Dennis Perkins | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

Dennis Perkins is Chief Executive Officer of The Syncretics Group, a firm devoted to effective leadership and teamwork in demanding environments. Dennis has studied leaders and teams facing conditions of extreme challenge – a place he calls The Edge – the outer limits of human endurance. Based on his research, Dennis has identified critical strategies that enable leaders and teams to reach their greatest potential in any challenging environment.

Dennis’ passion to understand The Edge has taken him to disparate places – to Antarctica, where he retraced the footsteps of famed explorer, Ernest Shackleton; and to Australia, where he sailed with the crew of the Midnight Rambler, winners of the challenging 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. He subsequently completed the 626 nautical-mile race, often called the Everest of offshore racing, as a crew member on a Volvo 60 racing boat.

Dr. Perkins has worked for over thirty years as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and teams in organizations ranging from Fortune 100 corporations to nonprofit associations. He is a highly, sought-after keynote speaker and an accomplished author. His riveting keynote presentations feature dramatic stories recounted in his best-selling books, Leading at The Edge and Into the Storm.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Dennis served as a Marine infantry officer in Vietnam. He subsequently received his MBA from Harvard University, and a PhD in psychology at The University of Michigan. Before he founded The Syncretics Group, Dennis was a faculty member at the Yale University School of Management.

Dr. Perkins has written extensively on leadership, teamwork and organizational effectiveness. He is the author of Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition; Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race. Managing Change: The Challenge of Building a New Organization; Racing through the Storm: Building Exceptional Teams in Extraordinary Times; and Using the Power of Resonant Metaphor to Increase Leadership Effectiveness.

Current position (1)

Leadership & Teamwork Expert, CEO

The Syncretics Group, Inc.

Presentations

Presentations (2)

Timeless Leadership Lessons from Shackleton's Epic Antarctic Expedition

My Leadership at The Edge presentation recounts the saga of legendary Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and his unparalleled feat of leadership.

On December 5, 1914, Shackleton and 27 men sailed from South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean aboard a wooden vessel named Endurance. They set out on a formidable mission: to be the first explorers to cross the Antarctic continent.

Forty five days after their departure, disaster struck. Endurance was beset by solid pack ice, and the expedition was trapped. For nearly two years, Shackleton and his crew were stranded in the icy sea. They endured unimaginable hardships: brutal cold, total darkness, aching thirst, gnawing hunger, constant danger, and utter desolation. Facing these challenges with astonishing good cheer, Shackleton and his crew returned, without loss of life, after 634 days in the Frozen South.

The program highlights the power of effective leadership & my Ten Critical Strategies for Success.

Critical Teamwork Lessons from the World's Toughest Ocean Races

My Teamwork at The Edge presentation recounts the contemporary story of the AFR Midnight Rambler, winners of the treacherous 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race.

This 723-mile, deep water challenge—often called the Everest of offshore ocean racing—is considered one of the toughest in the world. The 1998 race proved to be the most perilous in the race’s 61-year history. After battling mountainous waves and hurricane force winds, the diminutive 35-foot boat arrived safely. The Ramblers’ decision to head into the eye of the storm, along with their extraordinary tenacity, courage, and teamwork, enabled the crew to survive and triumph at The Edge.

This program uses the lens of distributed leadership to explore how team members can work together to survive and triumph against tough obstacles and fierce competition.