Stephen Covey Recommended Books

[Elisabet Schwartzkopf]

Myname is Stephen D. Covey.

I am a futurist, a rock hound, and a space enthusiast.

I also write Science Fiction & Techno-Thrillers.

Once upon a time, I was a software and web consultant. Later I was director of R&D for a telecommunications company. Then (at least before I retired), I paid the bills as the Director of Research & Development forDeep Space Industries (an asteroid mining and processing company), where I worked on turning science fiction into science fact. I've also worked as a Realtor, webmaster and rock hound, while writing about the future in my blog ( ) and writing techno-thrillers and Science Fiction (SF). If you got to this page seeking books on Rocks, Gems, and Minerals, see my Recommended Mineral Books. If you got here seeking books by self-help author Stephen R. Covey (no relation), see my page onReader's Resources for my recommendations of his works.

I've been reading SF since I was 8 years old (and fascinated by dinosaurs). I love SF because I love to learn, and great SF expands the mind by exploring visions of what might be. I've always favored "hard" SF, stories about technologies and exotic places that just might be possible, someday, somewhere, somehow. As soon as practical, I plan to write full time ("retirement" is simply a synonym for "career change"). In a very real sense, I am a full time Futurist / Asteroid Miner / Space Settlement Architect & Farmer, a full time webmaster, and a full time writer. Sleep isn't all that important, anyway, unless you are dreaming up a new scene or a new story.

A little about me:I started to read when I was very young (before kindergarden), inspired by my father Darrell who daily would read every article in the newspaper, plus on average one novel. Besides, the comic section of the paper is pretty boring if you can't read. When I was 7, my parents purchased a children's encyclopedia (The Book of Knowledge), and I decided to read the entire 20-volume set. It took me a year to read Volume I (slowed drastically by the need to frequently ask, "Mom, what's this word?") I finished the set during the summer two years after that. I liked science and technology, and I admit that I largely just skimmed the articles on history, biographies, politics and the like (except for the interesting people like Newton and Tesla and Einstein).

Like many kids, I was fascinated by dinosaurs. In the 3rd grade, my class took a field trip to the nearby library (which happened to be on the same block as the elementary school), and I discovered dozens of books on dinosaurs. I often went to the library on my own to read those books. After nearly daily visits for 6 months, a very helpful librarian said, "You can take these books home, you know." No, I didn't know, and the very next day my mother co-signed a library card for me. A few months later I had finished reading the last of that library's books on dinosaurs, and the same librarian showed me the only other books with "dinosaur" in the title - in the science fiction section. I was hooked.

I was lucky enough to attend a high school with excellent chemistry, physics, and biology teachers. I attended a wonderful small college (Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana), and graduated with a degree in physics. A small liberal arts college offers many unique opportunities. For one, I was able to satisfy my literature requirement with an Independent Study course I created on "The Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov". I also wrote my first SF piece (essentially a space opera similar to some of the works of E. E. "Doc" Smith) while a student there, but I was embarrassed by my poor writing and gave up after writing about 60k words of first draft. Largely, I just needed more experience writing, and a lot more reading. Skip ahead 30+ years ....I write what I like - SF that explores the implications of new technologies, or possible worlds, or plausible events that would disrupt our lives should they ever come to pass. I have completed two techno-thrillers, The Last Tomorrow and RIPPED, written detailed outlines for a half-dozen novels (and up to 40,000 words of first draft in each), plus outlines for several collections of related short stories. I am polishing & expect to publish many of the dozen short stories I've completed. I have discovered that I enjoy writing SF every bit as much as I enjoy reading it.I also discovered that my home in St. Augustine, Florida, was a great place to be a developing writer. The Jacksonville area is home to at least 4 writer's groups (one of which has several local chapters), and I joined a critique group of 8 Jacksonville area science fiction and fantasy writers.Check out my list of stories, both completed and works-in-process.You might also enjoy the (futurist) presentation I gave at the 2010International Space Development Conference in Chicago, entitled Asteroid Capture Into Earth Orbit.It seems I had an idea that was apparently unique. Everyone knows that we can (in principle) use gravitational slingshots around the Moon to capture satellites (and asteroids) into Earth orbit, if we can move them around at will. Unfortunately, asteroids are far too massive for our technologies to manhandle. And everyone knows that there is a smallish asteroid, 99942 Apophis, that will swoop by the Earth (closer than our geosynchronous satellites) on Friday the 13th in April of 2029, and which MIGHT return and actually collide with the Earth 7 years later. We don't know for sure, because tiny uncertainties in the 13-APR-2029 slingshot can have a huge difference in its subsequent orbit. My idea was that we can tune those uncertainties (by applying small delta-Vs) to control the resulting orbit (large delta-Vs) using rockets we can build with today's technologies.

At the 2011 International Space Development Conference in Huntsville, I gave presentations about (1) the technologies for capturing an asteroid into Earth orbit, and (2) using the asteroid's resources to solve the Earth's energy and global warming problems.

One (so far) of the presentations is posted onmy blog, , along with supporting information, and the other (an updated version of an earlier post) will be posted soon.I was also interviewed by Alvin Remmers of Moonandback.com.

Here are links to the three videos of my interview: -interview-with-stephen-d-covey-part-1-capturing-apophis/Moonandback Interview With Stephen D Covey, part 1 Capturing ApophisAt ISDC 2011, Author Stephen D. Covey talks with MM about capturing asteroid #99942 into Earth orbit 19 years from now and mining it for resources. July 6th, 2011 -interview-with-stephen-d-covey-part-2-an-asteroid-capture-plan/Moonandback Interview With Stephen D Covey, part 2 An Asteroid Capture PlanAt ISDC, Stephen D. Covey continues to talk about capturing Apophis, giving the specifics of a plan to do so. July 7th, 2011 -interview-with-stephen-d-covey-part-3-asteroid-resources/Moonandback Interview With Stephen D Covey, part 3 Asteroid ResourcesStephen D Covey calls for NASA to manage the slingshot necessary to capture Apophis or another asteroid.

Home The E-Myth Revisited - Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber ISBN: 0887307280, Paperback- $9.60 BUY

Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for anyone thinking about starting a business or for those who have already taken that fateful step. The title refers to the author's belief that entrepreneurs--typically brimming with good but distracting ideas--make poor business people. He establishes an incredibly organized and regimented plan, so that daily details are scripted, freeing the entrepreneur's mind to build the long-term success of the business. You don't need an M.B.A. to understand or follow its directives; Gerber takes time to explain buzzwords and complex theories. Read in a clear and well-paced manner, listening to The-E Myth is like receiving advice from an old friend.

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround

by Louis V. Gerstner ISBN: 0060523794, Hardcover- $17.61 BUY

Gerstner quarterbacked one of history's most dramatic corporate turnarounds. For those who follow business stories like football games, his tale of the rise, fall and rise of IBM might be the ultimate slow-motion replay. The book's opening section snappily reports Gerstner's decisions in his first 18 months on the job-the critical "sprint" that moved IBM away from the brink of destruction. The following sections describe the marathon fight to make IBM once again "a company that mattered."

One of Gerstner's first tasks was to redirect the company's attention to the outside world, where a marketplace was quickly changing and customers felt largely ignored. He succeeded mightily. Upon his retirement this year, IBM was undeniably "a company that mattered." Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? is a well-rendered self-portrait of a CEO who made spectacular change on the strength of personal leadership.

Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done

by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck (Contributor) ISBN: 0609610570, Hardcover- $17.33 BUY

Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.

Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job.

Get Better or Get Beaten

by Robert Slater ISBN: 0071373462, Hardcover- $22.95 BUY

Do business like Jack Welch! When Jack Welch took the reins of General Electric in 1981, he reformulated GE in his own image -- tough, smart, competitive, and relentless. First published in 1994, Get Better or Get Beaten became a bestseller as managers sought to understand and mimic the success of the man lauded by Fortune as "...perhaps the most admired CEO of his generation."

Now, on the eve of his planned April retirement, the new Get Better or Get Beaten, Second Edition shows you how to compete "Welch style" in today's techologically advanced business arena.

Look to this fast-paced book for:

- Jack Welch's latest views on management and leadership

- Examples of how Welch transformed GE into an e-business

- Insights into Six Sigma and other successful GE quality initiatives

- and More...

Jack - Straight from the Gut

by Jack Welch, John A. Byrne ISBN: 0446528382, Hardcover- $18.87 BUY

It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business.

In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack."

First, Break All the Rules - What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

by Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman ISBN: 0684852861, Hardcover- $18.90 BUY

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman expose the fallacies of standard management thinking in First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. In seven chapters, the two consultants for the Gallup Organization debunk some dearly held notions about management, such as "treat people as you like to be treated"; "people are capable of almost anything"; and "a manager's role is diminishing in today's economy." "Great managers are revolutionaries," the authors write. "This book will take you inside the minds of these managers to explain why they have toppled conventional wisdom and reveal the new truths they have forged in its place."

Good to Great - Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

by Jim Collins ISBN: 0066620996, Hardcover- $16.50 BUY

Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great, Collins concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success.

Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come.

A New Brand World - Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First Century

by Scott Bedbury, Stephen Fenichell (Contributor) ISBN: 0670030767, Hardcover- $17.47 BUY

Bedbury, who headed advertising and marketing divisions for Nike and Starbucks during their phenomenal growth, coaches on establishing a memorable brand. Observing consumers overwhelmed by countless choices, he argues that now's the time to build a brand that evokes trust from its customers.

"Unless your brand stands for something, it stands for nothing," he declares, as he explains methods for companies big and small to articulate their essence and ethos to core customers, potential customers and employees. Bedbury elaborates his belief that "the brand is the sum total of everything a company does" with lively anecdotes from the experiences of Harley-Davidson, Microsoft and others. He calls for advertising and marketing that will inspire rather than merely inform (ie: "Just Do It").

Inside The Magic Kingdom - 7 Keys to Disney's Success

by Thomas K. Connellan ISBN: 1885167237, Hardcover- $13.00 BUY

Look in Mickey's Briefcase . . . Now, an outsider takes you inside the incredible Disney service culture and presents simple, powerful concepts in a fun, memorable way that just may change the way you conduct business. Based on hours of interviews and discussions with present and former Disney employees, Inside the Magic Kingdom discloses the secrets behind Disneys success . . . and explains why, of its more than 30 million guests each year, over two-thirds are repeat customers.

This upbeat, easy-to-read book illustrates clear, solid principles with examples that are well-known to Disney insiders but virtually unknown to outsiders until now. Outlines the seven keys to Disney's success. Now the principles that drive the culture and phenomenal success of Disney are disclosed in this fun, easy-to-read book. You will learn many insider secrets that will spell success if implemented in any business.

McDonald's - Behind the Arches

by John F. Love ISBN: 0553347594, Paperback- $11.05 BUY

McDonald's: it is the world's premier entrepreneurial success story, a company whose growth worldwide continues to be astonishing. In tough financial times, McDonald's proved that ingenuity, trial and error, and gut instinct were the keys to building a service business the entire world has come to admire. In the years since McDonald's: Behind The Arches was first published, McDonald's has been a trendsetter in advertising, focusing on different ethnic groups as well as the physically disabled.

McDonald's created McJobs, a program that employs both mentally challenged adults and senior citizens. And because its franchisees have their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, McDonald's has evolved successfully with the health food revolution, launching dozens of new products and moving toward environmentally-safe packaging and recyclable goods. Inspiring, informative, and filled with behind the scenes stories, this remarkable saga offers an irresistible look inside a great American business success.

How to Make Your Business Run Without You!

by Susan M. Carter ISBN: 0967029104, Paperback- $26.60 BUY

How To Make Your Business Run Without You is a how-to resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs to effectively streamline operations that will pave the way for more business, bigger profits and a business that virtually runs itself. Through step-by-step chapters, Author Susan Carter advances readers from the high-risk potential of 'owning their own jobs' to the freedom and control of 'owning their own businesses.' A must read for any owner or self-employed professional who is eager to move from start-up status to ongoing success.

The Myth of Excellence - Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything

by Fred Crawford, Ryan Mathews ISBN: 0609608207, Hardcover- $19.25 BUY

Crawford is the managing director of the consumer products, retail, and distribution practice at the Cap Gemini Ernst and Young consultancy. Mathews is a futurist specializing in demographics and lifestyle analysis at FirstMatter, another consulting firm. To research purchasing behavior, they surveyed 5,000 consumers, but the responses they got surprised them and prompted their title's contrary proposition.

They developed a new model of "consumer relevancy." They explain in detail the importance of price, service, quality, access, and experience for the consumer. They then suggest that for companies to be successful they need to dominate on only one of these five factors. On a second of the five they should stand out or differentiate themselves from their competitors; and on the remaining three they need only to be at par with others in their industry. With dozens of examples, Crawford and Mathews demonstrate the validity of their premise.

Raving Fans - A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service

by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles (Contributor) ISBN: 0688123163, Hardcover- $13.00 BUY

Kenneth Blanchard continues his trend of writing easy-to-read books with BIG ideas for making your business better. Raving Fans is a book of stories relating how fictional companies have created an environment of delivering awesome customer service. A guy that has just been put in a managment position requiring a turnaround goes on a fictional trip with his "angel" to visit businesses that have figured out their vision and their system to deliver customer service extraordinary. Based on three simple principles (Decide, Discover, Deliver), each company has created a group of Raving Fans (not just customers, but fans) who wouldn't consider shopping anywhere else for what one of these companies offers.

Differentiate or Die - Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

by Jack Trout, Steve Rivkin (Contributor) ISBN: 0471357642, Hardcover- $17.61 BUY

There are no two ways about it with Jack Trout. Either you've got a product or service that you can say is different, or you don't have much at all. In today's global marketplace and at its lightning-fast rate of change, there's no point in inventing and presenting a product only to sit back and hope that consumers everywhere will discover its greatness. It's not simply about what you or your product can do, it's about what you do differently from everyone else. Coauthors Trout and Steve Rivkin say it all in their no-holds-barred title, Differentiate or Die.

Extraordinary Guarantees - Achieving Breakthrough Gains in Quality and Customer Satisfaction

by Christopher Hart ISBN: 0814450644, Paperback- $24.95 BUY

Many leading firms have achieved both these results by offering extraordinary guarantees. You too can boost organizational performance and quality to new levels by following the practical advice offered in the important book, Extraordinary Guarantees. Guarantees were once considered nothing more than a marketing gimmick. But as more and more quality leaders have begun to offer ironclad pledges of total customer satisfaction, the guarantee is now being recognized as an unparalleled tool for gaining a major, often unbeatable, competitive edge-and a host of other benefits.

Competing on Value

by Mack Hanan, Peter Karp (Contributor) ISBN: 0814450369, Hardcover- $17.47 BUY

Presents a new approach to selling that emphasizes not competing on the basis of the best price, but the highest value--i.e. demonstrating to current and prospective customers that using your products or services will either cut their costs or improve their revenues. This book discusses VALUE. Value is not what you put INTO your products and services, it is what the customer GETS OUT. Three qualifiers of value are how much, how soon, and how sure--these are what the customer needs to know. In summary, this is highly recommended for every company that sells products and/or services.

Practice What You Preach - What Managers Must Do to Create a High-Achievement Culture

by David H. Maister ISBN: 0743211871, Hardcover- $18.20 BUY

Maister, a professional service consultant, surveyed 6,500 employees at 50 worldwide companies to evaluate the relationship between company financial performance and employee satisfaction and loyalty. He found a direct and dramatic correlation. Here, he offers detailed commentary from CEOs, managers and staffers, and analysis of the survey results. Bosses in all kinds of companies will benefit from his solid advice, which should be required reading for executives and upper level managers.

Leadership

by Rudolph W. Giuliani, Ken Kurson ISBN: 0786868414, Hardcover- $16.35 BUY

This highly anticipated book from New York's once controversial, now beloved former mayor opens with a gripping account of Giuliani's immediate reaction to the September 11 attacks, including a narrow escape from the original crisis command headquarters, and closes with the efforts to address the aftermath during his remaining four months in office. But, he argues, he did not suddenly become a great leader on September 11, and "had been doing [my] best to take on challenges my whole career."

Throughout, he displays the hands-on management that marked his administration, including his willingness to respond swiftly and in person to crises, to prove that he could be relied on when the city needed him most. While some critics found his style too aggressive, he has an effective counterargument: "Before September 11, there were those who said we were being overly concerned [about security]," he observes. "We didn't hear that afterwards..."

Why We Buy - The Science of Shopping

by Paco Underhill ISBN: 0684849143, Paperback- $9.75 BUY

In an effort to determine why people buy, Paco Underhill and his band of retail researchers have camped out in stores over the course of 20 years, dedicating their lives to the "science of shopping." Armed with an array of video equipment, store maps, and customer-profile sheets, Underhill and his consulting firm, Envirosell, have observed over 900 aspects of interaction between shopper and store. They've discovered that men who take jeans into fitting rooms are more likely to buy than females (65 percent vs. 25 percent).

They've learned how the "butt-brush factor" (bumped from behind, shoppers become irritated and move elsewhere) makes women avoid narrow aisles. They've quantified the importance of shopping baskets; contact between employees and shoppers; the "transition zone" (the area just inside the store's entrance); and "circulation patterns" (how shoppers move throughout a store). And they've explored the relationship between a customer's amenability and profitability, learning how good stores capitalize on a shopper's unspoken inclinations and desires.

Underhill, whose clients include McDonald's, Starbucks, Est?Lauder, and Blockbuster, stocks Why We Buy with a wealth of retail insights, showing how men are beginning to shop like women, and how women have changed the way supermarkets are laid out. He also looks to the future, projecting massive retail opportunities with an aging baby-boom population and predicting how online retailing will affect shopping malls. This lighthearted look at shopping is highly recommended to anyone who buys or sells.

Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life

by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard ISBN: 0399144463, Paperback- $12.97 BUY

Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image.

Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health t