Denise Spurlock
EVOC 518 WR9
In reading Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, it seems to me that he has skillfully blended popular business management paradigms with self-management techniques into a unique system for developing personal effectiveness.
He is a good storyteller and his use of anecdotes helps one understand the bases on which he builds his system. I was bothered however by some of the terminology he used (e.g. stewardship) and his frequent references to God.
He divides the first six habits into two parts: private victory and public victory. The seventh habit, sharpening the saw, is distinct from these two sections, but necessary to accomplishing and maintaining effectiveness.
In reading with an eye toward my own effectiveness, I sometimes feel that I never get much beyond the private victory, and indeed, there are times when I struggle with those concepts.
I wish that he had spent more pages in the book dealing with the development of personal mission statements. One’s mission is fundamental to moving from the private to the public victory, yet Covey does not offer much advice on writing such a statement.
Having now written a personal mission statement (which I am sure I will revise in the next few months), I feel better prepared to “begin with the end in mind” and “put first things first.”
UPGRADE INDICATOR: The above honestly reflects my feelings about what Covey has written.
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