The goose that laid the golden egg?: A rhetorical critique of Stephen Covey and the effectiveness movement

Through his best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989, Simon & Schuster), and subsequent publications, Stephen Covey has es tablished himself as the pre-eminent management guru in North America. Whil e there are clear similarities between the 'Effectiveness' movement he has spawned and competing organizational improvement programmes such as excelle nce, TQM, and reengineering, there are also some important differences in h ow this movement has been rhetorically constructed the manner in which it h as been organized and the ideological roots upon which it is based. The pap er draws on Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis to develop a distinctiv ely dramatistic rhetorical critique of this movement. Three primary fantasy themes are identified that, it is argued, underpin the rhetorical appeal o f Covey's work to the individuals who follow and the organizations that spo nsor him. The paper lends further support to the emerging argument that, in order to Properly appreciate the broad appeal of gurus in management and o ther fields, we need to better understand how their work resonates with the material, existential and spiritual needs of individuals that are peculiar to the late modern age.