When you talk about groundbreaking books that have fundamentally changed the landscape of how we as professionals work and live
Stephen Covey's
The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People jumps to the top of the
list. I had the pleasure of not just reading the book but also
going to a five-day boot-camp where many of Covey's concepts were
re-inforced and applied to us as managers. Even though that
was almost 20 years ago the concepts still are highly applicable
today and are every bit as important as they were when Covey first
penned them. Super powerful stuff.
The foundational element of the book centers around the Seven Habits
Paradigm, which progresses from dependence to independence to
interdependence. To give you a better glimpse into each habit
the habits are hyperlinked into Covey's website, as follows:
One of the most foundational aspects of the Covey book for me was
the development of a personal mission statement. It actually
took me ten years to crystallize on a mission statement as I was
going through Rick Warren's
The Purpose Driven Life that I could truly internalize and get
energized around. The Covey book was the mustard seed which
started the ball rolling for me.
Another ground breaking book that has shaped me as a husband,
father, friend, and professional. I can't recommend Stephen
Covey's
The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People more highly.