Dr. Stephen Covey

This autumn the IIR division Leading Minds will bring together eight of the world's top leadership consultants on stage in Dubai, ranging from New York's former Mayor Rudi Giuliani to Tom Peters. But last week the greatest of them all Dr. Stephen Covey, was back in Dubai for his first presentation in six years.

It was Dr.Covey's last presentation in Dubai that sent me down the road of personal self-discovery that ended in the creation of this independent editorial content on AME Info. Without his inspiration none of the 1.3 million monthly users of AME Info would be enjoying this service.

Dr. Covey is the author of 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', a book that has sold 15 million copies, and latterly his work has centered on translating the seven habits into management principles for leadership.

The six principles are: clarity in strategy and the understanding of that strategy by staff; commitment of the staff to that strategy; translation into action in a systematic way by the team and individual action; enabling staff to achieve the execution of commitments; establishing a synergy to allow smooth cross-functional work and communication to optimize output; and finally accountability to ensure people are accountable for delivering on commitments.

Dr. Covey is keen to promote The xQ Process which is a 27-question assessment that measures how well an organization is doing in understanding and implementing these six principles; xQ is short for execution quotient, or the degree of execution.

That is the message in a nutshell. But to truly understand and internalize these leadership lessons takes a lot of time. One approach is to attend a seminar given by Dr. Covey himself, but is there another way?

'It is all in the books!' says Dr. Covey in the afternoon coffee break during his seminar in Dubai. 'We really can't do more than scratch the surface of the material in one day. There is a great deal of ground to cover'.

Dr. Covey's personal mission began 25 years ago on a sabbatical from his career as a successful college professor, when he 'discovered' the seven habits that have become his greatest legacy.

'Actually I did not invent the seven habits, they are universal principles and most of what I wrote about is just common sense. I am embarrassed when people talk about the Covey Habits, and dislike the idea of being some sort of guru.'

A naturally modest man who prizes humility as the greatest virtue, Dr. Covey is now aged 71 and shows no sign of slowing down. 'Retirement is not a concept I agree with. You retire and your immune system shuts down. Working is living,' he says.

His latest book is due out this autumn, and will include a DVD with video clips illustrating aspects of his thinking. This appears to be a response to some critics who see Dr. Covey as too intellectual to reach many people.

'It's a fact that more people watch television and get their information that way than read books,' he says. 'I find new technology and new ways of communication very exciting and would like to do more in this field.'

He leads a very packed life, but says he is 'only on the road for six days a month', and likes to spend a lot of time with his wife and nine children. His personal mission is clearly far from finished, and Dr. Covey promises that it will not be another six years before he is back in Dubai.

'What is happening in Dubai is just extraordinary, and I hope to be back within a year,' he says.