Final Paper Part 1: Book Review

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

What is the authors point of view? For what audience is the book intended?

Covey has a background in education and business. So his viewpoint is from both

academia and the business world. He spent several years studying success literature from 1776 to

present in order to form his theory of success, which ultimately led him to write his book The 7

Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey, Inside-Out). His point of view also comes from his

own life and dealing with his son who and those events influenced his work heavily. I think

Covey has a unique point of view because it is a duel perspective. He has worked for both a

corporation and a university. He has been given the opportunity to see success in many forms.

This helped him form his paradigm theory which we will discuss in later questions (Covey,

Inside-Out).

This book, in my opinion, has a wide target audience. It can be read and utilized to help

achieve success whether you are young or old. The main pre-requisite for truly being able to use

this text comes from Coveys idea we need to focus on ourselves and changing our perceptions

first in order to become highly effective (Covey, Inside-Out). So truly his target audience is

anybody who wants to excel in leadership and life that is willing to make changes within their

own paradigms (Covey, Inside-Out).

What is the books major theme or thesis?

Covey seeks to understand the mystery of human success and effectiveness. He does this

by employing his paradigm theory. The paradigm theory states success can be achieved by an

internalization of correct principles upon which success and happiness are based (Covey, Part
One). To understand his theory we must also understand what a paradigm is. A paradigm a

mental map that describes aspects of a mental territory (Note: the paradigm is NOT the

territory merely a means of describing something) (Covey, Part One). We use these to map out

every day situations and respond appropriately to the stimuli presented to us. So his thesis is

based on shifting those paradigms and changing ones self into a highly effective person

(Covey, Part One). He is able to do this by employing his habits of highly effective people which

are represented by concept of P/PC, where P stands for production of desired results and PC

stands for production capability (Covey, The Seven Habits An Overview).

Describe the authors approach.

Covey uses several analogies in order to get his point across. He often refers to his theory

in terms of maps and territories (Covey, Part One). He goes forward from this point to do a

step-by-step of lining each of the 7 habits individually and sequentially as each habit is built

upon the previous (Covey, The Seven Habits An Overview). Covey takes a very logical

approach to this and in some ways this strengthens his cause. He provides historical and

metaphorical analysis of each point discussed. His approach is very similar to that of Collins in

his book Good to Great. Collins employed a similar technique of using historical data (great

companies) and metaphorical data (The Hedgehog Concept) in order to outline his concept of a

level 5 leader (Collins, p. 90).

Covey, much like Collins flywheel, asserts a 3-part theory on forming habits called the

Maturity Continuum which includes desire, knowledge, and skills (Covey, The Seven Habits-

An Overview). He also employs one other unique technique to approach his book. He suggests

the reader examine the book as if they were going to have to teach the principles to another
person within the next 48 hours and I find this to be a wonderful way to engage the reader and

give them a different perspective (Collins, The Seven Habits An Overview).

What Leadership theories covered in class are reflected in the book? Explain how, using

examples.

Covey explains the idea of being proactive in his first habit by differentiating between

proactive and reactive people. Proactive people who are driven by value and can carry their

own weather with them or in other words they are free from the social-mirror many

ineffective or reactive people are trapped by (Covey, Habit 1: Be Proactive). Reactive people

house all of their esteem and confidence in what others think of them and allow other people to

control them (Covey, Habit 1: Be Proactive). Kousez and Posner also express this idea with the

leadership theory of psychological hardiness which states you have to take charge and quit

feeling sorry for yourself in order to push forward with your goal of becoming a successful

leader (Kouses & Posner, p. 192). They use the story of Don Bennett to illustrate this point and I

think it also illustrates the point of being pro-active (Kousez & Posner, p. 189). Bennett was the

first amputee to reach the summit of Mt. Rainer, but in order to accomplish this feat he had to

relinquish his social mirror and quit feeling sorry for himself and by doing so he conquered

all expectations society had set forth for him (Kouses & Posner, p. 189-192). Bennett was pro-

active versus being reactive. He controlled his circumstances and carried his own weather

instead of relying on society to tell him what he could and couldnt accomplish (Covey, Habit 1:

Be Proactive).

Covey discusses the different kinds of successful relationships that we see throughout our

professional lives. However, he discusses the importance of the win/win with his fourth habit
of Think Win/Win (Covey, Habit 4: Think Win/Win). This idea is centered on interpersonal

relationships and mutual learning an idea also expressed by Collins in his leadership theory of

first whothen what (Collins, p. 41). Both of these principles are founded upon the idea that

these interactions between people is necessary to become a great leader (Covey, Habit 4:

Think Win/Win). For this I will use a personal example. During my time as a manager at Vanity

Apparel we became one of the top selling stores in the company each and every month even

though we were one of the smallest stores in the company. How did we do this? We focused on

the interpersonal relationships between management and employees and established a strong

who and then we focused on selling clothes. Our Store Manager made sure our team was a

good fit for one another and that her team had all of the right people on the bus (Collins, p.

41). That is how one of the smallest stores in the United States was able to perform in the top 20

stores in the entire company for more than 8 months straight and establish an almost 20%

increase in yearly sales for the fiscal year 2014.

What are the authors biases?

Covey has a bias against the Personality Ethic theory of success (Covey, Inside-Out).

He attributes this idea to why we do not have as many effective modern people and leaders. One

of the main reasons he holds for this viewpoint is his relationship with his son and how he put

pressure on him to be a certain way which according to Covey crippled him instead of helping

(Covey, Inside-Out). I dont know that this bias is entirely appropriate for leadership as

Personality Ethic is seen throughout modern literature and society. He wants to claim this to be a

secondary factor of success instead of a primary factor and I dont necessarily agree with him

(Covey, Inside-Out). I think he may possess certain biases against this ideology because of the

negative effect it had on his son versus its true over all effect on leadership and success.
Does the author make a convincing case for his/her approach? Does he/she achieve their
goals and objectives?
Yes, Covey makes a very convincing argument for his approach. His use of metaphors to

make his points easier to understand is what makes this book stand out. His step-by-step outline

was easy to follow and made sense. Although, I agree with Covey that this book isnt meant to

change your life quickly it is meant to help you change your behaviors over several years. He

condensed his theory down to seven habits, which are easy to remember, and used vivid imagery

to describe each of them so I dont imagine I will forget what each of the habits represents. He

most certainly achieves his goal of explaining his paradigm theory and arguing his thesis.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Would this book be useful for leaders in
the public sector?
Coveys book possesses several strengths, but to narrow it down to three: it is easy to

read, it flows well, and the metaphors make it easy to remember. Covey wrote this book to where

the every day man can read and relate to the principles described. It does not take a degree to

understand this book. His seven habits each built upon the last previous habit and he broke it

down into two sections of private versus public principles. This would make it a great book

to use for a textbook because each chapter feeds off of the previous in order to achieve a greater

purpose. Covey uses vivid metaphors and imagery such as maps territories and old fables

from great writers and philosophers in order to illustrate his points. In doing so he made this

book very memorable.

The book did possess a few weaknesses, but I narrowed it down to two: his bias against

Personality Ethics and the time it takes to achieve these habits. First, I discussed his bias in a

previous question. I think there is a lot of research out there supporting this idea as primary. I

also think anything that is found so prevalently throughout historical literature should be
weighted fairly heavily. As for the second weakness, Covey admits that it can take years to fully

implement the ideas in his book. For the leader looking for some immediate fixed this book

would not be one for them. This is only a weakness because many people seeking out books like

this are in need of some more immediate advice.

Yes, this book would be useful for the public sector. Often times in the public sector

people get glum or their morale starts to lack. This book is a breath of fresh air. It would

certainly help the public sector if administrators used the principles outlined by Covey. It could

help not only the administrator but their team as well.

Would you recommend it to others in the class? Why or why not?

Absolutely! I would recommend that every person in our class read this book. We are all

in a masters program in order to better our skills in Public Administration and if we can employ

the seven habits we will be even closer to obtaining our goals. I intend to read this book at least

one additional time in order to truly absorb all it has to offer. These are seven basic habits all

people in administrative positions should possess. I think all persons seeking to enter a

leadership role should read this book whether they are in the public or private sector.