Stephen Covey’s seminal book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, changed the business book landscape. It was a book that introduced us to the concept of paradigm shifts in our lives, and it shifted the paradigm of the entire industry. It has been translated into almost 40 languages and sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. There have been many imitators, and many have been extremely good, but Covey’s book is the sun shining behind hundreds of lesser candles.

“Paradigms are inseparable from character. Being is seeing in the human dimension. And what we see is highly interrelated to what we are. We can’t go very far to change our seeing without simultaneously changing our being, and vice versa.”

—Stephen R. Covey

Jack sent the office an email this morning linking to the news of his death. The subject line read simply, “This is a big deal.” And it is, but his wisdom and his work will resonate long after him. A lot of business books can improve your career or help you change your business. Stephen Covey’s will change your life. It has changed the world, individual reader by individual reader. His passing from this world leaves us one less man of character, but his existence in it has helped build the character of millions of others.