Steven R. Covey is the author of about ten books, most focusing on principle-centered business. He is best known for outlining seven habits that help people achieve their goals in life, although he has recently written a book featuring an eighth habit. His wife Sandra is a former member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.His first book was written from a spiritual perspective. It explained the spiritual roots of relationships. Another book explored how to strengthen families, and Covey, father of nine children, has been awarded the National Fatherhood Award. He lists his family as his only hobby.
Steven R. Covey is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has a Doctorate of Religious Education in LDS Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University, as well as his MBA from Harvard University.
There is a spiritual component to Covey’s professional life. Some have said he has taken basic principles of “Mormon” life and leadership and turned them into business teachings, although he never teaches religion in his seminars and books. He says his principles are universal principles, not unique to his faith.
Covey reads scriptures for a half hour each morning and prays each day after his morning workout. He served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) in England as a young man, and later served as a mission president, overseeing missionaries in Ireland in the 1960s.
Covey learned to speak publicly while serving his mission in England. Missionaries spoke at Hyde Park in London, where anyone is free to give speeches. This challenging situation taught him how to draw in an audience and hold them.
He teaches that character is the most important ethic one must follow.
The seven habits promoted in his best-selling book are:
- Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
- Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
- Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding
- Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
The Eighth Habit, added in his newest book, is “Find your voice, and inspire others to find theirs.”
Although it may not be a religious book, it is certainly a tenant of the Mormon religion.
Would you like to learn more about Mormons who have succeeded in business and how their religion influences their careers? Visit Mormons in Business.
Sources:
http://www.stephencovey.com/about/about.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Covey
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