Stephen Richards Covey was the author of the best-selling book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". Other books he wrote include "First Things First", "Principle-Centered Leadership", and "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families". In 2004, Covey released "The 8th Habit".

In 2008, Covey released "The Leader In Me How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time".

He was also a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. Covey died at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on July 16, 2012, due to complications from a bicycle accident he suffered the previous April.