Stephen R. Covey

Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) was an American educator, author and business leader whose The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) became one of the most enduring business books ever published, selling more than 40 million copies in over fifty languages. Rooted in character ethics and principle-centred leadership, it urged readers to move from dependence to independence and finally to interdependence.

A distinguished teacher long associated with Brigham Young University, Covey later founded the Covey Leadership Center, which merged to form FranklinCovey. His later works — First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership and The 8th Habit — deepened his philosophy of aligning personal and professional life with timeless principles, and his ideas about win-win thinking, empathic listening and "beginning with the end in mind" continue to shape leadership training across the world.