Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success
Written by Stephen R. Covey
Narrated by Sean Covey
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
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.
.
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.
Related to Primary Greatness
Related audiobooks
The 7 Habits On the Go: Timeless Wisdom for a Rapidly Changing World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wisdom and Teachings of Stephen R. Covey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond the 7 Habits Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Work Great Career Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Develop Your Family Mission Statement Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & the 8th Habit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Career Advantage: Real World Applications Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/57 Principles of Transformational Leadership: Create a Mindset of Passion, Innovation, and Growth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of the 7 Habits: Applications and Insights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Principle-Centered Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First Things First Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Living the 7 Habits: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 8th Habit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Managing Change in Crisis: Covey Live from NYC Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Make a Win of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reflections for Highly Effective People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Leader in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Balancing Work & Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Conversation on Trust Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Building Family Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Habit 4 Think Win-Win: The Habit of Mutual Benefit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Habit 2 Begin With the End in Mind: The Habit of Vision Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw: The Habit of Renewal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Personal Growth For You
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing The Uncommon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Atomic Habits by James Clear: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Banish Your Inner Critic: Silence the Voice of Self-Doubt to Unleash Your Creativity and Do Your Best Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paris: The Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Man's Search For Meaning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Highly Sensitive Person Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Self-Compassion: A Practical Road Map Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stop Doing That Sh*t: End Self-Sabotage and Demand Your Life Back Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Primary Greatness
55 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It 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!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is a very, very rare find. Essential for our generation.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazingly clear and purposeful!
I recommend anyone who wants to change their lives to learn from Primary Greatness. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Covey 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.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The 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.