The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

After receiving numerous recommendations to read this and hearing countless references to it, I finally set about reading The Seven Habits when asked to serve as a mentor to a doctoral student at my university. I took my time, really wanting to understand the basis of the habits and to determine their utility in my own development as a leader, father, husband, business owner, etc.

What first struck me was the breadth of each chapter. Not that I expected a quick-read self-help book, but I now understand why people return to this one again and again. There's simply no way to absorb it all upon one reading.

As expected, it's well-written and connects across several dimensions. Self-help? Check. Leadership development? Check. Living faithfully in the world? Yep.

My version included commentary from Sean Covey with each chapter. I enjoyed those writings, as they show how The Seven Habits evolve and how they play for others.

Overall, I wouldn't label myself a Covey disciple, and from what I gather in the reading, that's good because it wasn't the author's intent. I've gained another tool for questioning things and for framing my relationships with others.