From Library Journal
The great "angst" of life has seemingly gripped us all, and there seems to be no limit to the number of writers offering answers to the great perplexities of life. Covey, however, is the North Star in this field. Following his successful Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (S. & S., 1989), Covey now responds to the particular challenges of business leaders by applying his natural laws, or principles, of life to organizations. Covey explains these laws (security, guidance, wisdom, and power), and discusses how seven-habits practice and focus on these principles will result in personal and organizational transformation. He reminds us that personal and organizational success is hard work, requires unwavering commitment and long-term perspective, and is achievable only if we are prepared for a complete paradigm shift in our perspective. Without hesitation, strongly recommended for all management collections.- Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
Sam Walton Chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Covey's philosophy for creating more meaningful relationships and successes in the workplace is one we should be striving to implement throughout business and industry, in the home and elsewhere, if we expect to be rewarded with happiness and a fulfilling future. I truly believe that the values he stresses in Principle-Centered Leadership are fundamental to developing a total quality environment.

Catherine Crier CNN News Anchor The world is in dire need of a paradigm shift in attitudes and values. Stephen Covey gives us the blueprint with which to create a better personal, business, and political environment and produce this fundamental change. All we need do -- is act!

Thomas R. Horton Chairman, American Management Association As if Covey's first book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was not enough, his new book Principle-Centered Leadership is a real tour de force.


Review
Joshua Hammond President, American Quality Foundation We consider Stephen R. Covey to be one of the five most important contributors to shaping America's next level of thinking in quality.


Review
Joshua Hammond President, American Quality Foundation We consider Stephen R. Covey to be one of the five most important contributors to shaping America's next level of thinking in quality.


Book Description
How do we as individuals and organizations survive and thrive amid tremendous change? Why are efforts to improve falling so short in real results despite the millions of dollars in time, capital, and human effort being spent on them? How do we unleash the creativity, talent, and energy within ourselves and others in the midst of pressure? Is it realistic to believe that balance among personal, family, and professional life is possible? Stephen R. Covey demonstrates that the answer to these and other dilemmas is Principle-Centered Leadership, a long-term, inside-out approach to developing people and organizations. The key to dealing with the challenges that face us today is the recognition of a principle-centered core within both ourselves and our organizations. Dr. Covey offers insights and guidelines that can help you apply these principles both at work and at home -- leading not just to a new understanding of how to increase quality and productivity, but also to a new appreciation of the importance of building personal and professional relationships in order to enjoy a more balanced, more rewarding, more effective life.


Book Info
From the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey offers insights and guidelines that can help you apply leadership principles at work and at home. Paper. Success Psychological aspects.


Simon & Schuster
The Eternal Drive for Excellence No matter what level of success we have achieved, none of us can be content to stay where we are. Within all of us lies an innate desire for progress in every aspect of our lives. In order to harness and utilize this internal drive in ourselves and those around us, we must learn to center our lives according to a set of certain basic principles Stephen R. Covey, author of the runaway bestseller The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, tells us how to apply these principles to the problems we face every day---and how to meet the goals of all strong business leaders: quality, productivity, profitability, and win-win relationships. According to Covey, ineffective people try to manage their time around priorities, often losing sight of the fundamental character and skill development necessary for effective leadership. Here he draws on 25 years of consulting and teaching to provide new methods and practices that will improve our managerial, interpersonal and organizational lives. Using the same insightful and sensitive style that made The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People a #1 national audio bestseller, Principle-Centered Leadership provides the keys to life-long learning---each one unlocking the doors to personal fulfillment and professional success.


About the Author
Stephen R. Covey is an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, founder of the former Covey Leadership Center, and cochairman of Franklin Covey Co. He has made teaching Principle-Centered Living and Principle-Centered Leadership his life's work. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, where he was a professor of organizational behavior and business management and also served as director of university relations and assistant to the president. For more than thirty years he has taught millions of individuals, families, and leaders in business, education, and government the transforming power of principles or natural laws that govern human and organizational effectiveness. Dr. Covey is the author of several acclaimed books, including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which has been at the top of the bestseller lists for over seven years and tied as the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century in a survey of Chief Executive Magazine's readers. More than ten million copies have been sold in twenty-eight languages and seventy countries. His books Principle-Centered Leadership and First Things First are two of the bestselling business books of the decade. Dr. Covey and other Franklin Covey authors, speakers, and spokespersons, all authorities on leadership and effectiveness, are consistently sought by radio and television stations, magazines, and newspapers throughout the world. Among recent acknowledgments, Dr. Covey has received the Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity, the Toastmasters' International Top Speaker Award, Inc. magazine's National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and several honorary doctorates. He has also been recognized as one of Time magazine's twenty-five most influential Americans. Stephen, his wife, Sandra, and their family live in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1 Characteristics of Principle-Centered Leaders From study and observation and from my own strivings, I have isolated eight discernible characteristics of people who are principle-centered leaders. These traits not only characterize effective leaders, they also serve as signs of progress for all of us. I will briefly discuss each in turn. They Are Continually Learning Principle-centered people are constantly educated by their experiences. They read, they seek training, they take classes, they listen to others, they learn through both their ears and their eyes. They are curious, always asking questions. They continually expand their competence, their ability to do things. They develop new skills, new interests. They discover that the more they know, the more they realize they don't know; that as their circle of knowledge grows, so does its outside edge of ignorance. Most of this learning and growth energy is self-initiated and feeds upon itself. You will develop your abilities faster by learning to make and keep promises or commitments. Start by making a small promise to yourself; continue fulfilling that promise until you have a sense that you have a little more control over yourself. Now take the next level of challenge. Make yourself a promise and keep it until you have established control at that level. Now move to the next level; make the promise, keep it. As you do this, your sense of personal worth will increase; your sense of self-mastery will grow, as will your confidence that you can master the next level. Be serious and intent in the whole process, however, because if you make this commitment to yourself and then break it, your self-esteem will be weakened and your capacity to make and keep another promise will be decreased. They Are Service-Oriented Those striving to be principle-centered see life as a mission, not as a career. Their nurturing sources have armed and prepared them for service. In effect, every morning they "yoke up" and put on the harness of service, thinking of others. See yourself each morning yoking up, putting on the harness of service in your various stewardships. See yourself taking the straps and connecting them around your shoulders as you prepare to do the work assigned to you that day. See yourself allowing someone else to adjust the yoke or harness. See yourself yoked up to another person at your side -- a co-worker or spouse -- and learning to pull together with that person. I emphasize this principle of service or yoking up because I have come to believe that effort to become principle-centered without a load to carry simply will not succeed. We may attempt to do it as a kind of intellectual or moral exercise, but if we don't have a sense of responsibility, of service, of contribution, something we need to pull or push, it becomes a futile endeavor. They Radiate Positive Energy The countenances of principle-centered people are cheerful, pleasant, happy. Their attitude is optimistic, positive, upbeat. Their spirit is enthusiastic, hopeful, believing. This positive energy is like an energy field or an aura that surrounds them and that similarly charges or changes weaker, negative energy fields around them. They also attract and magnify smaller positive energy fields. When they come into contact with strong, negative energy sources, they tend either to neutralize or to sidestep this negative energy. Sometimes they will simply leave it, walking away from its poisonous orbit. Wisdom gives them a sense of how strong it is and a sense of humor and of timing in dealing with it. Be aware of the effect of your own energy and understand how you radiate and direct it. And in the middle of confusion or contention or negative energy, strive to be a peacemaker, a harmonizer, to undo or reverse destructive energy. You will discover what a self-fulfilling prophecy positive energy is when combined with the next characteristic. They Believe In Other People Principle-centered people don't overreact to negative behaviors, criticism, or human weaknesses. They don't feel built up when they discover the weaknesses of others. They are not naive; they are aware of weakness. But they realize that behavior and potential are two different things. They believe in the unseen potential of all people. They feel grateful for their blessings and feel naturally to compassionately forgive and forget the offenses of others. They don't carry grudges. They refuse to label other people, to stereotype, categorize, and prejudge. Rather, they see the oak tree in the acorn and understand the process of helping the acorn become a great oak. Once my wife and I felt uneasy about the labels we and others had attached to one of our sons, even though these labels were justified by his behavior. By visualizing his potential, we gradually came to see him differently. When we believed in the unseen potential, the old labels vanished naturally, and we stopped trying to change him overnight. We simply knew that his talent and potential would come in its own time. And it did, to the astonishment, frankly, of others, including other family members. We were not surprised because we knew who he was. Truly, believing is seeing. We must, therefore, seek to believe in the unseen potential. This creates a climate for growth and opportunity. Self-centered people believe that the key lies in them, in their techniques, in doing "their thing" to others. This works only temporarily. If you believe it's "in" them, not "in" you, you relax, accept, affirm, and let it happen. Either way it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. They Lead Balanced Lives They read the best literature and magazines and keep up with current affairs and events. They are active socially, having many friends and a few confidants. They are active intellectually, having many interests. They read, watch, observe, and learn. Within the limits of age and health, they are active physically. They have a lot of fun. They enjoy themselves. They have a healthy sense of humor, particularly laughing at themselves and not at others' expense. You can sense they have a healthy regard for and honesty about themselves. They can feel their own worth, which is manifest by their courage and integrity and by the absence of a need to brag, to drop names, to borrow strength from possessions or credentials or titles or past achievements. They are open in their communication, simple, direct, non-manipulative. They also have a sense of what is appropriate, and they would sooner err on the side of understatement than on the side of exaggeration. They are not extremists -- they do not make everything all or nothing. They do not divide everything into two parts, seeing everything as good or bad, as either/or. They think in terms of continuums, priorities, hierarchies. They have the power to discriminate, to sense the similarities and differences in each situation. This does not mean they see everything in terms of situational ethics. They fully recognize absolutes and courageously condemn the bad and champion the good. Their actions and attitudes are proportionate to the situation -- balanced, temperate, moderate, wise. For instance, they're not workaholics, religious zealots, political fanatics, diet crashers, food bingers, pleasure addicts, or fasting martyrs. They're not slavishly chained to their plans and schedules. They don't condemn themselves for every foolish mistake or social blunder. They don't brood about yesterday or daydream about tomorrow. They live sensibly in the present, carefully plan the future, and flexibly adapt to changing circumstances. Their self-honesty is revealed by their sense of humor, their willingness to admit and then forget mistakes, and to cheerfully do the things ahead that lie within their power. They have no need to manipulate through either intimidating anger or self-pitying martyrdom. They are genuinely happy for others' successes and do not feel in any sense that these take anything from them. They take both praise and blame proportionately without head trips or overreactions. They see success on the far side of failure. The only real failure for them is the experience not learned from. They See Life As An Adventure Principle-centered people savor life. Because their security comes from within instead of from without, they have no need to categorize and stereotype everything and everybody in life to give them a sense of certainty and predictability. They see old faces freshly, old scenes as if for the first time. They are like courageous explorers going on an expedition into uncharted territories; they are really not sure what is going to happen, but they are confident it will be exciting and growth producing and that they will discover new territory and make new contributions. Their security lies in their initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, willpower, courage, stamina, and native intelligence rather than in the safety, protection, and abundance of their home camps, of their comfort zones. They rediscover people each time they meet them. They are interested in them. They ask questions and get involved. They are completely present when they listen. They learn from them. They don't label them from past successes or failures. They see no one bigger than life. They are not overawed by top government figures or celebrities. They resist becoming any person's disciple. They are basically unflappable and capable of adapting virtually to anything that comes along. One of their fixed principles is flexibility. They truly lead the abundant life. They Are Synergistic Synergy is the state in which the whole is more than the sum of the parts. Principle-centered people are synergistic. They are change catalysts. They improve almost any situation they get into. They work as smart as they work hard. They are amazingly productive, but in new and creative ways. In team endeavors they build on their strengths and strive to complement their weaknesses with the strengths of others. Delegation for results is easy and natural to them, since they believe in others' strengths and capacities. And since they are not threatened by the fact that others are better in some ways, they feel no need to supervise them closely. When principle-centered people negotiate and communicate with others in seemingly adversarial situations, they learn to separate the people from the problem. They focus on the other person's interests and concerns rather than fight over positions. Gradually others discover their sincerity and become part of a creative problem-solving process. Together they arrive at synergistic solutions, which are usually much better than any of the original proposals, as opposed to compromise solutions wherein both parties give and take a little. They Exercise For Self-Renewal Finally, they regularly exercise the four dimensions of the human personality: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. They participate in some kind of balanced, moderate, regular program of aerobic exercise, meaning cardiovascular exercise -- using the large leg muscles and working the heart and lungs. This provides endurance -- improving the capacity of the body and brain to use oxygen -- along with many other physical and mental benefits. Also valuable are stretching exercises for flexibility and resistance exercises for strength and muscle tone. They exercise their minds through reading, creative problem-solving, writing, and visualizing. Emotionally they make an effort to be patient, to listen to others with genuine empathy, to show unconditional love, and to accept responsibility for their own lives and decisions and reactions. Spiritually they focus on prayer, scripture study, meditation, and fasting. I'm convinced that if a person will spend one hour a day on these basic exercises, he or she will improve the quality, productivity, and satisfaction of every other hour of the day, including the depth and restfulness of sleep. No other single hour of your day will return as much as the hour you invest in sharpening the saw -- that is, in exercising these four dimensions of the human personality. If you will do this daily, you will soon experience the impact for good on your life. Some of these activities may be done in the normal course of the day; others will need to be scheduled into the day. They take some time, but in the long run they save us a great deal of time. We must never get too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw, never too busy driving to take time to get gas. I find that if I do this hour of exercise early in the morning, it is like a private victory and just about guarantees public victories throughout the day. But if I take the course of least resistance and neglect all or part of this program, I forfeit that private victory and find myself uprooted by public pressures and stresses through the day. These principles of self-renewal will gradually produce a strong and healthy character with a powerfully disciplined, service-focused will. Copyright © 1990, 1991 by Stephen R. Covey

ANNOTATION

Concentrates on development of people & organizations via a long-term, inside-out approach/increase quality/productivity

FROM THE PUBLISHER

How do we as individuals and organizations survive and thrive amid tremendous change? Why are efforts to improve falling so short in real results despite the millions of dollars in time, capital, and human effort being spent on them? How do we unleash the creativity, talent, and energy within ourselves and others in the midst of pressure? Is it realistic to believe that balance among personal, family, and professional life is possible?

Stephen R. Covey demonstrates that the answer to these and other dilemmas is Principle-Centered Leadership, a long-term, inside-out approach to developing people and organizations. The key to dealing with the challenges that face us today is the recognition of a principle-centered core within both ourselves and our organizations. Dr. Covey offers insights and guidelines that can help you apply these principles both at work and at home - leading not just to a new understanding of how to increase quality and productivity, but also to a new appreciation of the importance of building personal and professional relationships in order to enjoy a more balanced, more rewarding, more effective life.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal