In 2002 , Forbes named The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People one of the 10 most influential management books ever written . Chief Executive magazine recognized The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as one of the two most influential books of the 20 th century . Dr . Covey received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative , was named Speaker of the Year , received the Sikh ’ s International Man of Peace Award , and The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership .
In 1984 , Dr . Covey made the decision to leave full-time teaching as a university professor to establish a business organization , Covey Leadership Center , that could take principle-centered leadership throughout the world . From the inception of that business , Dr . Covey ’ s focus was always on writing and teaching , leaving the leadership and management of the business to others . In 1997 , Covey Leadership Center merged with FranklinQuest , to form Franklin Covey Co . ( NYSE : FC ), a global performance improvement company that now operates in over 125 countries throughout the world . From the time of the merger to his retirement from the board last year , Dr . Covey devoted essentially all of his time and effort to writing and teaching .
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