Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success

“With his trademark clarity, Covey emphasizes the importance of integrity and intrinsic rewards. Primary Greatness is an ideal book for anyone looking for guidance in how to live a truly successful, worthwhile life of service.”—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

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 ofThe 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.

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"When life weighs us down with problems and disappointments, we sometimes feel that we are not successful and it is difficult to move forward, let alone make progress toward reaching our goals. In this book, Stephen Covey provides us with 12 principles to live by that can help us have the character, courage and confidence to push past life’s difficulties to create our very best life.”—M uhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 2006

“ Primary Greatness teaches that what some may consider greatness – money, power, social prominence – is far less important than a life of honesty, love, and contribution. It is in fact, personal integrity that is the foundation for all success. In this powerful set of essays, Stephen Covey shows that you cannot deliver value without values.”— Indra Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo

Dr. Covey’s teachings have been instrumental in shaping both my personal and professional life. The 12 levers outlined in Primary Greatness outline a clear path for anyone to achieve success. This is a wonderful book filled with incredible nuggets and wisdom.”— Kevin Turner, COO, Microsoft