Stephen Covey

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Stephen R. Covey
Stephen Covey 2010.jpg
BornOctober 24 1932(1932-10-24)
Salt Lake City, Utah
DiedJuly 16 2012 (aged 79)
Idaho Falls, Idaho
EducationB.S.
MBA
DRE
Alma materUniversity of Utah
Harvard Business School
Brigham Young University
OccupationAuthor, professional speaker, professor, consultant, management-expert
Religious beliefsMormon
Spouse(s)Sandra Covey

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 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. He is the Grandson of Stephen Mack Covey who founded the original Little America near Granger, Wyoming.

Covey earned a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Utah, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctor of Religious Education (DRE) from Brigham Young University. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. He was awarded ten honorary doctorates.[1]

Covey lived with his wife Sandra and their family in Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, where Covey taught prior to the publication of his best-selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of fifty-two, he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Covey was a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission in England for the LDS Church.[2] Covey served as the first president of the Irish Mission of the church starting in July 1962.[3]

When Covey studied as an MBA student at Harvard, he would on occasion preach to crowds on Boston Common.[4][5]

Covey died at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on July 16, 2012, due to complications from a bicycle accident he suffered the previous April.[6][7]

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.[8] In August 2011, Time listed Seven Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

Since this book's publishing, a number of books appearing in the business press have discussed the idea.[12] 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.[13] Organizations may also apply an abundance mentality when doing business.[14]

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.[15]

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 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.[16]

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 both training and productivity-tools to individuals and to organizations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere".

In 2009 Covey launched a career development webinar series to help people struggling in the economic downturn. Its purpose was to offer timely and current topics on a regular basis.[citation needed]

Stephen Covey Online Community

In March 2008 Covey launched the Stephen Covey's Online Community. The site was a collection of online courses, goal management and social networking. Covey used it to teach his thoughts and ideas on current topics and self leadership.

Utah State University

In February 2010, Covey announced his hire as a professor and first incumbent of the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership at the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. Huntsman and Covey were longtime friends. At USU, he taught courses, performed research, and helped to establish the Stephen R. Covey Center for Leadership, in order to better train students in innovation and ethics.[17]

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,[18] 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.[19]

Support for heterosexual-only marriage

Stephen Covey had been[20] 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.[21]

Honors and awards

  • The Thomas More CollegeTemplate:Disambiguation needed Medallion for continuing service to humanity[22]
  • The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership[22]
  • The 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year Award[22]
  • One of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Americans of 1996[22]
  • The Sikh's 1998 International Man of Peace Award[22]
  • 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative[23]
  • 2004 Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International[24]
  • Accepted the inaugural Corporate Core Values Award from the California University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the FranklinCovey Corporation[citation needed] at the "national Franklin Covey Conference" (December 2006).[25]
  • Inducted into the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame on November 14, 2009[26]
  • Maharishi Award from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa
  • International Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Legacy

Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version of the book for teens, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers so they can better understand them. In September 2006, Sean Covey also published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make: A Guide for Teens. This guide highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them.

Stephen Covey's eldest son, Stephen M. R. Covey, has written a book titled The Speed of Trust.


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

Notes

  1. ↑ Stephen Covey to join USU's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. Utah State University (18 February 2010). Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Smith, Timothy K., "What's so effective about Stephen Covey? The author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People sells a message of moral renewal, and corporate America is buying it. Is this a good thing?", Fortune magazine, 12 December 1994.
  3. ↑ LDS Church Almanac, 2006 Edition, p. 492
  4. ↑ Stahle, Shaun D., "New General Authority: Chip off the ol' block", 17 May 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Washington Post, 17 July 2012, My Story About Stephen Covey, Clayton Christensen
  6. ↑ Harvey, Tom, "‘The 7 Habits’ author Stephen Covey dies", 16 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Stephen R. Covey dead after bike accident, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" author was 79", 16 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  8. ↑ Bill Gordon: "A Closer Look At Stephen Covey And His 7 Habits" Apologetics Index, retrieved 23 December 2007
  9. ↑ Gandel, Stephen (Aug. 09, 2011). The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People (1989), by Stephen R. Covey in The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books.
  10. ↑ CNN Wire Staff. '7 Habits' author Stephen Covey dead at 79. CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  11. ↑ English, L (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Information Professionals, Part 7. DM Review September/October '04: 60–61.
  12. ↑ See for instance the chapter in Carolyn Simpson's High Performance through Negotiation.
  13. ↑ Covey, S (2004). The Power of Character. Unlimited Publishing. ISBN 1-58832-106-1. 
  14. ↑ Krayer, Karl J.; Lee, William Thomas (2003). Organizing change: an inclusive, systemic approach to maintain productivity and achieve results. San Diego: Pfeiffer. ISBN 0-7879-6443-3. 
  15. ↑ Covey, S. R. (1989). Organizing change:Upward Spiral. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-6951-9. 
  16. ↑ The 7 Habits Inspire Teachers & Students Worldwide (5 October 2009). Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  17. ↑ Middleton, Diana, "Utah State B-School Hires Stephen Covey", Wall Street Journal, 17 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  18. ↑ The Leader In Me. FranklinCovey. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  19. ↑ Elementary Education Solutions – The Leader in Me. FranklinCovey. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  20. ↑ Yuen, Mike, "Sky’s the limit on same-sex fund raising", 12 August 1998. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  21. ↑ Legal Problems for Anti-Gay Marriage Forces in Hawaii. Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons (11 March 1998). Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Academy Fellow Stephen R. Covey, Ph.D.. World Business Academy. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  23. ↑ Dr. Stephen R. Covey To Present at Cal U Sept. 11–12. California University of Pennsylvania (6 August 2007). Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  24. ↑ Golden Gavel Recipients. Toastmasters International. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  25. ↑ "Trustees hold first meeting of 2007", California University Journal, California University of Pennsylvania, 26 March 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  26. ↑ "Covey selected for Utah Hall of Fame", Deseret News, 29 October 2009.

References
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External links

All links retrieved July 19, 2012.

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