MY STORY

Hi, I’m Steve... It’s nice to meet you!

2010 was the year everything changed for me.

Every lunch hour, I paced back and forth across the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis; looking down into the mighty Mississippi River, jealous of the carp who seemed oblivious to the stress above the surface. I was miserable – and I didn’t know why.

My life on paper was perfect.
I had a great job at a great company.
I was recently promoted.
My marriage was wonderful.
Our three kids were healthy.
I had hobbies and friends.
So what could possibly be wrong?

Feeling miserable in a great ‘on-paper’ life left me feeling trapped.

And I felt alone.

I didn’t think I should share my unhappiness with my boss; for some reason I thought they might lose respect for me.

I didn’t want to burden my wife with fear that I may quit my job… or worse.

I could have shared it with my mom, but she worked so hard when we were growing up that it felt disrespectful to be complaining about my amazing life.

And then there was the guilt.

What right did I have to be miserable? A few months earlier I was in Rwanda, becoming friends with people whose lives have been ravaged by AIDS, deep poverty and genocide. And I was unhappy? Seriously, what is wrong with me.

Misery. Loneliness. Guilt. Pretty fun huh?

Those days on the Stone Arch Bridge were terrible, but propelled me on a personal journey to understand the true drivers of happiness.

It was a highly personal quest – one that may have saved my life.

What I found not only transformed my life and leadership – it blew open the doors to a new understanding of what drives happiness for all of us.
And something funny happened along the way...

THE TRANSFORMATION


A career shift from investments into Human Resources provided the opportunity to discover a breakthrough link between employee happiness and their productivity, engagement and retention. The data is irrefutable – and the impact is powerful.

Leaders and organizations I work with, who are applying these insights, are seeing their teams become more productive, more engaged and stick around longer. The result is increased profitability and impact for the organization, and increased success and happiness for the leaders.

I have led six African Safaris, earning me the nickname “The Safari Dude.” And I have learned that leading an African safari is very similar to leadership in business. There are highs and lows, ups and downs, knowns and unknowns; there are periods of excitement, stress and boredom. This is the very nature of leading a safari… and leading in business.

But the biggest similarity is that our happiness is a leader ultimately comes down to the people who are with us – the “peeps in our jeeps.”

When we have the right peeps in our jeeps, our safari is like an epic adventure; the top is down, wind blowing through our hair (or where our hair used to be), and there are smiles and high fives all around.

When we have the wrong peeps in our jeeps, our safaris can be down right miserable. These “team” members do only the minimum, they are disengaged, they don’t help when the jeep breaks down, and they are always looking for a better jeep to join.

It’s not surprising that the right peeps make all the difference. But here is where most leaders and organizations fail – they don’t recognize who the right peeps actually are and their systems are set up to hire the wrong peeps.

This is why I do what I do. In 2018 I left my Fortune 500 career to begin a speaking and coaching journey that would bring success and happiness to people around the world, especially those experiencing the same Good Life Trap I had walked through.

It’s wonderful to help leaders get clarity on what they want and who they need, and to become intentional about pursuing their mission, leaning into every experience their adventure brings.

Thank you for checking out my website. I would love to have you check out some of the videos, grab my free download, or just poke around. You can jump into a jeep or two by connecting on social media (LinkedIn or YouTube) or receiving the email newsletter.

You are also welcome to shoot me an email or give me a call directly.