FranklinCovey Gains Global Rights to New York Times Bestseller The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M.R. Covey
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2009--FranklinCovey
announced today that on December 31, 2008, it acquired CoveyLink
Worldwide, LLC ("CoveyLink"), a growing boutique consultancy that
trains organizations to establish, measure and grow trust with all
stakeholders, thus increasing the speed of business and reducing costs.
FranklinCovey amends its existing intellectual property license
with CoveyLink and now becomes the exclusive, worldwide licensee of all
its intellectual content and training concepts, which are based on
The SPEED of Trust,
the New York Times bestselling book authored by Stephen
M. R. Covey. With this acquisition, the company launches its new
global trust practice.
CoveyLink Worldwide was founded by Stephen M.R. Covey and business
partner, Greg Link, a leadership, sales, and marketing expert. The
company developed training courses, assessment instruments, and
application tools based on The
Speed of Trust, which was one of the most widely, read books by
executives in 2007 (CEORead.com).
The
Speed of Trust was a New York Times, USA
Today, BusinessWeek, and Wall Street Journal (#1)
bestseller in 2008. It has remained on the New York Times and BookScan
bestseller lists for nearly one year, and is already being published in
20 languages, including Chinese, German, Japanese, and Arabic. The
Speed of Trust has become a global phenomenon as evidenced by the
demand for Stephen M.R. Covey to present its concepts in more than 25
international cities, including Beijing, Singapore, Zurich, Bangalore,
Jeddah, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, and many others. In September
2008, Stephen M.R. Covey presented to the Young Global Leaders at the
World Economic Forum's Summer Davos in Beijing. He
participated in a general session table discussion, where a "Crisis of
Trust and Confidence" was voted the #1 challenge facing organizations in
the coming year.
Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link will now join FranklinCovey to
lead the company's global Speed of Trust practice, and will direct the
practice's sales and marketing of the corporate training, products and
services previously provided by CoveyLink. The two have presented The
Speed of Trust to more than 200 audiences and executive teams,
including U.S. Navy Admirals, The World Economic Forum, Intel, Frito
Lay, Eli Lilly, Lenovo, Microsoft, American Hospital Association, and
Aramark. They will continue to give keynote addresses based on The
Speed of Trust, and will assist FranklinCovey in making the content
available to their clients in 147 countries. To book
Stephen M.R. Covey or Greg Link for a speech, visit www.coveylink.com/keynote-speaking
or call 801-492-5070.
The Speed of Trust has been endorsed by CEOs
of numerous leading companies including: Campbell Soup,
Ernst & Young, Marriott International, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Dell
Computer, EDS, Jet Blue, Hard Rock Cafe, Sbarro, TORO, DBS Bank Ltd.,
Huntsman International, Madison Square Garden, and Singapore Airlines.
Bob
Whitman, CEO of FranklinCovey, said, "Whatever the
strategic initiative, the chances for success increase dramatically when
you start with high trust. This fact, along with the tremendous success
of The Speed of Trust and their strong client base, made
CoveyLink an attractive acquisition for FranklinCovey. We now combine
both of our sales forces to offer this extraordinary content to the
marketplace, adding the discipline of trust to our existing practices,
and thereby offering our clients yet another strategic solution to
achieve greatness within their organization."
The Speed of Trust's corporate training program, Leading
at the Speed of Trust(TM), which is offered by
FranklinCovey, has already certified more than 500 private and public
sector entities to teach the content within their organizations. Leading
at the Speed of Trust is a highly interactive workshop that engages
leaders at all levels in the real work of identifying and closing the
trust gaps that exist in their companies. Doing business at The Speed
of Trust dramatically lowers costs, speeds up results, and increases
profits and influence. Participants learn that instead of paying
outrageous "Trust Taxes," organizations can begin to realize "Trust
Dividends." The training content is state-of-the-art multimedia and
includes 15
video segments produced by FranklinCovey.
"Trust has never been more relevant in today's world, especially
in such difficult economic times," said Stephen M.R. Covey. "The ability
to establish, grow, extend and restore trust with all
stakeholders--customers, business partners, investors, and co-workers is
the key leadership competency of the new, global economy. Trust is a
learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable,
people more promotable, and relationships more energizing. We are
thrilled to join forces with FranklinCovey and amplify our influence to
fuel a global renaissance of trust."
Stephen M.R. Covey is also the son of Stephen
R. Covey, Vice-Chairman of FranklinCovey and author of the
bestseller, The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People and his new book, The
Leader in Me (www.theleaderinme.org).
About FranklinCovey
FranklinCovey
(NYSE: FC) is the global consulting and training leader in the areas of
strategy execution, leadership, customer loyalty, trust, sales
performance, 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 has 40 direct and licensee
offices providing professional services in 147 countries. For more
information, please visit www.franklincovey.com.
CONTACT: FranklinCovey, Salt Lake City
Debra Lund, 801-244-4474
Debra.Lund@FranklinCovey.com
Source: FranklinCovey
