'' The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness'' is a book written by

Stephen R. Covey Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is '' of Highly Effective People''. His other books include '' First Things First'', ''Pr ...

, published in 2004. It is the sequel to ''

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People ''The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'', first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true nort ...

'', first published in 1989. The book clarifies and reinforces Covey's earlier declaration that "

Interdependence Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its struc ...

is a higher value than independence." This book helps its readers increase the dependence of themselves and others. ;8 - Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs: ''The eighth habit is'' ''"Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs."'' Voice is Covey's code for "unique personal significance." Those who inspire others to find theirs are the leaders needed now and for the future, according to Covey. The central idea of the book is the need for steady recovery and application of the whole person paradigm, which holds that persons have four bits of intelligence - physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Denial of any of them reduces individuals to things, inviting many problems. The industrial age is assumed to have been a period dependent on such denial. Covey believed the

information age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during ...

and a foreseen "Age of Wisdom" require "whole" people (in whole jobs). Some versions of the book come with a DVD, although all the short films on this DVD can be viewed via Covey's website. The book is divided into two sections, with the first few chapters focusing on finding your voice, while the later chapters are about inspiring others to find their voice. Most of the chapters in the book include a section discussing one of the 'stories' from the DVD, which are intended to illustrate the theme of the chapter (for example the story of Helen Keller and another about the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

). The book talks of "5 Cancerous Behaviors" (page 135) that inhibit people's greatness: *

Criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

* Complaining * Comparing *

Competing Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

* Contending People can discover their voice because of the three gifts everyone is born with: #The freedom to choose #The natural laws or principles – those that dictate the consequences of behavior. Positive consequences come from fairness, kindness, respect, honesty, integrity, service, and contribution #The four bits of intelligence – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Covey talks about great achievers expressing their voice through the use of their intelligences. Achievers for example *develop their mental energy into

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

*develop their physical energy into

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

*develop their emotional energy into passion *develop their spiritual energy into conscience – their inward

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

sense of what is right and wrong and their drive towards meaning and contribution.

References

External links

* https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/ 2004 non-fiction books Self-help books {{business-book-stub