Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey at the FMI Show, Palestrante on June 22, 2010

Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 - July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker. His most popular book was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me—How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.

Life

Stephen Covey was born on October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Stephen Glenn Covey and Irene Louise Richards Covey. Louise was the daughter of Stephen L Richards, an apostle and counselor in the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under David O. McKay. His parents constantly affirmed him in everything he did. Stephen had three sisters and a brother, John, whom he considered his best friend.

In high school he became interested in public speaking and debating. He entered the University of Utah at age 16, and graduated with a degree in business administration. His grandfather, Stephen Mack Covey, founded the original Little America, a successful hotel and truck stop near Granger, Wyoming and it was expected that he would take over the business. However, both Stephen and his brother John intended to become teachers and the business was sold.

A practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stephen Covey went to England to serve his two-year mission for the LDS Church. He was quickly taken out of proselytizing and sent to Nottingham to train branch presidents of new congregations. Returning to the United States, he enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Harvard University. During his time at Harvard, he would on occasion preach to crowds on Boston Common. After completing his MBA, in July 1962 he returned to the mission field serving as the first president of the Irish Mission of the church.

Covey then returned to Utah, where he became assistant to the president of Brigham Young University and professor of business management, at the same time working on a Doctor of Religious Education (DRE). During his time as a missionary he met Sandra Merrill, who was traveling abroad with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They married on August 14, 1956, in the Salt Lake Temple. During his time in Provo, he and Sandra raised nine children (Cynthia, Maria, Stephen M.R., Sean, David, Catherine, Colleen, Jenny, and Joshua). Covey continued teaching at Brigham Young University until 1984, when he left teaching to establish the Covey Leadership Center.

In February 2010, Covey joined the faculty of Utah State University, receiving the first appointment to the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership. A research position, this allowed him to be a scholar and mentor to students, sharing his insights, knowledge, and experience to professors and administration as well.

Stephen Covey died at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on July 16, 2012, due to complications from a bicycle accident.

Work

Covey achieved fame with the publication of his The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989. Prior to that, he authored several devotional works for Latter-day Saint or Mormon readers, including: Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970) and The Divine Center (1982).

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless. In August 2011, Time listed Seven Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's best-known book, has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic," something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one’s values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey adamantly refuses to conflate principles and values; he sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people's behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.

The First Three Habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e., self mastery):

• Habit 1: Be Proactive

Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life. Create a mission statement.

• Habit 3: Put First Things First

Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

The next three have to do with Interdependence (i.e., working with others):

• Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.

• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.

• Habit 6: Synergize

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

The Last habit relates to self-rejuvenation:

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on exercise for physical renewal, prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.

Covey coined the idea of abundance mentality or abundance mindset, a concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and success to share with others. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e., destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that, if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, that means you lose; not considering the possibility of all parties winning (in some way or another) in a given situation. Individuals with an abundance mentality are able to celebrate the success of others rather than feel threatened by it.

Since this book's publishing, a number of books appearing in the business press have discussed the idea. Covey contends that the abundance mentality arises from having a high self-worth and security (see Habits 1, 2, and 3), and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and responsibility. Organizations may also apply an abundance mentality when doing business.

Covey explains the "Upward Spiral" model in the sharpening the saw section. Through our conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, the spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and you will learn the principles with a deeper understanding. The Upward Spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power.

The 8th Habit

Covey's 2004 book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness was published by Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. It is the sequel to The Seven Habits. Covey posits that effectiveness does not suffice in what he calls "The Knowledge Worker Age." He says that "[t]he challenges and complexity we face today are of a different order of magnitude." The 8th habit essentially urges: "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs..."

The eighth habit is to "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs". The book is divided into two sections, with the first few chapters focusing on finding your voice, while the later chapters are about inspiring others to find their voice.

The Leader in Me

Covey released The Leader in Me—How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time in November 2008. It tells how some schools, parents and business leaders are preparing the next generation to meet the great challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. It shows how an elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina, decided to try incorporating The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and other basic leadership skills into the curriculum in unique and creative ways. Inspired by the success of Principal Muriel Summers and the teachers and staff of A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, other schools and parents around the world have adopted the approach and have seen remarkable results.

Other projects

FranklinCovey

Covey established the "Covey Leadership Center" which, in 1997, merged with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey, a global professional-services firm and specialty-retailer selling training and productivity-tools to individuals and to organizations. Their mission is to "enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere" and, according to their website, they create "transformational leadership in people and organizations around the globe through training, executive coaching, and principle based programs."

Education initiatives

Covey developed his 2008 book The Leader in Me into several education-related projects. On April 20, 2010 he made his first post to an education blog entitled Our Children and the Crisis in Education which appears on the Huffington Post news and blog-aggregation website. FranklinCovey also established a website dedicated exclusively to the Leader In Me concept, and it holds periodic conferences and workshops to train elementary school administrators who want to integrate the Leader In Me process into their school's academic culture.

Support for heterosexual-only marriage

Stephen Covey had been active in opposition to same-sex marriage, including giving the keynote address at a $1,000-per-plate fundraiser in Honolulu for Save Traditional Marriage 98 ("STM98"), a political action committee that was sponsoring a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in the state.

Honors and awards

During his long and successful career, Covey was awarded several honorary doctorates, including one from Utah State University. He also received numerous awards and honors from a variety of organizations for his work on leadership, including the Sikh's International Man of Peace Award and the International Entrepreneur of the Year Award.The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, which is part of the Huntsman School of Business, inducted him into the Shingo Academy in April 2002 He was inducted into the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame on November 14, 2009

Father of nine and a grandfather of fifty-two (forty-four at the time), Covey received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Legacy

Stephen Covey left a legacy of leadership in the business world. Douglas D. Anderson, Dean of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, in announcing his death said:

While his contributions to the world have been remarkable, we know he measured his success in the individual lives of those he taught. We are grateful for the time and effort he invested here with each of us as the first Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership, sharing his insights, talking with our students and helping us refine a vision of the kind of leaders we can all be. He has left a legacy that will continue to inspire individuals and organizations to lift and bless the lives of others.

Following Covey's death, Utah State University made plans to establish the Stephen R. Covey Center for Leadership in his honor. Covey had initiated this project, donating his salary from his position as chair in leadership at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business since 2010.

In addition to the work directly inspired by Covey and his writings, his children have also carried on his legacy. Stephen Covey's eldest son, Stephen M.R. Covey, served as CEO of the Covey Leadership Center for several years, orchestrating its merger with Franklin Quest in 1997. He wrote a book entitled The Speed of Trust which shows that trust, and the speed with which it is established, is the most important component of success in the global economy: establishing trust is "the one thing that changes everything."

Covey's son Sean received an MBA from Harvard and became Executive Vice President of Innovation for FranklinCovey. Sean Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which presents the 7 Habits he learned as a "guinea pig" for his father's theories applied to the world of teenagers, addressing the issues and decisions they face: improving self-image, building friendships, resisting peer pressure, achieving goals, getting along with their parents, and so forth, using humor and cartoons to get the points across. For example, he explains the 7 Habits by showing their opposites, entitled "The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens," which include "react by blaming others; put first things last; begin with no goal in mind; don't cooperate; think win-lose; seek first to talk, then pretend to listen; and wear yourself out." Sean Covey also published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make: A Guide for Teens which highlights key issues in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them: school, friends, parents, dating and sex, addictions, self-worth. and The 7 Habits of Happy Kids which introduces the 7 habits in the form of stories suitable for younger children.

Major Works

• Spiritual Roots of Human Relations. Deseret Book Company, 1993 (original 1970). ISBN 978-0875797052
• The Divine Center. Deseret Book Company, 2004 (original 1982). ISBN 978-1590384046
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press, 2004 (original 1989). ISBN 978-0743269513
• Principle Centered Leadership. Fireside Press, 1992 (original 1990). ISBN 978-0671792800
• First Things First, co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill. Free Press, 1996 (original 1994). ISBN 978-0684802039
• Living the Seven Habits. Free Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0684857169
• 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems. Deseret Book Company, 2004. ISBN 978-1573451871
• The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. Free Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0684846651
• The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time. Free Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1439103265
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Network Marketing Professionals. FranklinCovey/ Sound Concepts, 2009. ISBN 978-1933057781
• The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems. Free Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1451626261
• The 7 Habits for Managers: Managing Yourself, Leading Others, Unleashing Potential. Franklin Covey/Brilliance Audio, 2012. ISBN 978-1455892907

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens. Touchstone, 1998. ISBN 978-0684856094
• Covey, Sean. The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens. Touchstone, 2006. ISBN 978-0743265041
• Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2008. ISBN 978-1416957768
• Covey, Stephen M.R. The Speed of Trust. Free Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1416549000

External links

All links retrieved July 19, 2012.

• Stephen Covey's official site
• FranklinCovey's official site
• Stephen Covey at the Internet Movie Database
• ISSSP Profile
• IMNO Interview of Stephen R. Covey
• Global Dharma Center's interview with Stephen Covey on Spiritual Based Leadership

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