The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Sean Covey is the son of Stephen Covey, best-selling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which Sean Covey’s book is based on. Sean Covey is now the Executive Vice President of Global Solutions and Partnerships for FranklinCovey, a time management and leadership company. He is a New York Times bestselling author and has also written The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make, The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, and The 4 Disciplines of Execution.

Covey’s book is full of anecdotes, especially from teenagers, but Covey also uses anecdotes from his own life. Even though he is now married with children, he embraces his identity as a “retired teenager,” sharing the many ups and downs from those years. He is honest about his experiences, especially his struggles. Clearly, his father was a driving force in Sean’s life. Although Covey jokes that he had to serve as a guinea pig as his father tested out ideas on him and his siblings, he realizes the debt he owes his father, who taught him the seven habits as he was growing up. He shares how his father refused to let him blame anyone else for his struggles, making him take ownership of his life. He tells a story of how he let down his father when he took the car (he had a “hot date”) even though his father had already refused. He ended up getting in an accident and totaled the car. He wasn’t hurt, but his relationship with his father (RBA) was hurt, and he had to work hard to build it up again. It was hard but not impossible. Covey wants to convey that message to his readers: The seven habits are hard but not impossible.

Covey also shares some of the writing process involved in creating this book. He jokes that he realized how smart his father was once he finished writing. He wants to demonstrate to his readers the need to try to understand the struggles that parents go through. He also uses the process of writing this book to show it as an example of synergy, the pinnacle of all of the habits, as it allows teamwork and cooperation to create great things. Covey acknowledges the work of his team throughout his book, as well as in his “Thank Yous” at the end of the book.