Stephen Covey, who died on July 16th, was one of the most successful management gurus ever. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has sold more than 20m copies; three of his other titles have sold at least 1m each. His Covey Leadership Centre (now part of a firm called FranklinCovey) claims to have had three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies as clients。

The seven habits are as follows. “Be proactive.” “Begin with the end in mind.” “Put first things first” (oddly, this is third on the list). “Think win-win.” “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” “Synergise”: learn to work with others to the benefit of all parties. “Sharpen the saw”: keep yourself physically, mentally and spiritually refreshed through such things as exercise, reading, prayer and good works. Mr Covey later added an eighth habit: find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

The above words was extracted from today's Economist, I found it helpful when I first read it.And I'd like to share with you, my friend, wish you'd like it and, if possible, do you a favor in the future.