“The Wisdom and Teachings of Stephen R. Covey,” Franklin Covey Free Press, 2012. Those who have been students and mentors, or leaders and practitioners of management might have heard of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” authored by world-renowned Stephen R. Covey. Launched in 1989, the book of the same title has since included the “8th Habit.” I began thinking of Covey, as I read the book featured in this issue’s Executive Read—and I recalled vintage “Coveyisms” like: “Begin with the end in mind.” Or, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood ….” Still another, “Sharpen the saw.” And the 8th habit? Read on. “The Wisdom and Teachings of Stephen R. Covey” is a collection of aphorisms and sayings of the renowned leadership coach and mentor. Expectedly, some are truly brilliant, and other quotes are simply restatements of familiar principles. It is a book, though, that makes it easy for busy executives to pick favorite “thoughts” for any occasion. The Covey Family calls the book “crystallized wisdom,” as the editors cite the “power of enduring principles.” Viewed as a tribute too to Covey, who passed away a few years back, the book articulates “his passion … to articulate and teach the unchanging, immutable and ageless truths of life.” Speaking of overstating the obvious, this is it. And yet, we must forgive the authors, simply because they have given us “on a silver platter gems of thoughts that guide us … not to waste our life in mediocrity but Read More …
