Stories of the Global Power of Purpose
The World's Principled Leaders Series, hosted by the Stephen R. Covey Endowed Professors of Leadership, Lord Dr. Michael Hastings and Boyd Craig. Join us for stories of principled leaders who have a global impact—trail blazers, legislators, authors, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and more.
Jeffrey R. Holland served as the ninth President of BYU and now serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An educator, religious leader, and passionate speaker, Holland extends his influence across the globe by inspiring people to live a faith-filled life and to find hope and comfort through personal dedication to spiritual practices.
After retiring as Chaplain of the Marine Corps in 2003, Barry Black became the first African American and first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the office of chaplain of the United States Senate. After being evacuated from the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, Chaplain Black closed the joint session of Congress with a prayer of comfort and unity. Don’t miss this chance to hear from a spiritual leader who finds positivity even while facing some of the most divisive times of our nation.
Rachael Jarosh is president and CEO of Enactus, a global community of students, academic and business leaders committed to using an entrepreneurial mindset to transform lives and help shape a better, more sustainable world. By using business as a force for good, Enactus prepares students to tackle issues that are of personal priority for them, creating new solutions and ideas that are inspired by a variety of passions.
Meet one of the most powerful women in Finance. Marisa Drew is changing the world of finance by linking profits with purpose. She shares her passion for sustainable finance—investing in companies that are more purposeful and more thoughtful—and finds that returns are stable or even higher during times of crisis, like the current pandemic. During her 30 year career in investment banking, Marisa has been a constant champion of gender parity in the industry, encouraging women to believe in themselves and their abilities and to never settle.
A legend and leader in the hotel world, Horst Schulze's teachings and vision have reshaped the concepts of service and hospitality across industries. Hear what drove Schulze to stop hiring people to work, and to start inviting people to join the company’s purpose. His simple, principle-driven approach is why the Ritz-Carlton Company has the most loyal customers in the world.
When Ward Clapham took command of the third-largest Royal Police force in Canada, the organization ran like most bureaucracies—heavy command-and-control management and strict adherence to the status quo. But Clapham didn’t believe in staying in the box. Today he challenges the way work is traditionally done and inspires leaders to rethink the way they manage people and unleash hidden talent.
Doug Conant is the only former Fortune 500 CEO who is an NYT bestselling author, a Top 50 Leadership Innovator, a Top 100 Leadership Speaker, and a Top 100 Most Influential Author in the World. Equipped with Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits, he has famously transformed companies like Nabisco, and Avon, and has led the Campbell Soup Company from being among the worst in the Fortune 500 to being consistently among the best. Today he continues to use his leadership model and his passion for people to steer organizations and individuals through the most challenging of times.
Best-selling author Stephen M.R. Covey is one of the world’s leading authorities on trust. He asserts that it is “the most overlooked, misunderstood, underutilized asset to enable performance. Its impact, for good or bad, is dramatic and pervasive. It’s something you can’t escape.” Covey shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees, and all stakeholders—is the single most critical component of a successful leader and organization.
Aboard the USS Sante Fe, Captain David Marquet realized that the traditional leader-follower environment meant his crew would do anything he said—even if it was wrong. That could be catastrophic. He decided to try Intent-Based Leadership, and he began treating his crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. Santa Fe went from “worst to first,” achieving the highest recognition in the Navy. When Stephen R. Covey spent time aboard the Santa Fe, he referred to it as the most empowering organization he’d ever seen. Hear how Captain Marquet continues to build environments where everyone is a leader.
Since 2013, Lisa P. Jackson has been running Apple’s environmental and social policy efforts. As former US EPA Administrator in the Obama Administration and now Apple VP, find out what drives Jackson to use her leadership and expertise to tackle inequality and create opportunities for every American to have an equal shot at prosperity, success, and health.
Okendo Lewis-Gayle is founder of Harambeans, who in his words, “are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. At the core they are just young African innovators who are scaling social and business ventures across the length and breadth of Africa.” Join in Okendo’s contagious enthusiasm as he explains how he is directing global investors to the next generation of high-growth African entrepreneurs to build Africa’s future.
Years ago, Kenny Imafidon found himself arrested and charged for a murder he didn’t commit. After he was eventually acquitted, he was driven to change his story and change the world for the better. Now Kenny travels the globe, reminding individuals and organizations to never lose hope and live in a place of gratitude. His work in research and politics has named him “one of 100 young leaders across the globe making a social impact to transform our world.”
When an organization turns toxic, it’s not because of a few bad apples in the barrel. Ethical problems originate with the barrel makers—the leaders—and our natural human desire to belong. Named one of the "100 most influential people in business ethics," James O’Toole shows us how to be the type of leaders who build businesses that thrive on transparency and encourage a culture of candor.
How can business leaders work together as we face the world’s biggest challenges, including inequality, poverty, and climate change? Sir Paul Polman has led some of the best-performing companies in the world (Unilever, Nestle, Procter & Gamble) by demonstrating how responsible business is also good business. As we face a new year with new challenges, don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the world’s most brilliant and purpose-driven minds.
2020 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former governor David Beasley shares with us how he went from a US politician to feeding the world as Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. $2.7 trillion of additional wealth was created in just 4 months by the world’s billionaires, even during the height of COVID-19. What does principle-based leadership look like when it comes to influencing the world’s richest to solve world hunger?
If you’ve had even a glimpse of our SEED’s program’s impact on poverty, of how to “teach a man to fish,” then you will want to meet the pioneer of microfinance and microcredit. It’s an honor to hear from Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and founder of Grameen Bank. Professor Yunus introduced world-wide change when he flipped the model of businesses making money, to businesses solving problems.
Don’t miss this powerful interview with “the happiest man on earth” in the inaugural interview in the The World's Principled Leaders Series, presented by the Covey Leadership Center. Author and Holocaust survivor, Eddie Jaku, shares why he vowed that if he survived Auschwitz, that he would live every day to the fullest and dedicate the rest of his life to putting right the hurt that Adolf Hitler had inflicted on the world.
