Marie's review

Marie, I hate this kind of fucking shit too. I hope you have finished barfing now! It's the kind of fuckedupedness that is foisted upon unsuspecting corporate employees to try to get them to come into line with mission and vision statements. It's part of what keeps people in a state of mediocrity and insulates stupid supervisors from smart employees. From it and books like it, a whole vocabulary of nauseating management-speak has emerged, hatching like demon spawn from beneath piles and piles of shit. Wow, now I feel better!

One other thing, it's subtly religious, from a religion that tries to be subtle. If people want to be in that certain religion, okay, this is America, but I hate it when a religious agenda is pushed in the workplace in the name of "productivity" and "efficiency." Damn, I think I'm becoming a grumpy old man.

But what do you really think of Covey?? You guys rock.

you mean you got past the first few pages where he tells you to remember names and birthdates so you can send them flowers? this books target audience is people with no interpersonal skillz.

Oh, no actually i didn't see that part. In general if it's on my "required reading" it also means "didn't read". But i like that...that's good "remember names and birthdates" that's good, because for me I'm always remembering birthday's but forgetting the names that go with the date and then i'm just standing there with a big old bouquet of flowers looking like a dumb shit, not knowing who to give it to.

These comments made me laugh. You know, I think I read this book because it was given to me during employee orientation!
I didn't think it was too awful though, if read with your own common sense.

Kimberly, I agree. I was just spouting off because I absolutely hated the place I worked when I was advised to read this book. I left there almost 10 years ago and still feel pain from working there, for insanely neurotic bosses.

I will highly effectively avoid this book like the bubonic.

R

Mark- I know what it is like to have insane bosses (but I am prohibited by law to go into any details!). Let's just say that there is not a single pen or post it in the house with that company's logo on it!
I also despise the "subtle" religious agenda of the book- any book for that matter. That sort of thing happens in parenting, books, especially, but I even find it in fitness emails I receive and other places were it just isn't expected.

If you need to give your employees a book like this, you might need to rethink your own communication skills. I just quit my job this week, partly because my boss failed to see that no "witty" notes by overpaid consultants on "How A Positive Attitude Creates Success", could ever make up for his lack of people skills and arrogant style!

Hehe. I so enjoyed his face when I said I quit, tough. :)

Good for you, Anna! Yeah, that's exactly what happened where I used to work -- every year a troop of overpaid shiny suited consultants would go through and try to teach us employees how to act, and we tried to change our actions, but did the bosses? You guessed it, noewoooo.

And for Kimberly, I did notice in parenting books the religious agenda. I'm far from against religion, but I do not appreciate others trying to convert me while supposedly trying to do something else; i.e., if somebody wants to convert me they should come right out and ask me if I want to be one of what they are. And if I say no, so be it. Once two Mormon missionaries came up to me and asked me if Jesus Christ was my savior. I said yes. They offered me a free copy of their book, and I said I already read it (which I have), no thanks. And none of us was the worse for it.