-Summiya Yasmeen (Bengaluru)
Best-selling author, motivational speaker, and self-improvement guru, SEAN COVEY is the Utah (USA)-based president of FranklinCovey Education, a division of FranklinCovey Inc (FCI, annual revenue: $263 million (Rs.2,177 crore) in 2021-22), a publicly-listed company providing assessment training and services in leadership and business management to corporates and individuals.
The progeny of management guru Stephen R. Covey (1932-2012), author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which has sold a record 40 million copies and counting worldwide, Sean in his own right has designed FCI’s unique Leader in Me (LiM) programme — “an evidence-based, comprehensive model that builds leadership and life skills in students” — for K-12 schools.
Currently, the LiM programme is being taught in 6,500 schools in 50 countries worldwide. In India, the programme is promoted by its exclusive India partner Live Life Education Pvt. Ltd, founded by well-known Chennai-based psychiatrist DR. KANNAN GIREESH. Presently, over 100 schools countrywide are offering the LiM programme.
Newspeg. Sean Covey was in India in early December on a whirlwind five-city tour of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Bhubaneswar for the Leader in Me Connect Conclave organised by Live Life Education. The multi-city conclave drew participation of over 1,000 school promoters, principals and teachers.
History. An alumnus of Brigham Young University and Harvard Business School, Sean began his career in Walt Disney Inc followed by stints at consulting firms Deloitte and Touche, Boston, and Trammel Crow Ventures, Dallas. In 1994, he signed up with the Covey Leadership Center founded by his sire, which merged with Hyrum W. Smith’s Franklin Quest in 1997 to morph into FCI.
That very year, Sean published his first book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Since then, he has authored several books including The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make (2006) and The 7 Habits of Happy Kids (2008).
According to Covey, the genesis of LiM can be traced to 1999 when A.B. Combs Elementary, North Carolina began implementing the elder Covey’s 7 Habits in its school. Subsequently, principal Muriel Summers recorded its success in transforming the institution. In 2005, Sean Covey visited A.B. Combs and witnessed a miraculous transformation of the school where students and teachers were practicing Covey Sr’s 7 Habits — be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win/win, seek to first understand, then to be understood, synergise and sharpen the saw. “That’s when it struck me that the 7 Habits can be adapted to enable whole school improvement. In 2008 after extensive research, I designed the Leader in Me programme,” recalls Sean Covey.
Schools which sign up for LiM receive textbooks and access to an online repository of resources with teachers trained extensively to implement the programme. In India, the whole-school programme is priced at Rs.850-950 per student per year.
Direct talk. “In less than 15 years since LiM was launched, it has evolved into the most influential whole school improvement programme worldwide with 6,500 schools in 50 countries having signed up for it. This is because LiM discovers and nurtures the inherent intelligences of every child and develops her leadership and problem-solving skills while stimulating her can-do spirit with positive thinking. This leads to individual followed by whole school transformation,” says Sean, who adds that his 200-strong team at FCI Education is continuously researching ways and means to improve the programme. LiM apart, the company also offers leadership programmes for higher education institutions.
Future plans. Covey is confident that the number of schools signing up for the LiM programme will cross 10,000 globally by 2025, with schools in India leading the charge. “Our LiM programme fits in perfectly with India’s ambitions to evolve into a global superpower. I am certain that with the active cooperation of our partner Live Life Education, LiM school numbers in India will grow exponentially over the next two years,” he says.
Wind in your sails!