Stephen Richards Covey (24 October 1932 – 16 July 2012) was an American educator, author, business man and keynote speaker. His most popular book was “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” that sold 25 million copies and was translated into 28 languages. His Covey Leadership Centre has 3/4 of  Fortune 500 companies as clients.

The 5 minute video below gives a small glimpse of his wisdom, personality and genuine warmth: ›‹›

On this podcast I have the privilege of interviewing Stephen Hutchins Covey the 4th grandchild of this remarkable man’s 52 grandchildren.

I was introduced to Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits book in 1995. I was immediately gripped by its depth and breadth of wisdom and insight. it has had a profound influence on my own thinking, life and choices to this day.

Do join us as we pay tribute to and celebrate the legacy of a truly remarkable man who has positively inspired and influenced literally millions of people around the world. If you have not heard of him before then we we hope this can be of great encouragement to you in your own life journey.

We discuss:

  • His impact on our own lives
  • The essence and message of the Seven Habits book
  • How the opening paragraph of page 309 powerfully influenced me personally.
  • Insights into the man himself behind the public persona.
  • Something of the legacy he has left to the world

Here is how The Economist magazine of 21 July 2012 remembered him at the end of a full page article about his life:

Work second, family first
“Perhaps Mr Covey’s most appealing principle was that people should balance life and work. A father of nine and grandfather of fifty-two, he reserved one distraction-free weekday evening to bond with his family. He wrote a book on “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families,” which urged them to set mission statements and hold regular meetings to discuss progress. Really.
He hated the idea of retirement, He worked until the end, which came after he fell off his bicycle at the age of 79. He was writing several books, including one on how to reduce crime, which will be published posthumously. He will be remembered as a man who as, Schumpter once put it:
Tried to rescue the notion of ‘character’ from both the simple minded purveyors of self-help (who  imply that you can change your character as easily as your underpants) and the social service establishment (which ignores questions of character by blaming everything on ‘the system’).
He died peacefully, surrounded by his family.”

The Covey Leadership Centre is now a part of the Franklin Covey organisation. Details of that can be found here.

Stephen Hutchins Covey works with the SMCOV organisation whose details are here.

Please do feel free to add your own thoughts, comments and reflections.

 

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