The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families

While the original "7 Habits" were lauded for their content, at times they were criticized for the generally business oriented approach chosen.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families" renders these principles much more accessible and provides easy to follow advice that can be applied in day to day life.

Subsequently, by applying the principles presented in "The 7 Habits", they will become just that - Habits! As habits they are exercised/applied without thinking about them anymore, therefore eliminating the need to constantly focus on them.

The experience is somewhat similar to learning to drive a car. Initially a lot of attention to operating the car is required, because it is such an unfamiliar process. After a while, however, driving the car becomes a matter of habit, mostly executed on a sub-conscious level, while the attention can be focused almost solely on the traffic and environment.

For anyone not familiar with either one of the "7 Habits" books, I recommend to start out with this one, and then - if necessary, or desired - to read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" at a later point of time for the primary purpose of its more business oriented approach.

In order to be able to focus on business, it is worthwhile to already have ones house in order; therefore the family should come first - including the family's "7 Habits".

For a multi-sensory approach, I suggest to also listen to the corresponding book on CD. This will trigger different areas of the brain and therefore lead to a faster learning curve.

Reading by its very approach has to happen on the conscious level, while listening can happen in situation where the primary focus is on something else, i.e. stop-and-go traffic. Dr. Covey's soothing voice in such scenarios will manage to engage the listener on a subconscious level, driving the message home even more effectively.