Dr. Stephen R. Covey Dies - And, Survives - by the 7 Habits if Highly Effectiuve People

 

Dr Stephen R  Covey Dies

Dr  Stephen R Covey has been one of my Most Favorite Authors  for  a long time. I listen to his lectures and read his books quite often.

They are inspiring, path breaking, encouraging and enlightening in many ways.

They will continue to be so – for many more years and decades to come.

It is therefore - very sad news for all people like me, who love and admire Stephen R Covey – that Mr. Covey expired on July,16^th, 2012 – due to the residual effects of a bicycle accident he suffered this April. He was in his 80s, and at the time of his peaceful death, his full family was all there with him -  including his wife, children and their spouses.

Dr. Covey was a university professor at Brigham Young University. But,  soon, he became very well known as an author, speaker, and consultant. In these roles, he has influenced the lives of millions of people worldwide. Persons from all walks of life heard him, learnt from him and benefited immensely. 

In 1996, Dr. Covey was recognized as one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Americans. 

His most famous and influential book is of course – the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which has sold more than 20 million copies in 40 languages throughout the world.

His Other bestseller works include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, and The 8^th Habit. His most recent books include The 3^rd Alternative, The Leader in Me, and Everyday Greatness.

In 2002, Forbes named The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, one of the 10 most influential management books ever written.

Chief Executive magazine recognized The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as one of the two most influential books of the 20^th century.

Dr. Covey received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative, was named Speaker of the Year, received the Sikh's International Man of Peace Award, and The National Entrepreneur of the Year - Lifetime Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

In 1984, Dr. Covey established a business organization, Covey Leadership Center, that could take principle-centered leadership throughout the world. From the inception of that business, Dr. Covey's focus was always on writing and teaching, leaving the leadership and management of the business to others. In 1997, Covey Leadership Center merged with FranklinQuest, to form Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE:FC), a global performance improvement company that now operates in over 125 countries throughout the world. From the time of the merger to his retirement from the board last year, Dr. Covey devoted most of his time and effort to writing and teaching.

Stephen R Covey was a devoted husband, father and grandfather and spent a considerable amount of time with his immediate and extended family.

"Dr. Covey touched the lives of people around the world in very personal ways," Utah State President Stan Albrecht said in a statement. "He was an inspirational leader who was always a powerful voice for individual integrity, strong character and extreme trustworthiness in every aspect of life."

Let us look at the 7 Habits he recommends to all those who want to be HIGHLY EFFECTIVE in their lives :

Habit 1 : Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Shortly after writing the 7 Habits - he recommended an 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness.

Can anyone be HIGHLY EFFECTIVE without being Pro-active? Impossible. Each One must take his destiny into his hands. But, pro-active TO DO WHAT? You must know your Goal. Begin with the END IN MIND.

Goal achievement, however well-known be the Goal, is still a Hard Task. Most often, people drift into non-essential things and spend their life time in them. The Goal remains a dream. Therefore, identify and put the FIRST THINGS FIRST. And, then proceed.

But, you are not alone in any Great task. There are others. You must co-operate. If you have to WIN- you must ensure, that they too win. Else, possibly, they will ensure that you lose – if not deliberately, yet, by indifference. So, the essential requirement for WIN-WIN relationship is – understand the others first, and then, you will be understood more easily by them. Once this task is accomplished – the next is obviously - SYNERGIZE. Individuals, Groups, or nations – must synergize their efforts in the direction of their GOAL – else, where is GOAL ACHIEVEMENT?

Synergizing the efforts and skills – will be useless – unless, these measure up to the GOAL. That is, the efforts and skills must be sharp enough and fast enough and effective enough. So, EFFECTIVE PEOPLE must always be sharpening their knowledge, skills and all the peripheral tools they need.

Essentially – these are the 7 Habits of Highly effective people. But, once you have reached your chosen Goal, are you happy? Do you feel fulfilled? Do you feel adequately rewarded and satisfied in Life? Many times, this may not be your experience. From Effectiveness to Greatness, a Higher level of motivation is needed. This is the 8 th Habit.

Stephen R Covey traverses through the entire distance of making our lives fulfilled. He examines many aspects of Principle centered leadership.

He is a master craftsman – who weaves the narrative of such management principles into a beautiful story. These are not just management principles. They are essential LIFE PRINCIPLES.

Stephen R. Covey will live a long time after his death in the minds of all those who read his books or listen to his lectures.

May his soul rest in peace. I convey my hearty condolences to his family and friends.

Yours

(v.vijayamohan)