Stephen Covey: The Man behind the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The world is mourning over the passing of one of the most influential people in the business, leadership and management industry yesterday. Stephen Covey, was pronounced dead at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center at the age of 79 from the effects of an accident he had back in April when he lost control of the bicycle he was riding. No one suspected that it would cost him his life because he was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and doctors did not find any sign of considerable damage on his head.

Convey is an internationally known author of the best-selling book; “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” which sold more than 25 million copies and translated in 38 languages throughout the world. Aside from this, he also wrote the “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.

According to a news statement released by Francklin Convey, Dr. Convey devoted essentially all of his time from the time of the merger to his retirement from the board last year. He joined the faculty of Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University in 2010 and remained as a professor until his death.

In his long years of the chosen profession, he received a lot of awards which includes, One of Time Magazine’s 25 most Influential Americans of 1996, the 2004 Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International and eight others, wherein his most favorite is said to be the 2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative.

Aside from being a well-renounced leadership expert and author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, which was named by Forbes to be one of the 10 most influential management books ever written back in 2002 we ask, who is Stephen Covey?

Convey is a man of intellect and empathy to the people who knew him. He lives in Provo, Utah with his loving wife Sandra and he is a caring father to all his nine children, fifty-two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

According to Bob Whitman, chairman and CEO of FranklinCovey, in a news release, “Stephen frequently referred to them as his greatest joy, inspiration, and most significant contribution and legacy to the world.

Convey got his bachelor’s degree in businesses administration from the University of Utah, proceeded with his master’s degree at Harvard and took his doctorate at Brigham Young University. He used to teach fulltime but decided to stop and put up Convey Leadership Center in 1984 and in 1997 it was merged with Franklin Quest giving birth to the FranklinCovey Corporation a leading company of “global consulting and training leader in the areas of strategy execution, leadership, customer loyalty, sales performance, school transformation and individual effectiveness” with a total of 44 offices in 147 countries all over the world.

Stephen Covey will always be remembered as the person behind “the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. He may have left for now, but his best-selling books and the legacies he has left us have already changed the world and will still shape the lives of the coming generations. The following 7 habits have been remembered, applied, and will continue to be practiced by the people who will turn to his book.

Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

We thank you for influencing our managers and leaders to become better and more effective. We thank you for making us better persons. Thank you Stephen Covey…

“Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy.” – Stephen Covey