What to Read After "The 7 Habits"

Introduction: 7 Books for Highly Effective People

If you’ve read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ve learned about writing your personal mission statement and identifying the success habits you need to work on the most. Now what? These seven books chosen by Shortform writers—avid Covey readers—will help you advance your personal growth.

Other Books by Stephen R. Covey

Covey was a prolific author of self-help, business, and leadership books. You can continue educating yourself with his other titles, including these Shortform favorites:

First Things First: Do you feel like you’re constantly checking things off your to-do list but still don’t have enough time for the important things? In this book, Covey teaches you to identify your priorities, schedule your time accordingly, and collaborate effectively with others.

The 8th Habit: 15 years after the worldwide success of his seven habits, Covey added one more to the list—finding your voice and helping others do the same. This is the habit of leadership. The 8th Habit examines the unique contributions each person offers, arguing that the most important job of leaders is to nurture this individuality.

(Shortform tip: If you prefer a more hands-on approach for internalizing Covey’s ideas, take advantage of the free resources his organization offers. FranklinCovey, the leadership institute he founded, trains individuals and organizations in personal effectiveness, sales performance, leadership, and business execution.)

Books That Inspired The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

While Covey doesn’t directly reference these two books, their impact on his philosophy is clear. Choose between managerial expertise and scientific breakthroughs—or better yet, read both!

The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker: While many productivity experts teach you how to be more efficient and accomplish many things, Drucker says that what really matters is effectiveness—accomplishing the right things. He explains how to master five key practices of effectiveness: time management, focus, making a unique contribution, maximizing your and others’ strengths, and sound decision-making.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn: Covey encourages you to be alert to any information that might contradict your beliefs. Kuhn explains that encountering contradictory information is the first step in scientific paradigm shifts—when new information challenges our understanding of scientific ideas. Read Kuhn’s foundational book to learn how scientists challenge their existing assumptions and embrace new perspectives.

(Shortform tip: How do you turn the insights you read into inspiration for new ideas, as Covey did? One way to do so is to annotate your books with marginal notes. Marking your books helps you think through what you’re reading, internalizing it more deeply than if you were reading passively. This makes it easier to remember what you’ve read, which can spark new insights.)

Books to Build on Covey’s Advice

The 7 habits are a lifetime commitment. Besides revisiting Covey’s book, you have to build skills to support your habits—that’s where these three books come in.

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg: Two of Covey’s habits require empathic listening. This type of listening is a cornerstone of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a communication framework rooted in compassion and understanding. Rosenberg developed NVC through his work with civil rights activists and school desegregationists in the 1960s.

Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal: Covey encourages prioritizing your time and actions to align with your mission statement, but his advice can feel abstract. To help you apply it, you can follow Abdaal’s tactics. Besides helping you get things done, his systematic approach boosts your emotional well-being and helps you avoid—or recover from—burnout.

Grit by Angela Duckworth: Covey writes that shifting your perspective is key to changing your behavior, but most self-improvement books focus on the latter. Not Grit. Duckworth explains why grit is a major contributor to success, and she explores how to achieve your goals by shifting your focus from talent to perseverance.

(Shortform tip: Consider assessing your level of grittiness using Duckworth’s online quiz. Next, reflect on your results and think about how you can increase your grit to tackle and conquer your self-improvement challenges.)