The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was written by Stephen R.
Covey in 1989. Covey explains, in a style that makes for effortless
reading, that in order to be an effective individual, you should adopt
seven habits:
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Covey is a globally recognized expert in personal and organizational leadership
training; according to a 1993 Wall Street Journal survey, Covey is among
the ten most frequently employed consultants in executive education.
He founded the Covey Leadership Center in Provo, Utah, now merged into
Franklin Covey. Covey, a Harvard MBA, earned a Ph.D. in Religious
Philosophy from Brigham Young University, where he is an adjunct professor
in its Marriott School of Management. Covey also authored or coauthored
Principle-Centered Leadership, First Things First,
How to Succeed with People, Spiritual Roots of Human Relations, and Marriage
and Family Insights. Stephen and Sandra Covey have nine children;
the Covey family worked together over a period of eight months to develop
their forty-word mission statement. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People has sold over nine million copies in 28 languages and over 70 countries.
Even years after its publication, the book consistently maintains a top
position on various best-seller lists; it remained on the NYT list for
five years. The book garnered Covey the 1990 Thomas Moore College
Medallion for service to mankind. Fortune includes it in their 1994
top-ten business book list. Bill Clinton, in a July 1993 Chicago speech,
named this book as one of three, that, if read by every worker, would vastly
improve the productivity of America.
You are to answer the following questions. Marking is based on
your sincere and apparent effort at self-improvement through the exercise,
not on 'tossing back the marbles' that I or the book have given you.
1) At the beginning of the Chapter that discusses Habit 2, Begin with
the End in Mind, Covey asks you to imagine your own funeral, to jot down
what you hope your eulogizers would say. This is typically called
"the eulogy exercise," required early on of students at many top business
schools. (One variant is called "the obit exercise;" what would you hope
to have published in your obituary?) Complete the eulogy exercise
as described in the book.
2) Describe a recent situation in your personal, professional or educational
life that had an less than desirable outcome. Which one of these
habits, if you practiced it, would have led to a more desirable outcome?
How so? (Focus your answer on just one of the habits.)
3) Pick an individual from industry, government, or education who is
considered effective or successful and describe a situation where that
person has applied one of the seven habits leading to a desirable outcome.