reader that superficial solutions never work and that real change is very, very difficult to achieve and it can only come from within, and never from the outside. Stephen Covey makes it clear from the beginning that he did not ...more
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Read in May, 2009
Note: The 4 star rating for the book applies under the assumption that you’re reading it for a reason. If this is the sort of thing you’re looking to read, I’d recommend it. It’s not something I’d push upon everyone I know, or suggest reading as entertainment.
I never read books like this, and am, in general, opposed to even the suggestion that I do so. However, some additional incentive recently presented itself, and it lead to me taking a leap into undesirable waters...more
I never read books like this, and am, in general, opposed to even the suggestion that I do so. However, some additional incentive recently presented itself, and it lead to me taking a leap into undesirable waters...more
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Read in April, 1989
This was the book that made Stephen Covey at familiar name in the workplace in the 80’s and 90’s. We were asked to read this in relation to a company-wide training on the same in the mid 80’s and my friends from other companies were also required to undergo the same training. The 7 habits will always be applicable as they are all based on common sense. However, there are some that was new during the 80’s like the paradigm shifting and the visualization. Now we have the “secret” – l...more
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Read in January, 2009
I was a little hesitant to pick up this book, being as that it is classified under self-help/motivational, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of management philosophy reinforcement under my belt. It's funny to think of high power corporate execs reading this book and taking notes about how to be deeper people. But there is indeed quite a bit of food for thought contained in this book, and it is well worth perusing, even if much of its framing must be taken with a grain of salt. Ye...more
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quotes from this book
"They [Nazi captors]had more liberty, more options to choose from in their environment; but he [Viktor Frankl] had more freedom, more internal power to exercise his options."
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