People and organizations don’t grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses. – Stephen Covey
Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value. – Stephen Covey
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 those goals. – Stephen Covey
Employers and business leaders need people who can think for themselves – who can take initiative and be the solution to problems. – Stephen Covey
If you have a family mission statement that clarifies what your purpose is, then you use that as the criterion by which you make the decisions. – Stephen Covey
Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them. – Stephen Covey
The average family spends 30 hours in front of a television, and they say they don’t have the time to have a balanced, integrated life. – Stephen Covey
In school, many of us procrastinate and then successfully cram for tests. We get the grades and degrees we need to get the jobs we want, even if we fail to get a good general education. – Stephen Covey
You can retire from a job, but don’t ever retire from making extremely meaningful contributions in life. – Stephen Covey
Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect. – Stephen Covey
A cardinal principle of Total Quality escapes too many managers: you cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships. – Stephen Covey
When one side benefits more than the other, that’s a win-lose situation. To the winner it might look like success for a while, but in the long run, it breeds resentment and distrust. – Stephen Covey
It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one’s heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize. – Stephen Covey
When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it’s like giving them emotional oxygen. – Stephen Covey
The more people rationalize cheating, the more it becomes a culture of dishonesty. And that can become a vicious, downward cycle. Because suddenly, if everyone else is cheating, you feel a need to cheat, too. – Stephen Covey
Instead, I have an abundance mentality: When people are genuinely happy at the successes of others, the pie gets larger. – Stephen Covey
Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. – Stephen Covey
There’s strong data that, within companies, the No. 1 reason for ethical violations is the pressure to meet expectations, sometimes unrealistic expectations. – Stephen Covey
When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems. – Stephen Covey
Remember, we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. – Stephen Covey
Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. – Stephen Covey
