Stephen R. Covey – famous American educator, businessman and book author – has been dead for six years, but his name still rings a bell as author of the best-selling management book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, through which he continues to communicate his basic principle: “We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish our goals.”
Covey’s book, which proclaims that values govern people’s behavior, has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages worldwide since its first publication in 1989.
Athletic in his high school years, he played basketball and aspired to be a professional player until he contracted slipped capital femoral epiphysis – backward redirection of the head of the thighbone. Demoralized and depressed, he could have drifted aimlessly. What now?
Until then he had taken seriously the words of Shaquille O’Neal (borrowed from Aristotle): “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”
His friends berated him for being “too reactive.” Reactive people wait for things to happen before responding, while the pro-active ones make things happen.
Changing his focus to academics, he joined the debating team and finished high school with honors.
He entered the University of Utah at 16 and earned a degree in Business Administration. He spent two years in Britain as a Mormon missionary before returning to the United States to earn an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
And then he wrote the book that would hit the best-seller. In 1994, President Bill Clinton said in a speech that American productivity would greatly increase if people followed Mr. Covey’s advice.
On an idle day, I viewed a TV show he guested on, where he summarized his book in six words: “Dream it. Plan it. Do it.”
Covey walked his talk by helping others realize their dreams, stressing that a rich, rewarding life is the result of striving toward goals.
He preached self-reliance because it “makes you work on the one thing over which you truly have control – yourself.”
To those who could not find time to read his The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, here is the summary of his “habits”:
“Be proactive. Make things happen rather than wait for them to happen.
“Begin with the end in mind. Motivate yourself – and direct your energy and activities more effectively – by clearly defining and visualizing your goals.
“Put first things first. Eliminate time wasters and focus on things that will improve the quality of your personal and professional life.
“Think win-win. Instead of thinking ‘their way’ or ‘my way,’ look for how others can achieve their objectives as you realize yours.
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Persuasive communication is essential. But it begins with being an empathetic listener. Most people do not listen to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
“Synergize. Ally yourself with capable individuals. Their strengths will compensate for your weaknesses and move you closer to your goal.
“Sharpen the saw. Balance all four aspects of your life – mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. Sharpening the saw means renewing yourself through family, friends, exercise, and devotion or meditation.”
He seemed to have overcome his thighbone disease. Even at age 79, he would ride a bike in Rock Canyon Park in Provo, Utah. On July 12, 2012, he went downhill too fast and flipped forward on the bike, hitting his head on the pavement. He died in a hospital. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
