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THE 8TH HABIT
From Effectiveness to Greatness
By Stephen R. Covey
NY, Free Press: 2004
ISBN 0684846659
Reviewed by: Lon Woodbury
lon@woodbury.com
It has been 15 years since Covey published his fabulously
successful classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The 8th Habit is, in a very real
sense, the sequel based on his experience and research during
the last 15 years. Based on Covey's assessment of the changes
in our society, he felt the need to add an 8th habit that
is necessary for success in both the personal and business
world of early 21st Century western society.
He explains that the original seven habits are still necessary
for a person to be effective in his/her life and work, but
with the changes in the world during the last 15 years, effectiveness
is no longer enough to survive the challenges and complexities
all of us face. He calls what we are now living the new Knowledge
Worker Age, and to thrive and excel, a person must strive
for "fulfillment, passionate execution and significant
contribution." This new required mind-set he calls the
eighth habit, which he sees as finding "our voice and
inspire others to find theirs." He sees the eighth habit
"as the answer to the soul's yearning for greatness,
the organization's imperative for significance and superior
results, and humanity's search for its 'voice."
With many examples and stories, the author sees the early
21st Century as an "Age of Wisdom," where people
must develop an understanding of the whole person, and for
an organization to thrive, let alone survive, all the people
in the organization must strive to fulfill their own potential.
Gone, he says, is the old industrial mind-set where those
at the top make the important decisions with the rest simply
carrying out orders. The author sees this view of people as
seeing them as "fragmented parts," which will result
in mediocrity at best, and is an enormous waste of talent,
productivity and personal fulfillment.
He sees the world we live in as one of constant Change. Common
terms reflecting this in the business world are "downsizing,"
"outsourcing," and "networking." In other
words, the world is constantly reinventing itself and last
year's solutions are frequently inadequate for this year's
problems. The anchor a person must have to maintain their
stability and perspective through all the changes are well
grounded Principles, such as integrity, trustworthiness, consistent
values and empowering others. And, Choice is your judgment
as to how you apply your basic principles when faced with
the complexity of challenges in life.
Several emotional growth schools and programs, and clinical
programs with emotional growth maturing aspects, based a part
of their programs on his earlier book, with good results in
helping their students mature into responsible young men and
women. The ideas in The 8th Habit
will naturally be an extension of those efforts. I recommend
that all professionals in this network become familiar with
Covey's ideas. There is a reason Covey is referred to as one
of the 25 most influential Americans. He seems to have his
finger on the reality of the world for which students today
are being prepared. This is especially true in this Emotional
Growth/Therapeutic schools and programs network with its goal
of turning lost and confused young people into responsible,
mature and effective adults.
About the Author:
[Stephen R Covey is a self-help book author of
such books as the 7 habits of highly effective people and
his recent publication of the 8th Habit. Covey graduated from
Harvard with an MBA and spent most of his career at Utah's
Brigham Young University, where he was a professor of organizational
behavior and business management.]
Copyright © 2005, Woodbury
Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without prior
approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and
author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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