For many people this is the book that led them to be interested in the area of personal development. Stephen Covey was studying personal development, or as he called it "the success literature" from 1776 onwards. He identified 7 habits. The first 3 habits move from dependence to independence and comprise "private victory". The next 3 move from independence to interdependence and comprise "public victory". The final habit ("Sharpen the Saw") is about self maintenance and renewal to be more effective.

Stephen Covey is a very well-known author and consultant, advising major companies and governments on principle-centred leadership. He is regarded as a leadership authority not just a leadership expert.

Habit #1: Be Proactive: basically make sure you are making things happen instead of being acted upon.
Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind: get clear about what you want
Habit #3: Put First Things First: once you have visualise what you want, manage and plan the physical performance in the right order.
Habit #4: Think Win/Win
Win/Win is the highest form of agreement between parties and requires less policing.
Habit #5: Seek first to Understand, then to Be Understood: communication is about getting the other person's message and meaning first before responding
Habit #6: Synergize: the coming together of all parties maintain a Win/Win situation and create more than a sum of the parts.
Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw: maintenance and renewal of self in key areas such as physical, mental etc. is required for optimal effectiveness.

This is a book to study rather than skim. There is plenty of explanation, personal stories, graphs and checklists. We might say it is a sober book - which can be a refreshing change compared to some recent offerings which are full of self-congratulation. There is less hype than the modern equivalent. We noticed that the case studies were more about explaining, whereas often case studies in more recent books can seem to be more about trying to convince the reader to use the associated product or service.

It is too easy to dismiss this as commonsense by another name plus some jargon, but this is not borne out by reading. The old saying is that, "Commonsense is not common practice", and what Covey does is to help the reader start applying this "commonsense" by providing language and tools.

The book ages well. There is not much about coaching per se, but the principles laid out fit well with coaching. The movement from independence to a more interdependent world actually seems to validate the book's emphasis on that. At 358 pages, the book has attracted some adverse comments, mainly about readability, but we did not feel that was a problem. The author includes many extras to help the reader to start applying the concepts straightaway. This is an essential read for coaches as most of your clients are likely to have either read it or be familiar with the concepts.