First published in 1989, this book has sold over 15 million copies. The reason for its success would seem to because the 
book ignores trends and pop psychology for proven 
principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human 
dignity.

After a positive overview of the seven habits of 
highly effective people, the book is divided into four 
parts: 

In Part One, Paradigms and Principles, the 
author discusses personality and character ethics, 
primary and secondary greatness. He also explains 
the power of a paradigm in which the seven habits 
of highly effective people embody many of the 
fundamental and primary principles of human 
effectiveness. 

Part Two, Private Victory, discusses the first 
three of the seven habits. Habit 1 is Be proactive, 
principles of personal vision. This means that self-
awareness enables us to stand apart and examine 
the way we see ourselves, our self-paradigm. 
Imagination, conscience and independence are 
other principles of this proactive model. Habit 2 
is Begin with the End in Mind. Here principles of 
personal leadership are explained. Leaders may be 
very busy people, but in order to be both efficient 
and truly effective, their goals need to be foremost 
in their mind. This habit is based on the principle 
that all things are created twice. There is a mental 
or first creation, and a physical or second creation 
of all things. In order to write a personal mission 
statement, we must begin at the very centre of our 
circle of influence; that centre is comprised of our 
most basic paradigms, the lens through which we 
see the world. Habit 3 is Put First Things First. This 
is my favourite habit as it provides the principles 
of personal management. It teaches that the things 
which matter most must never be at the mercy of 

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BOOK REVIEW

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Author:  Stephen R. Covey

Publisher:  Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, Free Press, 15th Anniversary Edition, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-6951-3 and ISBN-10: 0-7432-6951-94

Orders: https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

SQU Med J, August 2011, Vol. 11, Iss. 3, pp. 426-427, Epub. 15th Aug 11
Submitted - 13th Mar



Stephen R. Covey

Book Review | 427

things which matter least. The author provides a 
description of the time management matrix which 
divides activities into four types: 1. Urgent and 
Important; 2. Important and Not Urgent; 3. Urgent 
and Not Important, and 4. Not Urgent and Not 
Important, i.e. things which can be considered for 
delegation.

In Part Three, Public Victory, the author covers 
the next three habits, focusing on the paradigms 
of interdependence. Habit 4 is Think Win/Win. 
Here principles of interpersonal leadership are 
explained.‘Win/win’ is a frame of mind and heart 
that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human 
interactions. This principle sets the stage for life 
in a cooperative, not competitive arena. Habit 5 
is entitled Seek First to Understand, Then to be 
Understood. This habit covers the principles of 
empathetic communication. It introduces five 
important responses: listening, evaluating, probing, 
advising, and interpreting. Habit 6 is Synergize.  
This leads to the principles of creative cooperation 
where we communicate synergistically by opening 
our mind and heart to new possibilities, alternatives, 
and options.

The final part of the book is entitled Renewal 
and covers the seventh habit Sharpen the Saw. 
Here the four dimensions of balanced self-renewal 
are described, corresponding to the four elements 
of human nature: physical, spiritual, mental, and 
social/emotional.

The strengths of this popular book are that it is 
concise and informative with plenty of examples 

and realistic stories to demonstrate the philosophy 
of the seven habits of highly effective people. It also 
contains tables, pictures and figures which help to 
illustrate ideas. The message is further underlined 
as the description of every habit starts with a 
proverb and ends with suggestions for applications. 
The book has, however, some weaknesses. Some 
sections of the text are difficult to understand, 
especially for ‘English as a Second Language’ 
readers. Also, surprisingly, the figures and tables are 
not labelled in the text.

Not withstanding these minor weaknesses, 
I recommend this book to all faculty members, 
teachers, leaders, managers, especifically to those 
strive for effectiveness and efficiency in leadership. 

r e v i e w e r

Thuraya A Al-Shidhani
Oman Medical Specialty Board and
Department of Family & Community Medicine
University of Toronto, Canada
Email: shidhanitutu@yahoo.com

Acknowledgment: I wish to thank Vinita Arora for 
editing this article