This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Motivational speaker, businessman, and best-selling author Stephen R. Covey continues to improve from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident on Thursday.
Family members talked with Covey, 79, at a Provo hospital as he responded to them, Covey's publicist, Debra Lund, said Saturday. There had been little change in Covey's condition, but Lund said overall he is "continuing to improve."
She conveyed the family's thanks to all those expressing concern and interest in Covey's recovery, adding that Covey is aware of friends and fans rooting for his recovery.
The family earlier reported Covey initially had bleeding and swelling on the front of his brain and also suffered cracked ribs and a partially collapsed lung. Doctors at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center have been monitoring him, and Lund said some of the initial injuries have been effectively treated.
Covey, an avid cyclist, was cycling Thursday with a friend at Rock Canyon Park when he went down a hill too fast. The bicycle flipped forward and he flew over it and hit the pavement, according to a family member. Covey was wearing a helmet, but it slipped back as he was falling.
Covey was a Brigham Young University business management professor when he became a household name with the publication in 1989 of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
The book sold more than 10 million copies with editions in 40 countries in 28 languages and launched a worldwide business venture based in Orem, the Covey Leadership Center. With 40 offices worldwide, the center sold books, tapes and videos and produced conferences where Covey talked about his approach to management.
In 1997, the Covey Leadership Center merged with Franklin Quest, which sold a successful time-management planner, to become FranklinCovey. It sells planners, consulting services and conferences.
In 1996, Time magazine named Covey among the 25 most influential Americans.
Covey is a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, where he holds the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership.
Twitter: @CimCity