A summary of: 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 north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.

Covey defines effectiveness as the balance of obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces those results. He illustrates this by referring to the fable of the goose that laid the golden eggs. He further claims that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio, where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results.

This best-known book of Covey has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide since its first publication. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey argues against what he calls the personality ethic, that he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels the character ethic: aligning one's values with so-called universal and timeless principles. In doing this, Covey distinguishes principles and values. He sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Our values govern our behavior, while principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence through independence on to interdependence.

Covey introduces the concept of paradigm shift and helps the reader understand that different perspectives exist, i.e. that two people can see the same thing and yet differ from each other.

Covey also introduces the maturity continuum. These are three successive stages of increasing maturity: dependence, independence, and interdependence. At birth, everybody is dependent, and characteristics of dependence may linger; this is the first and lowest stage of maturity.

Dependence means you need others to get what you need. All of us began life as an infant, depending on others for nurturing and sustenance. I may be intellectually dependent on other people's thinking; I may be emotionally dependent on other people's affirmation and validation of me. Dependence is the attitude of "you": you take care of me... or you don't come through and I blame you for the result.
Independence means you are pretty much free from the external influence [and] support of others. ... Independence is the attitude of "I". ... It is the avowed goal of many individuals, and also many social movements, to enthrone independence as the highest level of achievement, but it is not the ultimate goal in effective living. There is a far more mature and more advanced level.
The third and highest level in the Maturity Continuum is interdependence. ... We live in an interdependent reality. Interdependence is essential for good leaders; good team players; a successful marriage or family life; in organizations. Interdependence is the attitude of "we": we can co-operate; we can be a team; we can combine our talents.

— Stephen Covey, The 7 habits of highly effective people (1998)

Content:
INSIDE-OUT
THE SEVEN HABITS – AN OVERVIEW
HABIT #1 BE PROACTIVE
HABIT #2 BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
HABIT #3 PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
PARADIGMS OF INTERDEPENDENCE
HABIT #4 THINK WIN/WIN
HABIT #5 SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
HABIT #6 SYNERGIZE
HABIT #7 SHARPEN THE SAW