Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman and keynote speaker. His most popular book is "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (1989). His other books include "First Things First", "Principle-Centered Leadership", "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families", "The 8th Habit" and "The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time". In 1996, "Time" magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. At the time of his death, he was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.