Stephen Covey Biography

(Educator, Author)

Birthday: October 24, 1932 (Scorpio)

Born In: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Perhaps very few authors have managed to hold a five-year run on the bestseller lists, earn a global following and create a multi-million dollar business empire, all through a genre of self-help and business literature - Stephen Covey was one amongst them. This New York Times bestselling author is hailed as the most successful 'management guru' of all time. He gave the world the prototype for personal and professional effectiveness and has positively changed the lives of millions of people across the world. His clientele included many of the Fortune 500 companies, government organisations, universities, students, individuals and even former US President Bill Clinton. He is best known for his book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for an unprecedented 250 weeks. Some of his other books are, ‘Principle-centered Leadership’, ‘The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness’ and ‘The Leader In Me'. Other than penning life-changing books for people, he was a revered motivational speaker and professor at the Brigham Young University. He graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and also served as a missionary.
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Quick Facts

Also Known As: Stephen Richards Covey

Died At Age: 79

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Sandra Covey

father: Stephen Glenn Covey

mother: Irene Louise Richards Covey

Educators Public Speakers

Died on: July 16, 2012

place of death: Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States

Cause of Death: Complications From A Bike Accident

U.S. State: Utah

City: Salt Lake City, Utah

Notable Alumni: University Of Utah

More Facts

education: University of Utah, Harvard University, Brigham Young University

awards: 1994 - The International Entrepreneur of the Year Award
2003 - Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative
2004 - Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International

- The Sikh's International Man of Peace Award
- Corporate Core Values Award
- Maharishi Award from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield
- International Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Childhood & Early Life
Stephen Richards Covey was born on October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America to Stephen Glenn Covey and Irene Louise Richards Covey.
While in junior high school, he was diagnosed with slipped capital femoral epiphysis, due to which he could not pursue athletics. Nevertheless, he actively participated in debates and public speaking events in high school.
He graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served on church mission in England for two years.
Upon returning, he attended Harvard University, from where he obtained an MBA. From 1962, he became president of the Irish Mission of the church and continued to work for the church’s mission.
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Career
He was appointed as the assistant to the president of Brigham Young University. Additionally, he held the post of the professor of business management as well. While at the university, he pursued his degree in Doctor of Religious Education.
In 1970, he authored the book, ‘Spiritual Roots of Human Relations’. This book addressed the root cause of relationship problems and provided spiritual solutions to readers.
In 1982, he came out with the book ‘The Divine Center’. The book was one of his many devotional works that he wrote for the Latter-day Saint readers, a Christian primitivist church.
In 1984, he resigned from his teaching position at Brigham Young University in order to establish a training company named, ‘Stephen R. Covey and Associates’.
In 1987, ‘Stephen R. Covey and Associates’ was renamed ‘Covey Leadership Center,’ This company was aimed at offering training and productivity tools to both organisations and individuals.
On April1, 1989, he came up with the book, ‘Principle-centered Leadership’. The book dealt with various strategies for both personal and professional effectiveness. It also provided an insight on how to develop people and organisations.
In 1989, he published his best-seller, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. This was his most notable business and self-help book that attained international acclaim. The book sold more than 25 million copies and was translated in 38 languages.
In 1994, he came up with his next publication ‘First Things First’.Co-authored by A. Roger and Rebecca R. Merrill, the book highlighted the importance of time management.
Meanwhile, to reach out to a wider audience, he merged ‘Covey Leadership Center’ with Franklin Quest to come up with ‘Franklin Covey’. It was a global professional-services firm that indulged in selling training and productivity tools to individuals and to organizations
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In 2004, he published the book, ‘The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness’, which was a sequel to his previously published book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. The book urged people to find a voice of their own and inspire others to do the same.
In 2008, he came out with the book titled, ‘The Leader In Me — How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time’. This book delved deeply into how certain schools, institutions and people were nurturing the next generation to meet the challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.
In 2008, he launched the ‘Stephen Covey's Online Community’, a collection on online courses and social networking. With people syncing to the World Wide Web, he used the online platform to convey his ideas on current topics and self-leadership.
In 2010, he authored the article, ‘Our Children and the Crisis in Education’, which appeared on the Huffington Post news. He also conducted conferences and workshops to train elementary school administrators through a website.
Major Works
His book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ was enlisted in ‘Time’ magazine’s list of The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books. This book was sold in 38 languages across the world. It also became the first non-fiction audio book to have recorded sales of over one million copies.
Awards & Achievements
In 1994, he was the recipient of the International Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
In 1996, ‘Time’ magazine named him as one of the ‘25 most influential Americans’.
In 1998, he was awarded The Sikh’s International Man of Peace Award.
In 2003, he received the ‘Fatherhood Award’ from The National Fatherhood Initiative, a non-profit organisation.
In 2004, he was the recipient of the ‘Golden Gavel’ award, conferred upon him by Toastmasters International, a non-profit educational organisation.
On November 14, 2009, he was inducted into the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame.
Personal Life & Legacy
He was married to Sandra, with whom he fathered nine children. He was blessed with fifty two grandchildren.
He died on July 16, 2012 at the age of 79 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, after suffering from complications that rose due to a bicycle accident.
Trivia
This American author, keynote speaker and businessman initially opposed homosexuality and same sex marriage in a keynote address in Honolulu for ‘Save Traditional Marriage – 98’. However, he later apologized for his comments.
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