Steve Harris, exceptional orator transformed from college drop out to corporate sellout

Two months ago, I was invited to anchor a singles conference and my ‘date’ for this week happened to be one of the speakers. He is someone I have heard so much about and he is also a friend on Facebook but there had never been a one-on-one moment until the day of the event.

Though I was the emcee for the day and I had to be up and about, when it came to the time he was to speak I knew I had to listen and I am glad I did. He told his story and shared with everyone facts about life that I am not quick to forget.

He describes himself as the shortest distance between where you are and where you want to be. Steve Harris is my ‘date’ for this week.

Steve Harris, often regarded as Nigeria’s leading life strategist,  is a highly sought after management consultant, motivational speaker and author.  He assists his clients to plan and execute strategy to enhance their personal and corporate productivity.  He has also designed, managed and facilitated several customer service and personal mastery training programmes, management and leadership retreats.

He has been a consultant to several organisations, including GTBank, Diamond Bank, NLNG, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, NLNG, StanbicIBTC Pensions  just to name a few, where he managed streams of customer service management, emotional intelligence, passion infusion and workforce activation training programmes and retreats on behalf of  his firm, EdgeEcution.

Talk about a positive influencer, sought after by many organisations as a turn-around expert, inspirational speaker and corporate activator then Steve naturally comes to mind. This feat he has achieved has added incredible value to not only the effectiveness and corporate productivity of his clients, but also to their organization’s bottom line.

Steve grew up in a pretty much regular family. “We weren’t by any means wealthy, but I’d say we were comfortable.” He tells me and continues “My parents were and still are people who value education. To be honest, I used to envy the neighborhood kids who had the freedom to fly kites, play street soccer and roll tyres. My folks would whoop my behind if they saw me on the street, fraternizing with the other children. They involved my siblings and I with countless hours of study with lessons to keep us out of trouble.” He says but that is not all. Steve’s book ‘From college drop out to corporate sellout’ is a brilliant work of excellence by the author which I believe everyone should read because it gives courage and hope to anyone who thinks he/she is down and out.

Hear Steve’s views on the reason behind his best seller ‘from college drop out to corporate sellout’. “I’d be the first person to tell you that I wasn’t so sure I wanted to write about my life experiences, but I came to recognise that I’m a limited resource. I would get tons of invitations to share my life experiences with several audiences and I figured that after a while, it wasn’t sustainable, so I decided to put it all together. I’ve been privileged to get a lot of emails from people who tell me my books have inspired them to believe in themselves and take action on their dreams.” He says.

Moved by passion to assist individuals and corporations bridge the gap between their performance and their potential, Steve in the capacity of CEO of a fast rising management consulting practice, EdgeEcution, organizes consulting and training interventions to assist these partners become Number 1 or 2 in their industries.

As a motivational speaker and life strategist, Steve believes strongly that motivational speaking and being a life strategist are incredibly interwoven. He tells me “I’ve heard some people disregard the importance of motivation. They couldn’t be so wrong. Allow me to explain. Motivation is a compendium of two words: Motive and Action. It helps people identify what motivates them to act and that’s incredibly important. But after the motivation, sometimes, there’s an execution gap, which is where life strategy comes in. I assist clients develop strategy for the areas of their lives that need change and I also help them execute and get results in 90 days. As a life strategist, I’m your personal Jillian Michaels. And like her, I have a ‘no excuses’, ‘ruthless execution’ approach to assisting people get things done.” Steve reveals.

Sometimes you think motivational speakers, life coaches, life strategists and the likes do not have challenges or better still, you believe they would know how to hold their head above water since they are schooled in that regard right? My line of thoughts exactly but hearing it from the proverbial ‘horse’s mouth’ answered it all for me when Steve tells me “In such situations, I trust God implicitly. It can be pretty tough, but I have the confidence that God’s got my back. All I need do is just remember where and what He’s brought me from and I know I’m going to be alright. Then I have the love and validation from my beautiful family.” He clarifies.

Steve admits to me that he looks at the bright side of things and does not let things hold him back, which is a major way he uses his challenges as stepping stones to victory but that is not all, there is more to this awesome speaker and life strategist who says “it’s not what you don’t have that limits you, it’s what you have, but don’t know how to use”.

I have read the stories of some people who dropped out of school and made a success story of themselves but they are not many. Though Steve falls into the category of a success story but I can tell it didn’t come that easy which he admits to when he says “I can’t take all the credit. I’ve been mentored by the best speakers and consultants in the world. I’m also incredibly hungry and driven, but most importantly, I’ve discovered what I can be the best in the world at. I’m continually learning. I’ve taken courses from the University of Wales, certifications in life coaching and so much more. Education is so important. Dropping out of school twice wasn’t a choice for me, life happened. Don’t be fooled. Dropping out of school does not guarantee success. Excellence can never be discriminated against. You’ll never go for an interview and hear them say, ‘if you have a 1st class degree, this interview is not for you’. But anything less than the best can and will be discriminated against.” He admonishes.

One word Steve never fails to mention is the word –Mentorship and his views bare it all “Mentorship is critical. It reduces your learning curve. I have mentors such as Fela Durotoye, Tonye Cole, Lanre Olusola and Charles O’Tudor who are leaders in their fields as well as great family men who love God.” He admits.

Wrapping up the interview, the patriotic side of Steve comes to the fore when he shares with me about his belief in Nigeria “I believe that Nigeria is a great nation, despite the present challenges we face. I believe that by December 31, 2025, Nigeria will undoubtedly, become the world’s most desirable nation to live in’. I believe our biggest problem, so to speak is our lack of values. It’s our lack of values that causes someone to drive against traffic, run a red light, throw garbage on the street, jump queues, and foster ethnic and religious bigotry. I’m a nation builder. I belong to a Generation that is Empowered, Motivated and Stirred To Operate with Natural Excellence (GEMSTONE) and we do this through value based leadership and training.” Steve says.

KEMI AJUMOBI