Two Self-Help Books

This paper compares and contrasts two self-help books aimed at effecting personal change in order to achieve greater success in business and in life. Stephen R. Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Ron Willingham's self-published When Good Isn't Good Enough, both published in 1989, are typical of a gradual shift in business books toward an emphasis on self-actualization, ethical principles, and personal awareness that has begun to turn books originally aimed at the corporate development world into books with a much wider, more general appeal. Both emphasize spiritual values and self-reliance, and both build on the traditions begun by popular sources such as Dale Carnegie and In Search of Excellence.

Covey argues for the need to rediscover the elements of what he calls the Character Ethic as the basis for success, "things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden Rule." Covey believes that the Character Ethic has been slowly supplanted by the Personality Ethic, in which "success became more a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques." He contends that any kind of effective, satisfying success comes from the principles of the Character Ethic, rather than the Personality Ethic, and he sets out to delineate those principles as guidelines for living.

Covey's thesis is that the principles that form the basis of the Characte

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ham also defines the word paradigm for his readers, in order to convince them of the limitations they are likely to have placed on their thinking. Willingham's system consists of five steps, "which you can use for the rest of your life to reach any kind of goal you'll ever want to reach." This Goal Achievement System encourages the reader to set goals, plan a strategy for attaining them, build belief that they are achievable, develop the personal strengths necessary for the particular project, and evaluate progress. Both Covey and Willingham provide instructions on how to read their books and put their programs into action. Since both authors have conducted extensive seminars in developing and teaching their approaches, these instructions stand in lieu of the authors' opportunities to teach these methods directly. Covey's book has been a national bestseller, topping the book lists for an extended period, while Willingham's book is self-published and appears to have had a much more modest circulation. Yet, both share many similarities. They make extensive use of anecdotes and the author's personal experiences. Covey personalizes his writings by quoting from case studies of many individuals who have come to him over a 25

Category: Psychology - T