Sterling Bates

Vision:

Step Research integrates the power of technology and behavioral science (including psychology, sociology, neuroscience, anthropology, personality, economics, political science, customer research and communication studies) into people’s everyday lives.  This helps people to understand themselves and others, enhance communication and interaction, take proactive and positive action with others, encourage self-development and personal progress, and preserve a unique behavioral identity and privacy.

Step Research will foster and develop a variety of research and development opportunities to enhance the scientific fields and create products relating to the above; donate and provide additional free or at cost services to educational groups, institutions, and individuals.

Step Research Corporation

linkStep Research Corporation Website

Bio:

Interdisciplinary Strategist, Scientist and Mathematician: his Personal Story

Sterling started at Disney in information technology doing technical support in one of the most famous landmarks in America, the Magic Kingdom.  After a brief tour in the Y2K teams, he then moved to business intelligence (reporting strategies and executive dashboards) as the company-wide product manager.  He started as the only member of the team, but by the time he moved on it, had grown to over 15 people and he had spoken at the International Business Objects User Conference representing Disney. 

During his time working on all these technical projects, Sterling became convinced that the reasons most projects failed was not because of the technology, but because the people had not been properly accounted for. 

For personal development reasons and to understand the people around him, Sterling started pursing the world of psychological and personality typing.  After becoming certified in psychological exams, Sterling worked with organizational development and human resources briefly before making a major move within the company.  Sterling then spent three years with Disney marketing focused on marketing metrics, strategies and partnerships.  Finally, it was the right time and Sterling pursued full-time entrepreneurship. 

Sterling Bates has consulted since 1995 with Marketing, Organizational Development, Leadership Strategy and Psychometrics.  Sterling specializes in system thinking, understanding how different and diverse areas of a challenge impact each other, and how to steer clear through the problems.  In recent years, this has meant intimately understanding the world of online business and how it interacts with the customers, processes, and offline business integration.  He has worked with a wide variety of clients, both large and small, from entertainment companies and large online businesses to the Department of Homeland Security.  He has worked inside the Fortune 50 corporate world and with growing entrepreneurs. 

Recently, Sterling presented at APTi and personality psychology conferences on a variety of topics including "Working towards best fit", "Using technology to assist with client sessions", "Improving Romantic Relationships with personality psychology". 

Sterling is no stranger to working with non-profits.  As early as high school, he was donating time to the American Diabetes Association youth camps for kids with Diabetes.  By 21, he was on the Kansas State Board of Directors and had visited congress speaking with then Minority Leader, Bob Dole, about needs of children with Diabetes and funding for research.  Over the years Sterling has worked with and helped a variety of organizations.  Since late 2011, Sterling has served on the executive Board of Directors for the International Association of Psychological Type. 

Finally, figuring out what he wanted to do with his life, Sterling created a broader corporate structure to support the holistic integration the interests that drive him.  Out of that was born Step Research, a Benefit Corporation (a combination between profit generation and non-profit goals) designed to support the difficult, but rewarding integration of all the core skill sets and interests Sterling had developed over the years.