Name: Principle-Centered Leadership
ISBN: 9780671749101

Principle-Centered Leadership

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? 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.

What Hacker News says

cnicolaouDec 2019

While i really value the books from the US and British armies that were shared, I think "Principle Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey" is a really good book on the topic of Leadership. https://www.amazon.com/Principle-Centered-Leadership-Stephen...

thread

joelhausJul 2012

Have similar sentiments about Covey and 7 Habits, so thanks for your post. Wanted to also point out a follow-up book he wrote which I recommend. In "Principle-Centered Leadership"[1], Covey further demonstrates these principles at work. Like Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey's clear vision of the human condition will continue to have a positive impact on many lives far into the future.

ADDED: I remember feeling compelled to get out a highlighter while reading both of these books (so many gems). Unfortunately, they're in storage, so won't be able to share the things that really stood out. However, there are excellent summaries of both books online if anyone is interested.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Principle-Centered-Leadership-Stephen-...

thread

ex3xuNov 2018

I'll point you in the direction of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning: https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-...

Or, if the memoirs of a holocaust survivor's search for meaning are too heavy, you can find watered down business book variations in Stephen Covey's Principle-Centered Leadership, or a more mystical variant in The Four Agreements if that's more your thing.

Some examples of ideas from Frankl's toolbox borrowed from existentialist thought -- one that you might find to be applicable is his idea that in the gap between any stimulus and response, no matter how terrible of a situation, every human gets the opportunity to make a choice -- and thus we can always maintain our freedom in this way. Keeping a positive attitude in the face of cynicism-inducing circumstances is one such choice. Or another tidbit he borrows from Nietzsche: He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. Maybe you're just crabby because you have not yet found your life's purposeful work, which it seems like other commentators have suggested as well.

The way I see it right now, the world is yearning for competent bullshit-free actors. With the recent existence of light-speed communication, it's only due to inertia that all the rent-seeking bullshit players haven't yet crumbled into dust. Hope you can find a way to use your past experiences to be a positive force in the future. Aaron Swartz, rest in peace, would have admonished you to fix the machine, not the person: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/nummi

thread