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IN A HURRY?
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A PERSONAL NOTE FROM STEFHi, Welcome to my personal page. Here, I’ll explain to you what it is that I do. I’ll avoid the use of superfluous adjectives. And I’ll be honest. So I won’t over-state my competencies. That said, let me start with this: sad as it may be, I am not the World’s #1 Speaker. Never was. Never will be. I’m not the World’s #1 anything. And won’t claim to be either. Here’s something interesting... I just did a Google search for “worlds number one speaker”... and got 6,420,000 results (same phrase, using “world’s”, in place of “worlds”, gets a meagre 1,760,000). Don’t believe me? Try for yourself – click here! Mind you, I was once credited with being “The World’s #1 Dad”. It was on Father’s Day... a long time ago. Jessi said so. Well, actually, Hallmark did. If truth be told, she has changed her mind back and forth a few times since... she’s almost 20 now. Just so you know, she get’s straight A’s, is a qualified rescue diver, Miss Johannesburg 2008, and was nominated to attend the Global Youth Leadership Conference in NY. And, while I still have your attention, her sister, Dani, now in her early 20’s once referred to me as “The Smartest Dad She Knows”. This is a more credible claim than Jessi’s... it was just last year after we sorted out something really important. She aint too shabby herself... full-house “A” university student – literally top-of-her-class. Under duress, she also qualified as a diver – although she dives only in tepid, smooth-as-a-mirror crystal clear, very shallow water... and then only on tropical islands, and only on the three most sunny days of the year. We never know which exact three days of the year this is... so she doesn’t dive all that often. But on dry ground, her feet are very firmly on it... even after her gap-year waitressing in London. And their mom, Maureen, assured me not so long ago that I was, her undisputed “#1”. I was leaving home way before sunrise to catch a plane somewhere. I was nervous... it was my first speech after not working for four months. I’d stayed home with her all that time... because she needed me there. After sustaining career-threatening injuries when she was run down by a reckless driver. Anyway, she is pretty smart too. She chose me – now aint that smart! Twenty-five or so years ago. When I was an uneducated, minimum-wage labourer... and she a qualified medical doctor. Others scoffed. She stuck it out. Some scoff no longer. Read our oh-so-cute-fairy-tale-story here... Where were we? Oh yes... me not being the World’s #1 Speaker. And I said I wouldn’t become that, either. Nor do I want the tile. Not so much because I am without ambition. In part, because it’s a steep ladder to climb... there are bunches of really, really good speakers out there. Many of them now belong the National Speakers Association of South Africa, which I founded - go there now to search for some of them. Or click here to meet a few of my very closest friends – among them some of the very finest speakers in the whole wide world – all of whom I respect and admire. Book them without hesitation! Anyway, another reason why I don’t lose any sleep toiling over my pursuit of the elusive “#1 Title” is because I don’t define myself through my role as a speaker. Speaking is just what I do... who I am is something else. But, in spite of not being at the very top of the Global Speaker’s Listing, all indications are that I’m still pretty good at it. I get invited back a lot... and my business is built entirely on repeats and referrals. Some clients have contracted me to run in-house programmes for as long as a decade. And on the odd occasion global companies have employed me to work with all of their people... globally. I’m a captivating presenter, and I have good content. So say the tens-of-thousands of delegates who have attended any of my keynote presentation at any one of the hundreds of conferences I have spoken at around the world... often, I’m often rated the top speaker at events. And my material works... according to hundreds and hundreds of people who have attended any of the many, many in-house workshop that I have conducted for any of my very, very long list of clients globally over the past 15 years or so. My stuff isn’t all talk. I have been a leader, have built more than one successful business, have a Masters Degree in leadership, and have worked with executive groups from blue-chip companies around for more than a decade now. And with their followers at all levels. Across a host of industries. In many countries. And the bulk of my programmes and courses were developed under the auspices of, and are endorsed by, the University of Johannesburg - one of South Africa’s leading academic institutions. I also have the respect of my peers. Probably not all of them... but a fair chunk of them. I know this, because a while back I was the recipient of a peer-voted Lifetime Achievement Award for Professional Speaking. It was a really, really a cool experience, and rated quite high on my all-time list. World’s #1 Speaker? No. Good value for money... solid and dependable... and results-driven? Yes. Most definitely. According to these clients, anyway... click here to see what they have to say... And here is a partial list of my clients. Or go here for comprehensive case studies and overviews of my programmes... click here. Now add to this my partnership with Australian-based Steve Simpson, and my association with the team from Stef du Plessis and Associates... and we’re good to go! I was saying that I do not define myself through my role of speaking. Rather, I define myself through my attempts at “husbandry and fatherhood”. And through my pursuit of trying to be a decent human being. Nope, I have not mastered any of these roles – I said I was trying. There. You now know all you need to know of me. Personal and professional. But, if you want to know more... scroll down. I’ll share with you what I get up to as a keynote speaker, people development practitioner and corporate culture-by-design facilitator. If there is anything you need that isn’t here, just ask.
Kind regards
STEF THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND WORKSHOP LEADERStef has delivered more than 2,500 paid presentations on self-mastery and coping with change, leadership, and corporate culture across five continents over the past decade. He is a powerful, high-energy presenter who is always humorous and entertaining... and he is a captivating corporate storyteller. But don’t be mislead by this... he has a truly uncanny ability to touch on the very core of our being. Really. Backed by a Masters Degree (M.Phil in personal and professional leadership), his presentations are rich in content. He has lectured on post graduate leadership programmes, and run workshops for university professors. Stef du Plessis is more than just talk. He has been a leader... in a number of roles. Most notably as the decorated commander of an elite Parachute Battalion, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has lead men into combat, in that old fashioned way... from the front. And they followed. He has built two successful businesses – the one, an award winning financial services brokerage. The other, a global people development business, which won, and delivered on, some pretty impressive global contracts. And he has worked with executive groups from blue-chip companies for more than a decade now. And with their followers at all levels. Across a host of industries. In many countries. All of this translates as follows: Stef’s presentations are jam-packed with real-world know-how, backed by solid academic content and rich experience... thus equipping his audience with tried and tested tips, tools and techniques ready for immediate application. That’s why delegates consistently rate him as the top speaker at conferences, and why they describe his presentations as refreshing, unique, and captivating. Stef often gets comments that his presentations are “life changing” – but he pays no attention to this... because he knows just how tough real life-changes are. And it takes more than a talk to change a life. But he frequently bumps into a past attendee on planes and street corners... sometime years after the event... and they always tell him that they still remember – and implement – some of what he had to say. And that’s why clients book him. He’s dependable. He has been there, on time and on form, every time. All, except one. That’s why meeting planners and bureaus love working with him. Stef has spoken at the Million Dollar Round Table. Twice... first as a break-out presenter in 1999... which lead to him being invited back as a main platform keynote speaker in 2004. The MDRT is the world’s premier association for financial professionals, with more than 28,000 members from 70 nations... and it’s annual convention, attended by as many as 10,000 delegates from around the globe, and is arguably the world's most coveted platform for professional speakers. Here, speakers are translated simultaneously into 17 languages... more than at the United Nations general assembly! To state the blatantly obvious: only a very select handful of speakers in the world can boast an invitation to speak at the MDRT – very few ever get invited back. To date, Stef is one of only two South African full-time professional speaker ever to be invited to speak at the MDRT... the other being Prof. Marius Barnard who was a part of the world’s first heart-transplant team.
Stef is the founder, and was the first president, of the National Speakers Association of South Africa. And he has addressed his peers at annual conventions of most of the member nations of the International Federation for Professional Speakers. No wonder he enjoys the respect of his peers. Here’s proof: He has been the recipient of a peer-voted Lifetime Achievement Award for Professional Speaking. And he was the first recipient of the NSASA Founders Award – the most prestigious industry award for speakers in South Africa.
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STEF THE FACILITATORAs a strategic facilitator, he has worked with the executive teams of a number of household-name companies from around the world... and his track record is littered with their success stories... As a mediating facilitator his deep sensitivity and almost uncanny insight, together with the knack to use the appropriate humour in just the right dose at just the right time gives him a remarkable ability to defuse potentially explosive situations and find common ground, in the pursuit of true collaboration. His impeccable credibility means that he is in high demand with both management and organised labour alike.
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STEF THE TEAMBUILDERStef transforms workgroups into closely-knit, high performance teams, able to achieve common goals, built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect. Skillfully creating a non-threatening environment, he helps teams to discover whether they are pulling together or pulling apart. Working with Stef, teams learn about the theory of teams and teamwork; identify common goals; discover single-minded purpose; and they will design an actionable game plan. Team members will gain better personal insight, get to know and understand each other better, and they will allocate Team Positions through role clarification. They will have fun while being equipped with Team Tools - learning how to cash in on change; communicate more effectively; make better decisions; solve problems and get things done; deal with conflict in a constructive manner, and benefit from diversity. Stef can work with teams at any level of the organisation, and with teams of any size.
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CORPORATE CULTURE-BY-DESIGN UGRs® PROGRAMMESStef’s closest strategic alliance is his partnership with Australian based Steve Simpson, founder and current CEO, of Keystone Management Services. Steve, Like Stef, is an international consultant, speaker and author. He is also the creator of the “Unwritten Ground Rules”, or “UGRs®” concept, which over the past few years has helped many organisations across the world to facilitate significant shifts in organisational culture. A comprehensive range of UGRs® tools and processes have now been developed to improve on - and even manage - organisational culture, based on world-first research by the University of Western Australia and Curtin University of Technology, who joined forces with Keystone Management Services to undertake ground-breaking research to further explore the power of UGRs®, and to demonstrate how they impact in a fundamental way on delivery and outputs of every organisation. UGRs® interventions help organisations to understand and manage their culture, towards achieving a true culture-by-design that will secure their success into the future while making theirs the best place to be for all stakeholders. Their largest-scale UGRs® culture-by-design intervention to date (starting in 2006) is across the international operations of Gold Fields Limited (GFL), a global precious metals mining company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and one of the world’s biggest gold producers, with operations throughout Africa, Australia, and South America. In fact, this just might be one of the biggest organisational culture transformation interventions in the world.
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STEF DU PLESSIS AND ASSOCIATESDuring the mid-90’s, Stef brought together a remarkable group of people development specialists under the banner of SdP&A. The team is made up of a core group of about ten independent associates, a number of whom are published authors. While minimum qualification on the team is a Masters Degree in behavioural sciences, about half the team hold a PhD, in addition to which there are two professors associated with the team. They help client-companies to achieve, and maintain a competitive advantage by facilitating higher levels of personal effectiveness, inspired leadership, and cohesive teamwork at all levels. Stef and his associates have worked with governments; educational institutions ranging from schools to universities; and with companies from a host of sectors and of all sizes... within the healthcare industry, from pharmaceuticals to hospitals; extensively in mining; and in industry and even agriculture. Also extensively within the franchising environment. Over the decade ending 2005, they worked successfully with a number of these organisations to facilitate change; improve safety; increase productivity and raise profitability by growing their people at all levels... often working across employee-groups of 5,000 to 15,000 people... and on occasion even across as many as 50,000 to 100,000 people. While all of the associates continue to practice independently under their respective banners, the team is still available for larger-scale projects. But advances in technology and Stef’s relentless focus on the development of e-resources has enabled him to create a new implementation model for these programmes that now see him achieve the same ends solo, without having to enlist the whole team. The new model sees client companies undertake licensed, self-managed in-house programmes that achieve the same results – if not better results... faster, more efficiently, with less strain on people and resources... and for far less money. So, while Stef could still muster the gang, it’s unlikely that the SdP&A team will ever again undertake a project that demands the same face-to-face facilitator-to-participant contact... and therefore, sadly, unlikely that the team will work together again as they did in earlier years. A closing comment: in their heyday, the SdP&A team was quite conceivably one of the highest qualified, most potent people development teams in the business. Anywhere in the world. If not so, then, at the very least, it’s pretty likely that some of their interventions have been the largest of their kind ever undertaken on the African continent. Definitely In Southern Africa... here’s proof: their work grabbed the attention of Thabo Mbeki himself, at the time the South African Head of State - who was so impressed with the “nation-building” potential of their programmes that he personally spent a day visiting one of their projects!
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