Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success

Written by Stephen R. Covey

Narrated by Sean Covey

“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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• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781442399310

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.

Reviews for Primary Greatness

[Jeff Neipp · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has application for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, age, etc. I’d rank this among the Top 10 most impactful books I’ve ever read/listened to. I found the material in the Audiobook so useful and life-changing, that I purchased a print copy. Stephen R. Covey leaves a lasting legacy with this book!

[Paul Agabin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a very, very rare find. Essential for our generation.

[Azlan Shah Nabees Khan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazingly clear and purposeful!

I recommend anyone who wants to change their lives to learn from Primary Greatness.

[jpsnow · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Covey wasn't finished. He was working on a new project (likely several?), and had other writings that hadn't been widely published. This book is a collection of some of those earlier essays. They are valuable, but don't compare in the depth and thoughtful presentation seen in his most well known works. The principles ring true, but they didn't capture me the way the 7 Habits did. For me, the most useful reminder is how living on principle is liberating because doing so creates a framework from which to make decisions.

[razinha-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The executive summary was assigned for this month's management seminar, so...I try to read the full book when possible, even if the seminar facilitator only gives me three days warning. Fortunately, this is short, and fortunately, it's Stephen Covey, which means little (okay, no) deep thinking necessary.

The Army has seven core values (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, Personal courage), while the Navy has three (Honor, Courage, Commitment), and the lesson I take from that is that fewer means more. Twelve levers is a lot, and to be sure, some are a reach. Covey's position that these twelve (Integrity, Contribution, Priority, Sacrifice, Service, Responsibility, Loyalty, Reciprocity, Diversity, Learning, Renewal, Teaching) are inalienable principles is untenable, particularly as he presents a false dichotomy of choices for pretty much every explanation (ex. things we put first in life should be last). That is not to say that there is no value in examining these levers, but they are not the end all be all. Worse, as has been my assessment of other Covey (and similar authors) writings, he seems to think that values are not relative. (Fans might argue the contrary, but read his anecdotes - apart from trivial and contrived, they expose his western bias.)

Still, no book not written by Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, or Robert Anton Wilson is valueless, and the takeaways from this collection of essays is that the twelve characteristics should be self-examined frequently. And adjustments made ... as the situation dictates.