Stephen R. Covey on the cover of his audio book Beyond The 7 Habits

Stephen R. Covey (born October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is the author of the international best selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989. 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 the publication of his best selling book. He is a father of nine and a grandfather of forty-seven; he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003. Image File history File links Stephen_Covey_Beyond_the_7_Habits. ... Image File history File links Stephen_Covey_Beyond_the_7_Habits. ... is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. ... The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Provo is a city in Utah and the county seat of Utah County, located about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. ... The National Fatherhood Initiative is US-based non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to improve the well-being of children through the promotion of Responsible Fatherhood. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Covey is the founder of the formerly Covey Leadership Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which after being acquired by FranklinQuest on May 30, 1997 became the FranklinCovey Company, a global professional services firm and specialty retailer selling both training and productivity tools to individuals and organisations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere." The word leadership can refer to: The process of leading. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Salt Lake Citys top tourist draw. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... FranklinCovey (NYSE: FC), based in West Valley City, Utah, is a provider of time management training and assessment services for organizations and individuals. ... Look up mission statement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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 has made teaching principle-centered living and principle-centered leadership his life's work. The University of Utah (also The U or the U of U or the UU), located in Salt Lake City, is the flagship public research university in the state of Utah, and one of 10 institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education. ... Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a tertiary degree in business management. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... , Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah, is the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church). ...

Covey is also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity (ΠΚΑ) is an international, secret, social, Greek-letter, college fraternity. ...

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's most famous book, was extremely successful and 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 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. Principles are external natural laws; values are internal and subjective. Covey proclaims values govern people’s behaviour but it's principles that ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits - a progression from dependence, to independence, to interdependence. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Peter Ferdinand Drucker (born November 19, 1909) is a management theorist who created many phrases common in business today. ... Bold text Not to be confused with interconnectivity. ...

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. An audio book is a recording of the contents of a book read aloud. ...

The 8th Habit

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..." Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Knowledge worker, a term coined by Peter Drucker in 1959, is one who works primarily with information or one who develops and uses knowledge in the workplace. ...

Purpose of the books

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. In economics, a business is a legally-recognized organizational entity existing within an economically free country designed to sell goods and/or services to consumers, usually in an effort to generate profit. ... For other uses, see Management (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... David Allen is a productivity trainer and consultant. ... Dale Carnegie Dale Breckenridge Carnegie (originally Carnegey) (November 24, 1888 - November 1, 1955) was an American writer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, inspirational and interpersonal skills. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

Criticism

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. This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ...

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. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. ...

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. For other uses, see Paradigm (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Paradigm (disambiguation). ...

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

Religious views

Stephen Covey is a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 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] For other uses, see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation). ... A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... This article is about the history and use of the word Mormon. For information about the religious beliefs and culture of Mormons, see Mormonism. ... Agency (also referred to as free agency or moral agency), in Latter-day Saint theology, is the privilege of choice which was introduced by God the Eternal Father to all of his spirit children in the premortal state.[1] Mortal life is viewed as a test of faith, where our... It has been suggested that Senior Missionaries be merged into this article or section. ...

Honors and awards

• 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 Pennsylvaniaon behalf of the FranklinCovey Corporation.

The National Fatherhood Initiative is US-based non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to improve the well-being of children through the promotion of Responsible Fatherhood. ... Religions Sikhism Scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Languages English, Punjabi] A Sikh (English: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent to Sikhism. ... For the sequel to the computer game Entrepreneur, which has no article of its own, see The Corporate Machine. ... For the sequel to the computer game Entrepreneur, which has no article of its own, see The Corporate Machine. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

Bibliography

• 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).

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. ... First Things First (ISBN 0-684-80203-1) is a 1994, self-help book written by Stephen Covey with A. Roger and Rebecca R. Merrill. ...

References

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

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Stephen Covey

• 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
• 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