The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Essay Example

I chose the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven R. Covey, because of its success in the field of personal development.  The first part of the book describes how our personal perceptions shape our reality.  Covey states that if we are to be successful, we need to have a paradigm shift in our way of thinking and take responsibility for our actions.  Covey lists seven habits attributed to success and personal growth, along with applications at the end of each chapter.  The seven habits are broken up into individual chapters and include: (1) Be Proactive, (2). Begin with the End in Mind, (3) Put First Thing First, (4) Think Win-Win, (5) Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood (6) Synergize, and (7) Sharpen Your Saw.  The second part of the book consists of habits one, two, and three and focuses on self-mastery and achieving independence.  The third part of the book focuses on the transition from independence to interdependence by developing skills teamwork and communication.  Part three includes habits four, five, and six.  The final part of the book details the habit seven, which emphasizes the necessity for continuous personal growth.  The main conclusions to be drawn from Covey’s work is that true success does not come with shortcuts and personal development requires hard work, and must start from the “inside-out.”

Covey addresses not only how to make people more effective, he understands that success and self-improvement require hard work and continuous maintenance.  He emphasizes that we must first become independent before we can evolve to the state of interdependence.  We must not be reactionary, rather strategize how we wish to accomplish each task with a clear visualization of the beginning and end.  We must also strengthen our empathy and understanding of other people.  Collaboration with others is essential, as we cannot be truly successful if we have no one to share it.  For these techniques to be effective, they must continuously be investing in ourselves and never stop making improvements.  The principles of this book can be applied to many different areas other than personal development, including Paid Search Marketing.  Paid search marketing is a form of web advertising that connects people searching the Intranet with ads they are actively seeking.  Making the decision to initiate a paid search marketing ad applies the first habit of being proactive.  Markets must apply the second and third habits by visualizing the desired end result of the ad and prioritizing the words meant to attract people searching for their services.  By providing the pain search marketing ad, the fourth habit is embraced, as a “win-win” situation is created for the customer, marketers and their company, and the search engine company.  Habits five and six would necessitate that marketers try to understand and empathize the key words or phrases for which the customers would be searching.  The final habit is embraced when marketers check that their ads are being read and responded to, to make necessary changes for improvement, and to repost their ads so they are not removed from the search engine.

For the most part, I felt that the book was accurate in its assessment.  The only major problem I had was that these techniques were only applicable for individuals who were already relatively independent.  There are some individuals living in such devastating conditions, such as extreme poverty, that they would find it especially challenging to apply these habits.  Because they have such an extreme state of financial dependence, they are unable to achieve true independence.  If I were Covey, I would have included special instructions on how to move from a state of dependence to independence.  Sometimes there are so many factors beyond one’s individual control.  If I had the opportunity, I would love to ask Covey how he might address this particular problem so more people could benefit from the applications of this book.  However, other than this one minor issue, I thoroughly enjoyed Covey’s book and would completely recommend it to others.  People need to understand that there are no shortcuts to success and if they want to live a good life, they must first change themselves.

Works Cited

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Print