From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephen R. Covey (born October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is the author of the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other books he has written include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. His latest book is The 8th Habit, published in 2004. Covey lives with his wife Sandra, and their family in Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, where Dr. Covey taught prior to the publication of his best selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of forty-seven, he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Dr. Covey established the Covey Leadership Center which, on May 30, 1997, merged with Franklin Quest creating FranklinCovey; a global professional services firm and specialty retailer selling both training and productivity tools to individuals and organizations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere."

Covey holds a BS in Business Administration from University of Utah in Salt Lake City, an MBA from Harvard University, and a DRE in Mormon Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University. He is also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.

Contents 1 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 2 The 8th Habit 3 Purpose of the books 4 Criticism 5 Religious views 6 Honors and awards 7 Bibliography 8 References 9 External links

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's most well-known book, has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. (The audio version was also the first non-fiction audio book in U.S. history to sell more than one million copies.) Many of the ideas and much of the language are recast from the classic 1966 Peter F. Drucker text "The Effective Executive," wherein he writes "Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit" and which includes a chapter called "First Things First." In Covey's version, he argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He instead promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic", which is about aligning one’s values with so called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey is adamant about not confusing principles and values; he contends that principles are external natural laws, while values are internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people’s behaviour, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence, to independence, to interdependence.

The Habits:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Leadership
• Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Personal Management
• Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Interpersonal Leadership
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Empathetic Communication
• Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Communication
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

Follow-up titles to The Seven Habits are meant to both add to the original and form a cohesive philosophy on personal, principle-based leadership. They are available in the format of audio books as well (such as the title Beyond The 7 Habits). Covey has also written a number of learning books for children. His son, Sean Covey, has written a version for teens: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies Covey's 7 Habits for younger readers to better understand them.

Covey's latest book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (published in 2004) is the sequel to The Seven Habits. Covey claims being effective is not enough in what he calls "The Knowledge Worker Age". He proclaims "The challenges and complexity we face today are of a different order of magnitude." The 8th habit is essentially "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs..."

Covey's aim is to help others gain proficiency in their lives, especially within the context of business and management and make money doing it. However, his books also emphasize family and personal leadership. They are marketed to a wide-ranging audience, from high-powered executives to stay-at-home moms. Similar authors might include Peter Drucker, David Allen, and Dale Carnegie as well as other more business-centered writers. Covey’s works also exhibit a central philosophical ideal, which some would interpret as right of center or conservative, although he was for a time a consultant to President Bill Clinton.

Critics of Covey's methods contend that the author offers a "quick-fix" that dissipates when measured against the reality of day-to-day life. When confronted with situations that contain elements that are outside the realm of their personal influence, those imbued with Covey's summary of accountability can become frustrated at the "habits'" failure to place situations within that personal "circle of influence". In short, Covey is sometimes said to preach impractical, idealistic methods.

While later books, such as Living the Seven Habits, dealt extensively with examples including single mothers, prisoners, widows, and teenagers fighting chronic illness, many of the examples in the foundational book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People are clearly aimed at or designed for a corporate executive rather than (for example) a single mother working two low-wage jobs; this may limit the perception of the book's broad applicability.

Advocates of Covey's methods point out that the author consistently opposes "quick-fix" solutions to life or business problems and insists that changes in paradigm or mindset to align with natural principles are the true source of solutions. Covey points out, for example, that the paradigm that produces short term results in business inevitably leads to an inability to produce results for the long term. He calls this "killing the golden goose." The most effective mindset for the business person is to balance short and long term productive capacities.

Covey has been criticized by gay rights groups for his activity in opposing same-sex marriage in Hawaii in the early 1990s. [1]

Stephen Covey is a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who has authored several devotional works for Latter-day Saint or Mormon readers, including Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970), The Divine Center (1982) and 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems (2004). Some^[Who?] suggest that Mormon theology and cultural practices, specifically the notion of "agency" and belief in a personal deity, undergird his writing for a general audience.^{[citation needed]} Covey served a two-year mission in England for the LDS Church.^[1]

• 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative
• The Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity
• Speaker of the Year in 1999
• The Sikh's 1998 International Man of Peace Award
• The 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Being named one of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Americans
• Accepted the nationally acclaimed Corporate Core Values Award from California University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the FranklinCovey Corporation.

• Spiritual Roots of Human Relations, published in 1970 (ISBN 0-87579-705-9).
• The Divine Center, published in 1982 (ISBN 1-59038-404-0).
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, published in 1989 (ISBN 0-671-70863-5).
• Principle Centered Leadership, published in 1992 (ISBN 0-671-79280-6).
• First Things First, co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, published in 1994 (ISBN 0-684-80203-1).
• Living the Seven Habits, published in 2000 (ISBN 0-684-85716-2).
• 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems, published in 2004 (ISBN 1-57345-187-8).
• The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, published in 2004 (ISBN 0-684-84665-9).
• Quest: The Spiritual Path to Success by Stephen R. Covey (Editor) (1997), with Thomas Moore, Mark Victor Hansen, David Whyte, Bernie Siegel, Gabrielle Roth and Marianne Williamson. Simon & Schuster AudioBook ISBN 9780671574840

1. ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1994/12/12/80049/index.htm

• Stephen Covey's official site
• FranklinCovey's official site
• TimeTo software: charityware for helping implement Covey First Things First methodology
• ISSSP Profile
• Critique of Covey from a Christian perspective
• Stephen Covey Quotes
• Critique of Covey from varius perspectives - "Guru Philosophy as Adult Education: Stephen Covey and the Cult of Educational Effectiveness, by Tara Fenwick Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta
• IMNO Interview of Stephen R. Covey
• Global Dharma Center's interview with Stephen Covey on Spiritual Based Leadership
• Stephen Covey is a Wellness Coach for AOL Coaches