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Primary Greatness

The 12 Levers of Success

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About The Book

“With his trademark clarity, Covey emphasizes the importance of integrity and intrinsic rewards. Primary Greatness is an ideal book for anyone looking for guidance in how to live a truly successful, worthwhile life of service.”—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

For fans of Principles, Grit, and The Power of Habit, Primary Greatness outlines the twelve levers of success—a set of principles for achieving a happy and fulfilling life.

Many of us are hurting. We have chronic problems, dissatisfactions, and disappointments. We feel overwhelmed by burdens we carry. The idea of living a “great life” can seem like a distant dream.

Stephen R. Covey—the late, legendary author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—believed there were only two ways to experience life: primary greatness or secondary greatness. Through his books and speaking, he taught that the intrinsic rewards of primary greatness—integrity, responsibility, and contribution—far outweighed the extrinsic rewards of secondary greatness: money, popularity, and the self-absorbed, pleasure-ridden life that some people consider “success.”

In this posthumous work, Covey lays out clearly the 12 levers of success that will lead to a life of primary greatness: Integrity, Contribution, Priority, Sacrifice, Service, Responsibility, Loyalty, Reciprocity, Diversity, Learning, Teaching, and Renewal. For the first time, Covey defines each of these 12 qualities and how they can be leveraged in your daily life to lead you to both professional success and personal happiness. Featuring his trademarked wisdom that has inspired countless readers and leaders, Primary Greatness once again delivers classic Covey advice in a concise and reader-friendly way.

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About The Author

Courtesy of the Author
Stephen R. Covey

Recognized as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author. His books have sold more than twenty-five million copies in thirty-eight languages, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global training firm.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 24, 2015)
  • Length: 224 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781501106958

Raves and Reviews

"When life weighs us down with problems and disappointments, we sometimes feel that we are not successful and it is difficult to move forward, let alone make progress toward reaching our goals. In this book, Stephen Covey provides us with 12 principles to live by that can help us have the character, courage and confidence to push past life’s difficulties to create our very best life.”—Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 2006

Primary Greatness teaches that what some may consider greatness – money, power, social prominence – is far less important than a life of honesty, love, and contribution. It is in fact, personal integrity that is the foundation for all success. In this powerful set of essays, Stephen Covey shows that you cannot deliver value without values.”—Indra Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo

Dr. Covey’s teachings have been instrumental in shaping both my personal and professional life. The 12 levers outlined in Primary Greatness outline a clear path for anyone to achieve success. This is a wonderful book filled with incredible nuggets and wisdom.”—Kevin Turner, COO, Microsoft

"In these remarkable early essays by Stephen Covey, you'll find the core principles of genuine success — and the seeds of the famous seven habits. With his trademark clarity, Covey emphasizes the importance of integrity and intrinsic rewards and makes a powerful case for life our live more from imagination than memory. PRIMARY GREATNESS is an ideal book for anyone looking for guidance in how to live a truly successful, worthwhile life of service.”—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of DRIVE, TO SELL IS HUMAN, and A WHOLE NEW MIND

"The essays in this book are still so timely, even though Covey wrote them many years ago. In this book, he continues to remind us that what we do every day in our personal and professional relationships – how we treat others – reflects our loyalty and commitment to building lives of character. Thank you, Stephen, for providing us with these pearls of wisdom."—Kimo Kippen, Chief Learning Officer, Hilton Worldwide University

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