Stephen Covey

Easton Press Stephen Covey books

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Signed Limited Edition - 2008

 

Stephen Covey biography

Stephen R. Covey, born on October 24, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, was an American educator, author, and motivational speaker best known for his influential self-help book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey's ideas and principles have had a profound impact on personal development, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. Covey's early years were marked by academic achievements and a commitment to personal growth. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Utah, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctorate from Brigham Young University. Covey's academic pursuits were complemented by his interest in philosophy, ethics, and principles of human behavior.

In 1989, Stephen Covey published his groundbreaking book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The book, based on Covey's years of research and observations, presented a holistic and principle-centered approach to personal and professional effectiveness. The seven habits outlined in the book are:

Be Proactive:
Take initiative and responsibility for your life.

Begin with the End in Mind:
Clearly define your goals and envision the outcomes you desire.

Put First Things First:
Prioritize and focus on the most important tasks.

Think Win-Win:
Seek mutually beneficial solutions in relationships and collaborations.

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood:
Practice empathetic listening and effective communication.

Synergize:
Work collaboratively to achieve outcomes greater than what individuals can accomplish alone.

Sharpen the Saw:
Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being to sustain long-term effectiveness.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People became a bestseller and a classic in the self-help genre. Covey's principles resonated with individuals seeking personal and professional growth, and the book's success led to seminars, workshops, and a wide range of Covey's other publications.

Stephen Covey 4 Quadrants

Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix, also known as the Four Quadrants, is a concept introduced in his book First Things First and is derived from his earlier work in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The Time Management Matrix is a tool designed to help individuals prioritize tasks and activities based on their urgency and importance. Stephen Covey's 4 quadrants are as follows:

Quadrant I - Urgent and Important:
Activities in this quadrant are both urgent and important.
They require immediate attention and often relate to critical deadlines or crises.
Examples include pressing work assignments, emergencies, and important meetings.

Quadrant II - Not Urgent but Important:
Activities in this quadrant are important for long-term success but are not immediately urgent.
They involve planning, relationship-building, skill development, and preventive measures.
Examples include strategic planning, goal setting, exercise, and relationship-building.

Quadrant III - Urgent but Not Important:
Activities in this quadrant are urgent but do not contribute significantly to long-term goals.
They often involve distractions, interruptions, or tasks that can be delegated.
Examples include unnecessary meetings, phone calls, and some emails.

Quadrant IV - Not Urgent and Not Important:
Activities in this quadrant are neither urgent nor important.
They represent time-wasting activities that do not contribute to personal or professional goals.
Examples include excessive TV watching, some social media activities, and mindless browsing.

Covey emphasizes the importance of spending more time in Quadrant II, focusing on activities that contribute to long-term goals and prevent crises (important but not urgent). Proactive individuals, according to Covey, prioritize Quadrant II activities to reduce the need for urgent and crisis-driven work in Quadrant I. Effective time management involves minimizing time spent in Quadrants III and IV while maximizing time spent in Quadrants I and II. Covey's Time Management Matrix encourages individuals to become more proactive in planning and executing tasks, leading to greater productivity, improved work-life balance, and a focus on what truly matters in both personal and professional spheres.

In addition to his work on personal effectiveness, Covey wrote books on leadership, family dynamics, and education. He founded the Covey Leadership Center, which later merged with Franklin Quest to become FranklinCovey, a global consultancy and training company. Stephen Covey passed away on July 16, 2012, but his legacy lives on through his impactful ideas and teachings. The 7 Habits remains a cornerstone in the field of personal development, leadership, and organizational effectiveness, inspiring countless individuals to lead more fulfilling and purpose-driven lives.

 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

When Stephen Covey first released The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the book became an instant rage because people suddenly got up and took notice that their lives were headed off in the wrong direction; and more than that, they realized that there were so many simple things they could do in order to navigate their life correctly. This book was wonderful education for people, education in how to live life effectively and get closer to the ideal of being a ‘success’ in life.

But not everyone understands Stephen Covey’s model fully well, or maybe there are some people who haven’t read it yet. This is definitely true because we still see so much failure all around us. Now, I am not saying that by using Covey’s model, or anyone else’s model for that matter, you can become a sure-shot success, but at least we should have seen many more successes around us already judging by the number of copies the book has sold! So, where is the shortcoming?

There are two main problems here, and we are talking only about the people who have read the book already. The first problem is that most people are too lazy to implement the ideals of Stephen Covey in their lives. They consider his masterpiece of a book as a mere coffee-table book or a book that you use for light reading when you are traveling and then forget all about it. They do not realize that this book contains life-changing information. Or, they take the information and do not make the effort to actually utilize it so that it becomes knowledge for them.

The second problem is that a lot of people have a myopic view of Covey’s ideals. These are people who are impressed by the book already. If you ask them what the seven habits are, they can rattle them off end to end, but then they miss the larger picture. They do not understand that Covey was trying to tell more than he wrote in words. There are hidden implications in this book, yes, and a lot of people have just failed to see through them.

That is what we are trying to do. We are trying to show you how Covey’s book, or rather, his model, was a complete model in itself. There was nothing amiss about it. If you implement it, there should be no aspect of your life that should go untouched. The only thing is that you have to understand these ideals and try to implement them in your life.

But, before we barge into that area, it is extremely important to understand what these ideals are. What was the model that was propounded by Stephen Covey in his mega-famous book? We shall begin by trying to understand his model first, and then interpret it in such a way that it pertains to every aspect of our life.