Stephen Covey Releases New Book Co-Authored by FranklinCovey CEO, Bob Whitman: Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times

The new book, Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, is published by FranklinCovey Publishing and is the first of several books to be released over the next year by various FranklinCovey subject matter experts as part of the FranklinCovey Insight Series. It is available wherever fine books are sold as well as from FranklinCovey. A simultaneous e-book edition is also available exclusively from Kindle (ISBN-13 976-0-000-00000-0, hardcover: $14.99, e-book, $9.99).

The book was unveiled by Stephen Covey in his first webinar in The Stephen Covey Professional Development Webinar Series. Stephen Covey's two remaining webinars will be held on August 14 and 25 and include the topics of Personal Resilience and Leveraging Your Strengths. Webinar Details: www.franklincovey.com/stephen-covey-webinars

Stephen Covey and Bob Whitman collaborated to write Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times because of the current economic conditions, which are having a negative effect on so many people and organizations all over the world.

Stephen Covey said, "If there's one thing that's certain in business, it's uncertainty. Most organizations can get predictable results in an environment that is predictable. But, there are great organizations that consistently perform with excellence, even in the most unpredictable times, which we are now experiencing. These organizations not only survive the tough times, but they thrive and set themselves ahead of their competitors."

Stephen Covey and Bob Whitman suggest in the book that four hazards raise havoc within organizations in unpredictable times:

-- Failure to execute: You've thought through the crisis. You have your strategy. Now the question is, can the team execute? Will they? Some people in your organization understand it, and they are getting it done. Some aren't and probably never will. Then there's the great middle population- how much more could they contribute if they only knew how?

-- Crisis of trust: Levels of trust are at an all-time low. Securities markets plunge due to a huge crisis of confidence. Too many people see betrayal wherever they look. On an uncertain road full of pitfalls, everyone decelerates: It's not called a "slow-down" for nothing.

-- Loss of focus: You have fewer resources, fewer people and more confusion. People try to do two or three jobs at once. A person doing two jobs has half the focus of a person doing one job, and half the likelihood of doing either job well.

-- Pervasive fear: Economic recession causes psychological recession. People fear losing jobs, retirement savings, even their homes. It's "piling on." And it costs you; just when you need people to focus and engage, they lose focus and disengage.

Bob Whitman, FranklinCovey CEO, said, "Long experience with thousands of private and public entities around the globe has taught us some of what it takes to achieve extraordinary performance, not just in this current economy, but always. After studying the team disciplines of more than 300,000 people in 17,000 work units in 1,100 organizations, which provided the foundational research for this book, we gleaned some critical insights about the factors that truly differentiate top performers from lesser performers."

Stephen Covey and Bob Whitman also suggest four key principles for getting predictable results in unpredictable times:

-- Execute Priorities with Excellence: Winning companies have "simple goals" repeatedly revisited, together with clear targets and strong follow-through, including the measurement of results. As with any team, all team members know the goals and their roles in carrying them out. And, they execute precisely.

-- Move with the Speed of Trust: Low trust slows everything down and raises costs. That's why the economy, your clients and your cash flow slow down in times of turmoil. But, when trust levels rise, everything speeds up and costs go down. The winning companies are capable of quick action "with the agility to respond ahead of, or at least stay even with, rapid changes in the new economic environment."

-- Achieve More with Less: Of course, everyone is trying to do more with less, but the real question is, "More of what?" Shouldn't it be more of what customers truly value and less of what they don't want? The winning companies focus totally on value - they are not just cutting back, they are simplifying, reducing complexities that customers don't value. Instead of having everyone do two or three jobs, they focus on doing the job the customer really wants done.

-- Transform Fear into Engagement: The root of psychological recession is the sense that people have no control over what happens to them. Winning organizations help people break through that hopelessness and focus on what they can do. Much of the fear is caused by unclear direction, by a less-than-compelling purpose. Entrusted with a mission they can believe in, they channel their anxious energy into results.

"No leader can compute all the uncertainties of the future into a set of certainties," said England. "But there are certain changeless principles that leaders and managers can rely on to thrive in volatile times."

To coincide with the launch of Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, FranklinCovey is also offering a free audio download of Stephen Covey's Habit 1: Be Proactive - The Habit of Choice (retail value: $15). The 63-minute audio teaches an individual how to be a highly effective person by refusing to let one's current circumstances determine one's choices and his or her future. To download the audio, visit: www.franklincovey.com/stephen-covey-webinars/audio.php.

RESOURCES: For more information about Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, including a preview of the book, videos and downloadable tools, visit: www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/books-and-audio.

About the Authors:

Dr. Stephen R. Covey (www.stephencovey.com) is an internationally respected leadership authority, teacher, writer, organizational consultant and co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Co. He is author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which Chief Executive magazine has called the most influential business book of the last 100 years. The book has sold nearly 20 million copies, and after 20 years still holds a place on most best-seller lists.

Stephen Covey earned an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate from BYU, where he was a professor of organizational behavior. For more than 40 years Stephen Covey has taught millions of people--including presidents of nations and corporations--the transforming power of the principles that govern individual and organizational effectiveness. Stephen Covey and his wife live in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.

Robert A. Whitman is chairman of the board and CEO of FranklinCovey. A Harvard MBA, Whitman was one of four managing partners, CFO, and a board member of Trammell Crow Group. Later, as president and Co-CEO of the private equity firm Hampstead Group, he acquired significant equity in and helped a number of companies in the hospitality, retirement housing, restaurant, and theme park industries achieve significant growth. He has served on the board of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and as chairman and CEO of Forum Group Inc., now part of Marriott International.

Fascinated by FranklinCovey's mission to help build great and enduring organizations, and already serving on its board, Whitman joined the company as chairman and CEO in January 2000. Since then, he has immersed himself in the inner workings of hundreds of FranklinCovey client organizations to understand what it takes to produce the outcomes of greatness.

An avid mountaineer, rock and ice climber, Whitman enjoys climbing in the Rocky Mountains and the Alps. He has finished the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship race nine times.

Bob and his wife are the parents of two children and grandparents of three and make their home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Breck England calls himself an "intellectual property architect" who helps create world-class effectiveness solutions for FranklinCovey clients. In his two decades of consulting experience, he has helped some of the world's largest corporations become more effective in their leadership and communication processes. He has directed such projects for the Fortune 50, and from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia.

Before joining FranklinCovey, Dr. England served as vice president of intellectual property for FranklinQuest and director of consulting for Shipley Associates, an international communication-training firm. A Ph.D. in communication, he taught organizational leadership and strategy for seven years in the Marriott School of Management at BYU. He and his wife live on a mountainside in northern Utah.

About FranklinCovey Co.

FranklinCovey Co. (NYSE: FC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) (www.franklincovey.com), is a global provider of training and consulting services in the areas of leadership, productivity, strategy execution, customer loyalty, trust, sales performance, government, education and individual effectiveness. Clients include 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small- and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government entities and educational institutions. FranklinCovey Co. has 40 direct and licensee offices providing professional services in 147 countries.

SOURCE: FranklinCovey

FranklinCovey Co. 
Debra Lund, 801-244-4474 
Debra.Lund@FranklinCovey.com