Stephen Covey

Stephen Richards Covey was born on October 24, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family rooted in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He pursued higher education at the University of Utah, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School and a doctorate in religious education from Brigham Young University. Early in his life, Covey served as a Mormon missionary in England, an experience that shaped his emphasis on moral renewal and ethical leadership. Covey's career pivoted toward education and consulting in the 1960s and 1970s, where he taught at Brigham Young University and developed frameworks for organizational behavior. His breakthrough came with the 1989 publication of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a seminal work outlining a 'maturity continuum' from dependence to independence to interdependence. In 1983, Covey co-founded the Covey Leadership Center, which trained executives in principle-based leadership and grew into a global enterprise. It merged with Franklin Quest in 1997 to form FranklinCovey, where he served as vice chairman. Covey authored additional books like First Things First and Principle-Centered Leadership, influencing corporate America with messages of ethical transformation, public speaking, and mindfulness. Covey passed away on July 16, 2012, at age 79 due to complications from a bicycle accident.