Search
Speakers

Stephen Harvill

Simple, Powerful, and Elegant Solutions

Launching the Imagination and Engaging the Audience to Think Beyond Traditional Frameworks.

At its core, Creative Ventures is a strategic consulting firm and for over 30 years, Stephen Harvill and his team have pioneered methods and techniques that has shaped global business and helped companies stretch to their true potential.

  • A scientist by education and the past president of two companies, Steve uses his leadership experience and empirical data to reinforce his assertions.
  • Whether he is presenting, teaching, or consulting his programs on Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Innovation, and The Client Experience are guaranteed to leave you with actionable steps to take your business to the next level.

With a client list that includes Apple, Zappos, IBM, Frito Lay, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, Steve’s resume is a testament to the value he brings to each project.

  • * Brand New Program – 21 Secrets of Million Dollar Producers
  • Repeatable Successful Acts
  • The Idea Factory
  • The Once Upon a Time Project
  • Elegant Simplicity
  • The DNA of Success
  • Dazzling Blue
  • The Beyond Series
  • Why We Love the Movies (Customer Appreciation Events)

Education

  • The Once Upon a Time Project
  • The Idea Factory
  • Repeatable Successful Acts
  • Communication
  • Thinking

Consulting

  • Repeatable Successful Acts
  • Traditions
  • One Level Above
  • Elegant Simplicity

“You set a record in receiving the highest marks in the history of the conference and the attendees were still talking about you on Friday. You were amazing!”

– The Society of Association Executives

“We want to give our team a left- and a right- brain experience and Steve fits that so well. He’s innovative in his thinking and creative in his visual imagery. It isn’t classic training: Just do this and your life will be different. He’s able to make a compelling proposition, that if you think about your life an your practice in a different way, you can have better results, and here’s how”

– Tom Langseth, Allianz Life Insurance

 

“Steve’s Billion Dollar Babies was a phenomina – slam dunk with the LPL regional meeting!!!!!. Lots of ones and twos from my e2 pitch including a $4m proposal for an advisor who does not talk to wholeslers and would not meet with me in the past. God bless Steve!!!!!. I would put his program up for ANY major event. Cheers!”

– Laurel Johnson, Wells Fargo

 

“I was lucky enough to get to work with Steve some time ago and my take-aways from my time with him provided me with a few new skills and strategies that still directly apply to my business and keep me front of mind with my clients.”

– Mason Hughes, Valeo Financial

Stephen’s Client List Includes…

  • AIA
  • Allianz
  • Apple
  • General mills
  • IBM
  • Microsoft
  • Million Dollar Round Table
  • Pepsi
  • Samsung
  • Southwest Airlines
  • Wells Fargo
  • Zappos

In this sharp, invigorating read, Fortune 50 consultant Stephen Harvill discovers twenty-one common behaviors of top earners across seven major industries that set them apart. These are the secrets of the world’s best salespeople who rake in at least one million dollars a year.

21 Secrets of Million-Dollar Sellers: America’s Top Earners Reveal the Keys to Sales Success

The DNA of Creative Ventures

Travels From:  Texas
City: Austin
$15,001 to $20,000

Biography

Over the past 30 years, Motivational Speaker Stephen Harvill and his Creative Ventures team have helped some of the worlds most respected companies realize their true potential through the implementation of pioneering methods of organizational dynamics and strategic thinking.

Today Stephen works with organizations of all sizes to help them to remove the boundaries and restrictive thinking that are pervasive across Corporate America.

As one of the countries top educators, consultants, and strategists, Stephen works with companies to maximize the potential of their human capital and the organization as a whole. Sometimes the changes are large in scope, but often the changes begin with small, positive steps and creative approaches.

Stephen’s schedule has him crisscrossing the globe to bring these unique and dynamic approaches to a client base that includes: IBM, General Mills, Wells Fargo, Pepsi, Southwest Airlines, Samsung, JC Penney, Microsoft, Apple, AIA, Zappos, National Life, and Allianz.

Presentations

This presentation is based on Stephen’s brand new book of the same name.

His book, The 21 Secrets of Million Dollar Sellers is about those people who have chosen sales as a profession and made careers out of that choice. This book & presentation is about how pinnacle performers build behaviors and hone their skills to become the best at what they do. It provides a roadmap of proven activities for anyone wanting to gain access to a fraternity of sales success.

Stephen’s idea was simple; he wanted to know what big time salespeople actually did that made them different. He wanted to know, in their own words, in their own stories, how they separated themselves from other sales professionals. He wanted to chart the road from ordinary to extraordinary.  He believed that there were patterns in this idea. His hypothesis was that, when you were at the top of your game, no matter what you were selling, whether it was a product or a service, they were all doing the same thing. That despite variances in age, race, and gender these success stories would reveal shared traits.

He had single criteria to get into the study; you had to be someone that produced a million dollars’ worth of sales a year. That was it. Nothing more. This simple filter created a diverse field of sales professionals. There were women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and just about any other demographic you could define.

the end result: A simple pattern of success was discovered. The 21 Secrets of Million Dollar Sellers – 21 specific sales activities shared between industries, that can be repeated by anyone.

Results of a 2 year study into the power behaviors of million dollar producers

Most organizations know the metrics used to judge the success of their sales force.  What they don’t know is a missing piece, it’s what their sales force DOES.  What actions or behaviors generated those sales and which, if any, can be repeated to generate the same success.

  • 7 Different Industries
  • 150 Top Sales Producers Interviewed
  • 1,500 Answers

A simple pattern of success was discovered
Repeatable Successful Acts (RSA) – 28 specific sales activities shared between industries, that can be repeated by anyone.

By adding the RSA platform to your sales training and processes you can leverage ideas that have a proven history.  These behaviors are “in play” in Fortune 100 companies  and by adding these tested methods you mitigate the risk associated with adding new ideas and gain engagement with your sales team.

The RSA Platform can be integrated by:

  • Adding the RSA’s to your existing sales training and combining your program with a menu of top sales performers proven success strategies.
  • Add chosen RSA’s to your existing sales process, thus blending your current success with specifically chosen behaviors customized to fit your specific needs.
  • Discover your sales forces RSA’s through the use of the Narrative Arc Platform.  A series of custom questions are developed to create a Narrative Arc template and a series of sales performer interviews are held.  The accumulated narrative answers contain patterns of performance that can be enhances, modified and taught to create leverage found in your existing sales force.

Learn our simple, efficient, and repeatable process for providing a system approach to developing ideas

Companies don’t suffer from a lack of ideas; they suffer from a lack of knowing what to do to make an idea impactful. They lack any sort of process around the development, implementation and measurement of ideas. In fact, according to The Maurer Group, 78% of companies have no idea system at all, which leads to an average failure rate of 70%!

For almost 30 years Creative Ventures has been in the business of creating and developing ideas. We find our success in THE IDEA FACTORY!

Let us teach you the concepts and techniques that provide a place for ideas to gain form, discover function, and through a committed process, find value.

Looking to find a genesis point for your ideas and a formula for their application?

What is your story and how well do you tell it?

There are stories being crafted. There are stories being told. There are stories of authenticity and richness that engage our minds and imaginations. There are stories tired in their design and missing the mark of impact. What is your story and how well do you tell it?

THE ONCE UPON A TIME PROJECT is a strategic platform based on two elements of a great story:

  • CRAFTING: The art of writing a true and meaningful story.
  • TELLING: The skill of telling your story and weaving its content towards impact.

Your stories are already there, most of the time in plain sight. You need to capture them, to help us know and understand what you do, what value you bring, and how you’re different. This is the nature of CRAFTING a story.

The staggering advantage of simple, powerful and elegant models.

The death of effective planning lies in our desire for “more”. We believe that more allows us to gain ground, to move forward, but the reality is that more leads to complexity.  The more complex a model, the less likely that model is to become reality.

Creative Ventures presents a dynamic, multimedia, interactive learning experience in strategic planning.

  • The Love of Complexity:  Why we move towards complexity.
  • Simple vs. Easy:  The key difference
  • Are Systems Always the Solution? The space between cause & effect
  • The Power of 3:  A powerful strategic model with only 3 parts
  • Architects of Time:  How to create TIME impact
  • Band of Thinkers:  The advantage of teams
  • Thoughtful Reduction:  A discipline of thinking that brings the model together

This cutting edge data creates a key foundation for the development of your leadership model.

In one of the latest strategic platforms from Stephen Harvill and the Creative Ventures team, we share the results of a study into the leadership teams of seven different industries, presented in a multimedia and interactive platform that will challenge your perception of impactful leadership!

The study resulted in a simple discovery – 11 shared behaviors that are directly connected to both individual and corporate success. These 11 behaviors cross industry barriers, providing a menu driven model that creates a mechanism for success.

Key take-aways:

  1. Become Architects of Time
  2. Recognize the Power of Experimentation
  3. Transformation vs. Transition

This cutting edge data creates a key foundation for the development of your leadership model!

The journey from ordinary to extraordinary.

Why do we continually settle for ordinary, when the step to extraordinary is so simple?

Why do we ignore the power of a simple story?  Why do we miss the return we are given when we focus on the client experience? Why don’t we create opportunity instead of waiting for it and when we see the chance why don’t we make the opportunity scream WOW!

These questions  form the core of the DAZZLING BLUE MOVEMENT, a journey to your ability to become extraordinary, to develop a sustained performance that will separate and differentiate you in a world continually marginalized by common experiences.

DAZZLING BLUE is the latest strategic platform from Stephen Harvill and Creative Ventures.  With DAZZLING BLUE you will be immersed in a multimedia experience specifically designed to provide you with a simple three part plan to start you on the journey to extraordinary.

A customized and connected cycle of new ideas that will lift your business to levels that separate and differentiate you in a commoditized world.

A fundamental aspect of success is focus. Successful companies develop such intense emphasis on their business and their markets playing field that, to their benefit, creates a supreme level of knowledge. This knowledge however, tends to develop a myopic sense of vision. Just outside their laser like focus lies a world of ideas and strategic tactics that, when discovered and leveraged, can create new opportunities.

Welcome to The Beyond Series, a customized connected cycle of new ideas that the global business community has put into successful application. When applied to your business this model can lift your business to new levels that separate and differentiate you in a commoditized world

As entertaining as it is educational, this unique presentation takes you through the elements of our movie experience and is the #1 value add programs booked for customer appreciation programs.

As entertaining as it is educational, this unique presentation takes you through the elements of our movie experience discussing story, the narrative arc, music, emotions, psychology, and the after effects of going to the movies. Filled with movie clips, music, interactive participation and Oscar’s for those who know their stuff.

Why We Love the Movies is the #1 value add program booked by clients for their customer appreciation programs and is now part of the leadership training program for multiple clients!

This multimedia experience will take you to…

The land of hope and dreams… the land of journey’s and destinations… the land of life and death… the land of laughter and tears… the land of imagination!

The communication curriculum is broken down into three essential units of learning.

INTERPERSONAL 1 on 1 SKILLS

The program revolves around the premise of BELIEVABILITY, which is built on the Verbal, Vocal and Visual aspects of 1 on 1 communication opportunities

PRESENTATION SKILLS

The ability to present ideas to a group of people is an essential skill set for Career development.  To engage, inspire and move to action are the results of  great presentations.  The content is broken into three parts – Comfort, Connect And Influence.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF PRESENTATIONS

All presentations, at their core, exist to influence, to create a different reality through the presentation of information and to hopefully turn that information into knowledge.  There is a process that connects thinking to design to develop impactful, visual journeys.

Thinking Skills

Thinking occurs best in environments that engage the senses. Information is just the starting point. The object of thinking is about moving from information to knowledge.

Thinking is an art form and when consistently practiced creates the largest business advantage available. Thinking allows you to model the world and represent it terms and concepts meaningful to you. It allows you to see the whole by understanding its parts.
Great thinking creates unlimited potential!

  • INTUITIVE THINKING: Your ability to “thin slice” an answer is based on your experience, NOT your age. Quick answers have value.
  • CRITICAL THINKING: This is about creating a “process.” Critical thinking is time sensitive so slow down. Seeing plays a key role in this type of thinking. The next step is to learn to simplify.
  • STRATEGIC THINKING: Think about a process of examine, organize and decide. Strategist make DECISIONS and they use this process. Value drives the final choice.
  • CREATIVE THINKING: The creative process can open doors and create opportunity. Creative thinking is about developing multiple answers that are designed around potential.
  • PLANNING: Ideas only move forward with a sense of a focused tomorrow.

The story of any organization is the core of its identity, yet surprisingly most don’t know how to frame the story to create a powerful impact.  Traditions is a very specific approach to crafting the history of any company to create a rich and influential tool to connect sales to a greater audience.

Building The Rich History Of Your Company

Traditions Learning is the brain child of creative genius Walt Disney.

Walt believed everyone associated with the Disney Company should know how the various and constantly evolving pieces of the organization had their beginnings, what they did and what they meant to the success of a shared experience.  What values formed their foundation of accomplishment?  How was the company structured?  Who are the key people and what was their vision?  How did all this happen?

Walt wanted them to know the “traditions” that built the Disney story.

If every team member started their particular job with this basic knowledge, Walt felt he would be miles ahead in his task of providing the finest level of service the world has ever known.

Traditions offers you the ability to create, teach and live the story of your organization.  A story that every player in your organization should know and be able to replicate.  A story that provides a starting point that opens the door to your unique culture.

Traditions is a systemic approach to:

  • Gathering the information to formulate the story.
  • The creation of the dynamic company story.
  • A variety of delivery tools of delivery including:
  • Educational classes that become part of orientation so that each team member can   begin their employment experience embedded in the companies culture.
  • Educational classes so the story is integrated into the sales culture, creating a dynamic connection between your clients and your company.
  • Rich Media, including video, newsletters, HTML templates.

The Potential of Taking ONE Impactful Step

The idea is a simple one;  plan a significant and impact strategy that has one, single, step, a step that moves any existing model one level above the current reality.  By a strategic attack on a raising the entire goal one level you can focus resources, engage everyone and make significant movement towards separating and differentiating yourself in a crowded and ever more competitive market.

The ONE LEVEL ABOVE strategic platform takes advantage of the high level of engagement found in a single focused goal, a goal focuses on the impact at hand.

The ONE LEVEL ABOVE strategy creates a model that constantly pushes your horizon.

Once your impact steps are “in play” your horizon or current is ever pushing forward, expanding your potential and creating new realities, realities open to the next single powerful step.

By connecting a series of steps that follow the accomplishment of the previous idea you create a model of constant forward movement.

The model consists of:

  • REALITY MAPPING:  The first step is to apply the mapping template to your goal.  The result is a firm understanding of your “current reality”.  This forms the starting point for the discovering the various opportunities for a focused step forward.  Everything starts with current reality.
  • THE CREATION OF SMALL STEPS:  The next step is to look for opportunities to connect impact, steps that raise the level of performance.  The key is to take only one small step at a time.  Focus your attention on the impact at hand.  Allow the change to take hold within the model.
  • PUSHING THE HORIZON:  The One Level Above strategy creates a model that constantly pushes the horizon.  Once your impact steps are “in play” your horizon or current reality is pushed forward.  Though the model moves your performance upward, you need to have a solid idea of where your horizon is.  This step connects your reality to your upward steps by keeping the big picture in constant view.

Areas of expertise

  • Building Dynamic Organizations
  • The Art & Science of Top Producers
  • Developing Leaders
  • Turning Ideas into Profit
  • One Level Above
  • Crafting a Powerful Story
  • Effective Communication
  • Implementing The Repeatable Successful Acts of Top Producers
  • Move from Ordinary to Extraordinary
© 2023 Ro Morrison & Assoc.