Steve Perkins: Generalist Entrepreneur
Picture a man in front of a detective-esque wall plastered with post-its, pictures, and string connected by thumbtacks.
Meet Steve Perkins: vision-builder / dot-connector / people-launcher.
Years ago, Steve worked for a big corporation. He was tasked with preparing people for the future of work by transforming the culture. He found himself in a role without a playbook and began by simply talking to people.
Through these conversations, themes and contradictions began to emerge. For instance, people wanted a collaborative culture, but the performance management system held them back. There was a desire to understand the future, but no clear vision existed.
Steve sat with these tensions.
His mind kept returning to the idea of using large-scale visuals to help people understand and embrace change.
He had an epiphany: everyone had their own idea of cultural transformation. So, he thought, what if they created a crowd-sourced mural where people could visit and add their own contributions? It could serve as a common starting point for conversations.
Steve scoped out the building and found the perfect spot. He started translating the ideas from his conversations into visuals, post-its, and depictions of the future.
Before long, Steve became the ‘guy in front of that wall’. He caught people as they walked by and explained it to them. They added ideas and Steve synthesized at the end of the day, evolving the image based on what he heard.
Leaders stopped by to see what the wall was all about. They brought their teams to facilitate discussions about the future. People from around the company started to come. In fact, the first conversation I had with Steve was in front of this very wall!
The wall became a hub of transformation, where people could be open about their hopes and fears, envision a new future, and get excited about it. It provided a jumping-off point for culture transformation.
With this project, Steve tapped into his big three skill sets: seeing a vision, connecting dots (literally!), and launching people into their new future selves. Along the way, he discovered a new way of working that he later brought into his own business.
Steve Perkins is a visionary who empowers individuals and teams to envision and realize a brighter future for themselves. As the founder of Greenhouse Coaching, Steve creates supportive environments where individuals can flourish through personalized coaching, transformative workshops, and a thriving community. Through his work, Steve enables people to pursue a life filled with purpose and passion, get to know him and his work at the Career Sweetspot podcast.
Welcome to Breaking the Mold: Generalists Who Thrive in a Specialist's World, a new series where we dive deep into the world of generalists and how they excel across industries. Join us as we explore real-life examples of generalists connecting dots, innovating, and solving problems.