To me, the most astounding thing about Stephen Covey realizing a multi-generational family fortune by the publishing of his trite concepts providing nothing more for his marks than illusions of problem solving, isn’t that they bought into ‘em, but that many of the world’s largest companies did too.
A quick search indicates that less than a decade after The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was foisted upon us – not to mention a number of his other nauseating and nonsensical books – Covey then combined forces with Hyrum Smith, the author of The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, another similarly-titled but no less of a time-waster that, along with others that followed, serve as nothing more than hard sells of Smith’s Franklin Planners.
Apparently, upon seeing themselves and their swindling hustles in each others’ wheelhouse, these Dr. Evil look-alikes drew up a plan for global dominance that would see them merge their two companies into a flimflam empire that would almost make Tony Robbins change his own “LifePath”.
It seems that in 1997 Smith, the CEO of Franklin Quest, agreed that the synergy created by its acquisition of Covey’s Covey Leadership Center, resulting in a new entity known as Franklin Covey Co., would provide the catalyst in realizing their vision. Trading as FranklinCovey through a public offering valued at $160 million, our confidence men surely thought the world was indeed theirs.
As it turns out, and as many of my mentees are learning via my own and other mentor’s experience, there is a massive difference between presenting nothing more than a slick sales pitch – or an extended series of them – and actually providing sage ‘n’ sapient ‘fun’ancial counsel.
In the following years, rather than the merger increasing the fame and fortune stock of each, infighting and other dysfunction between the two former separate companies’ forces turned them into laughing stocks instead. Just prior to the merger, Franklin Quest shares traded at almost $30. By 2003, FranklinCovey was trading below $1– and at risk of being delisted. Over this time, FranklinCovey lost over $180 million dollars. So much for habit number four, “think win-win”.
With the die on it having been cast, walking away from the lose-lose outcome of a deal being adversely negotiated – one that isn’t going to benefit both parties, allowing both sides to shake hands goodbye – wasn’t even possible. Reading about this dumpster fire of a deal, I have to wonder if these two, with their vaunted habits and natural laws, could run a children’s lemonade stand anywhere but into the ground.
Ultimately, the company, under completely new leadership brought in at great expense, was able to reinvent itself. Apparently, the first order of business was to remove our would-be business savants from any kind of executive roles so they couldn’t wreak any more havoc, reassigning them to duties designed to maximize their snake-oil salesmanship.
Today, Franklin Covey Co. has a market cap of a half a billion dollars. I don’t know how much of their marks’ money Smith separated from them before he met his “make more monie” maker, but it appears Covey grifted himself about $170 million by the time he “permanently retired”. Before his own death, rather than feeling shame for the sham his empire is built upon, he said he was merely “humbled” by his business’s “experience”, incorporating it in his writing and speaking. No doubt. Ever the scammer and right up to the very end, he kept up appearances, ensuring his appearances kept rakin’ it in.
Note: When you have made the conscious decision to really succeed, Make More Monie will endeavor to provide you with plenty of real-world examples of individuals that have “made more monie”, and who are happy to share exactly how they did it. No throbbing music, no pounding of chests and no primal screaming. Only top-of-the-line ‘fun’ancial mentorship with bottom-line results!
Disclaimer: The information contained herein should not be construed or considered professional advice. Nonetheless, thanks for reading! If it resonates, there’s “plenty more where that came from” on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X ‘n’ YouTube.