The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

By: Stephen R. Covey

Narrated by: Stephen R. Covey

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller - over 40 million copies sold

The number one Most Influential Business Book of the 20th century

One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated listeners for nearly three decades. It has transformed the lives of presidents and CEOs, educators and parents - millions of people of all ages and occupations. Now, this 30th anniversary edition of the timeless classic commemorates the wisdom of the 7 Habits with modern additions from Sean Covey.

The 7 Habits have become famous and are integrated into everyday thinking by millions and millions of people. Why? Because they work! With Sean Covey’s added takeaways on how the habits can be used in our modern age, the wisdom of the 7 Habits will be refreshed for a new generation of leaders.

They include:

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

This beloved classic presents a principle-centered approach for solving both personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and practical anecdotes, Stephen R. Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity - principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2004 Franlkin Covey (P)2004 FranklinCovey

Critic reviews

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is by now one of the best-selling books of all time." (Fortune)

Good read

You want to be better at life? Read this book. So many good points. Many I'm sure you've heard but the verbiage helps you look at it from a different angle and helps you grasp the principles more tightly

step 1 of learning how to live if you are not alone in an island!

Stephen Covey was the true master of self. In a sens a great master never to be forgotten. To decomplexify the human interaction and psychology to 7 habits needs wisdom and also to live the habits.

Good Content, but wordy and repetitive

What aspect of Stephen R. Covey’s performance would you have changed?

This is purely a personal preference, but I had to listen to him in 2.5x speed. It was painfully slow otherwise.

Any additional comments?

The book is enjoyable and I enjoyed the thinking exercise of how these concepts apply to me and my life in order to make my actions and interactions more effective.
The author is clearly a man of faith and states it openly and clearly in a couple of spots as well as in various sub-contexts throughout the book. The religious aspect of this book is undeniable, however I didn't find it to be overwhelming and the concepts within are applicable whether you have faith or not.
Here is my main issue with the book which was made worse my the author's narration style: It is excruciatingly wordy. If you are a fan of succinct language, this book will drive you up the wall. It took me a very long time to finish it, because I was getting too annoyed and had to take breaks in between. It's not enough for the author to say that a certain habit will improve your relationships. Instead your relationship will be deeper, stronger, richer, more meaningful, more profound, multi-dimensional, delicious and gluten free.

Valuable insights still applicable today

Stephen Covey does a great job putting what I feel is important into simple yet profound statements. Thanks for your insights and I would recommend this book to anyone wants to grow and develop their personal and professional lives.

Great For Self-development

I absolutely loved the book. It is an excellent read for anyone looking to develop themselves and the world around them. I have been talking to my wife about it the entire time I have been going through it, and now she is looking to read it herself.

a must read

loved it and recommend it to all of my friends. I will learn from these principles all my life

great book

one of the must read book.
its heavy with information and i think i should read it again and again .

My favorite book on self-improvement

I simply the material. The audio book allowed me to listen to it in the morning on my way to work. Great way to start the day.

Improves with age

I read the 7 habits in the 90's and have tried to follow its message ever since. This audio book is great as it is reasonably recent and the topics are still as relevant today as they were 18 years ago when it came out. It should be mandatory for all parents. Highly recommend

A read for EVERYONE

This is a book that I feel everyone can get something out of. I am thankful that audible allows me to read books multiple times because this is a book I will keep going back to for its valuable principles and knowledge.