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 to 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.
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."
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.
Covey is also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha International 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 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.
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..."
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.
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.
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]
Religious views
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‹The template Who? is being considered for
deletion.› [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]
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.
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).
References
- ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1994/12/12/80049/index.htm
External links
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