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 the publication of his best selling book. He is a father of nine and a grandfather of forty-four; 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 in Business Administration 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.