Stephen R. Covey, author of the best-selling book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” died today at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, several news outlets — including The Associated Press, MSNBC and CNN — have reported. He was 79.
Covey is survived by his wife, nine children and 52 grandchildren. His death is said to be linked to a bicycle accident he was involved in this April in Provo, Utah, which left him unconscious.
Covey was co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a global professional services firm with offices in more than 120 countries. In addition to “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” — which sold more than 25 million copies worldwide — three of Covey’s other books sold in excess of 1 million copies each. His most recent book, “The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems,” was released just last year.
He also served as a columnist for Chief Learning Officer magazine from 2003 to 2006.
According to Covey’s official website, he earned an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University. He has also been awarded with several honorary doctorate degrees. One of the many accolades he received during his lifetime was being named one of Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans in 1996.
Take a trip down memory lane by revisiting some of Covey’s CLO columns:
• Create a Compelling Scoreboard
• Focus on the ‘Wildly Important’
• 8th Habit Leadership, Part 1
• Developing XQ–Execution Intelligence
• Closing the Execution Gap
