The 8th Habit - abridged 3 CD by Stephen R. Covey Audio Book CD
Brand New (still shrink wrapped): 3 CDs ABRIDGED
The world has profoundly changed since The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was published. The challenges and complexity we face in our personal lives and relationships, in our families, in our professional lives, and in our organizations are of a different order and magnitude. Surviving, thriving, innovating, excelling and leading in this new reality requires a new mindset, a new skill-set, a new toolset—it requires a new habit. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness is an additional dimension to the 7 Habits that takes us beyond effectiveness and puts us onto the pathway leading to greatness.
In a recent survey of 23,000 full-time employees holding key positions in key industries, only 50 percent said they were satisfied with the work they have accomplished at the end of the week. Despite all our gains in technology, product innovation, and world markets, most people are not thriving in the organizations they work for. They are neither excited nor fulfilled. They have no clarity around the most important priorities. They suffer from a loss of passion, feeling disenabled in their jobs, coping with low-trust environments, and feeling bogged down and distracted.
The call and need of this new era is for fulfillment. It’s for passionate optimization, for significant contribution and greatness. We must tap into the voice of the human spirit—full of hope and intelligence—and encompass the soul of organizations so they can survive, thrive and profoundly impact the future of the world. Tapping into these higher reaches of human genius and motivation—what we would call voice—requires the 8th Habit.
The 8th Habit is about seeing and harnessing the power of a third dimension to the 7 Habits that meets this central challenge of the new Knowledge Worker Age. It is about finding your voice and helping others to find theirs. Voice is unique personal significance—significance that is revealed as we face our greatest challenges and that makes us equal to them.
When you engage in work that taps your talent and fuels your passion—that rises out of a great need in the world that you feel drawn by conscience to meet—therein lies your voice, your calling, your soul’s code. The purpose of The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness is to give you a roadmap that will lead you from pain and frustration to true fulfilment, relevance, significance, and contribution in today’s new landscape—not only in your work and organization, but also in your whole life.
About the Author Stephen R Covey:
Stephen R. Covey (born October 24 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is the author of the bestselling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, as well as other books (First Things First, Principle -Centered Leadership). He is the founder of the Covey Leadership Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is the "Covey" of the Franklin-Covey Corporation, which makes planners and organizers and does management consulting. He has his BS in Business Administration from University of Utah in Salt Lake City, his MBA in Business Administration from Harvard University, and his DRE in Church History and Doctorate from Brigham Young University.
The Seven Habits, Covey's most well-known book, was extremely successful and has sold over 15 million copies since first publication in 1989. In this book, Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He instead promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic," which is based largely upon one's principles and code of conduct, specifically:
* Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision
* Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Leadership
* Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Personal Management
* Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Interpersonal Leadership
* Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
* Habit 6: Synergize Principles of Creative Communication
* Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
Follow-up titles to The Seven Habits are meant to both add to the original and form a cohesive philosophy on personal, principle-based leadership. They are available as audio books as well. Covey has also written a number of learning books for children.
Covey's aim is to help others gain proficiency in their lives, especially within the context of business and management and make money doing it. However, his books also emphasize family and personal leadership. They are marketed to a wide-ranging audience, from high-powered executives to stay-at-home mums. Similar authors might include Peter Drucker or David Allen, as well as other more business-centered writers. Covey's works also exhibit a central philosophical ideal, which some would interpret as right of center or conservative, although he was for a time a consultant to President Bill Clinton.
Critics of Covey's methods contend that the author offers a "quick fix" that dissipates when measured against the reality of day-to-day life. When confronted with situations that contain elements that are outside the realm of their personal influence, those imbued with Covey's summary accountability can become frustrated at the "habits'" failure to place situations within their locus of control. In short, Covey is sometimes said to preach impractical, idealistic methods.
Advocates of Covey's methods point out that the author consistently opposes "quick-fix" solutions to life or business problems and insists that changes in paradigm or mindset to align with natural principles are the true source of solutions. Covey points out, for example, that the paradigm that produces short-term results in business inevitably leads to an inability to produce results for the long term. He calls this "killing the golden goose." The most effective mindset for the business person is to balance short- and long-term productive capacities.
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