The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & The 8th Habit (Special 6-Hour Abridgement)

By: Stephen R. Covey

Narrated by: Stephen R. Covey

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

This new audio set is a very special abridgement of two of Stephen R. Covey's best-selling business books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit, read by Dr. Covey himself. We've condensed the content of two entire books into just six hours of audio, but you'll still enjoy Dr. Covey's lessons on powerful personal change and how to incorporate his ideas into your life to fulfill your ultimate potential.

©2005 Franklin Covey

Critic reviews

" The 7 Habits have the gift of being simple without being simplistic." (M.Scott Peck)

Solid Leadership Book

This is a solid leadership book. I chose the 6 hour abridged version instead of the longer full version. The start discussing habit 8 was a bit strange getting it to it, but now that I am done, I thought it had great advice and the ‘strangeness’ was really due to trying to condense everything. As Mr Covey says at the end, nothing in here is ‘new’ but the way he structures the habits gives a great overview of how to think about working with others at both home and work.

Very good

I've been avoiding the "7 habits", since I tend to be an anti-joiner, and it got real popular, almost "cult" like. Also, I tried to tackle the book a long time ago, and got bogged down right away.

This is a great listen, as well as great content. I listened to the "6 hour" version, but now I'm thinking I should get the 12 hour version.

One warning about this version -- particularly near the beginning the adbridgement is really lame. A professional-sounding announcer (not a compliment, from me) introduces each snip, which can be amazingly short sometimes, "sound-bite" sized. It seemed like they quit this annoying habit (!) about a third or half the way through (or I just tuned it out).

Even so, if you want a bit more than a "taste" of the 7 habits, I recommend this book -- it has the potential to be life-changing. I'm wondering if I should go get a "7 habits" organizer. Not sure I ready for that, but it sure inspires me to do some kind of follow-through so that it's more than just a read.

Good but dry

This is a good book, the principles are great. It can be hard to follow and can get really dry at times, but is still good business sense

Useful and Engaging

Would you consider the audio edition of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & The 8th Habit (Special 6-Hour Abridgement) to be better than the print version?

Not better. If you will only get one or the other, you need to get the book. However, using both print and audio is great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It is useful listening to a section and having some time to reflect before listening to the next section.

It's a little scattered, at first. Give it time.

The first half of the book is about the 8th Habit and it "reads" more like a podcast, but it has a lot of good insight. The second half of the audio, actually goes through the 7 Habits and sounds more like a reading.

Very Good

The abridged version is very well compiled. The short introductions between the book excerpts are a good idea and very helpfull.

Exactly what I expected

Nice book, I always wanted to read it, but I guess I wasn't very effective with my reading time, isn't that ironic? :-)
The only thing I didn't like about the audiobook version is that it refers to a "companion guide" that Audible.com didn't add to the Abridged version, so I was blind on those chapters. I contacted support but they were not very helpful.

Excellent as Covey used to be

Would you consider the audio edition of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & The 8th Habit (Special 6-Hour Abridgement) to be better than the print version?

I read the 8th habit in print version but this audibook is a compilation of this book plus a walkthrough the other 7 habits. Thats why I enjoy it so much

What did you like best about this story?

The compilation and walk-through the 8 habits

Any additional comments?

Widely recommended

Principle-based teaching leaves a deep impression.

Abolutely love it. At last this program allowed me to learn about the 7 Habits from start to end. Covey was fantastic with his presentation. It didn't feel like he was reading off of a book - it was like he was directly speaking to me. Thank you for your legacy, Stephen.

Great to have it in Audible Format

I have read the book twice in years past. Great to have the Audible version... as always, you see (hear) something in a different manner than when reading.