Stephen R. Covey

Life

Stephen Richards Covey was born in 1932 in Salt Lake City. He graduated from Harvard Business School (MBA) and earned a doctorate at Brigham Young University, where he taught management. He founded the Covey Leadership Center, which in 1997 merged with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He died in 2012.

Works

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) - one of the best-selling books on personal development and leadership; see The 7 Habits.
• Principle-Centered Leadership (1991) - leadership grounded in universal principles.
• First Things First (1994, with A. R. and R. R. Merrill) - on time management and priorities; see Eisenhower matrix.
• The 8th Habit (2004) - “find your voice and inspire others to find theirs”.

Key ideas

• The character ethic rather than the personality ethic - lasting effectiveness grows from character, not techniques (see the leader's character).
• From dependence through independence to interdependence - the “private victory” precedes the “public victory”.
• Circle of influence and circle of concern - proactive people focus on what they can influence.
• The emotional bank account - trust as an “account” into which we deposit and from which we withdraw in relationships (see trust).

His son, Stephen M. R. Covey, wrote The Speed of Trust (2006).