Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success

By Stephen R. Covey

Stephen R. Covey believed there were only two ways to live life: a life of primary greatness or a life of 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 his posthumous work, Covey lays out the 12 levers of success that willl lead to a life of primary greatness: Integrity, Contribution, Sacrifice, Service, Responsibility, Loyalty, Reciprocity, Diversity, Learning and Renewal, For the first time, Covey defines each of these 12 qualities and how they can be leveraged and enacted in your daily life to lead you to success and happiness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781471155857

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, business leader, and author. His books have sold more than 40 million copies (print, digital, and audio) in more than fifty languages throughout the world and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the 20th Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard University and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, the most trusted leadership company in the world.

Reviews for 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.