Meet the Convivio team: Steve Parks
CEO based in London
Very important information about Steve
Favourite healthy meal and favourite treat
My favourite kind of meal would be very ‘Convivio’, think of a Mediterranean spread of small dishes, with seafood and salads and cured meats and really really good bread — all enjoyed around a big table outside in the shade of a tree on a warm day.
My favourite treat — don’t laugh at this, I’m serious — is scooping up good hummus with chunks of red pepper or cucumber. I’d take that over chocolate or sweets any day.
One hobby you have and one you wish you had
My main hobby is writing. Years ago I wrote a series of books on entrepreneurship. Now I’m having a crack at a novel. In between I write short stories, articles, or Twitter threads (not to be knocked as a modern form of journalism.)
A hobby I wish I had is sailing. I kind of did it for a while, but lacked the time to really spend on learning properly rather than just having a go.
Favourite software you use at work and favourite software you use for fun
My favourite software at work is probably Slack, because it’s so easy to keep in touch with colleagues.
My favourite software for fun is Twitter. It’s a serendipity engine. I’ve discovered all sorts of books, films, music, events, magazines, and more that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise. And I’ve had so many interesting conversations that wouldn’t have happened without it. Yes, like anything involving large numbers of humans, there are problematic people and behaviours, but I focus on the good.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. Both strong and black.
Working from home… in your pyjamas or in outdoor clothes?
I generally prefer to get dressed in proper clothes, but there are definitely Fridays where it feels like a bit of laziness is in order and I start my day in my PJs :)
What do you bring to the Convivio table?
Apart from wine and whisky (I tend to order the booze for our retreats), I bring a lot of big mistakes. I’ve been running my own businesses since 1997 at the age of 25, and the hard learning from my mistakes over those years has helped create and steer Convivio to be a relatively healthy and successful business so far, staying fairly stable even in very turbulent waters.
What‘s your favourite part of working at Convivio?
Experimenting with different ways to work, collaborate and run a business. We don’t get it right all the time, but I love the fact we keep trying new things to keep evolving how we work.
And the biggest challenge?
Trying to find the right balance between freedom and experimentation, and keeping things organised and safe. It’s almost impossible to get it perfect, so we always wobble a little bit one way, then a little bit the other.
How do you feel about free range work?
I can’t imagine working any other way now. Being able to be flexible about the where, when, what and how of my work is really important to me, as is being able to carve out good time to learn and think rather than just do.
What are you reading/learning/exploring at the moment?
I’m exploring how strategy development, planning and day to day decision-making can be done more collaboratively and openly — so I’m doing lots of reading around that. I’m re-reading Reinventing Organisations by Frederic Laloux, have just read Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal, Collaboration by Morten Hansen, and lots of blogs and podcasts.
I’m also trying to figure out what the future looks like, and how our business can survive and hopefully thrive in it. How long will the pandemic last, in how many waves? What will that mean for what the public sector does? What will it mean for the economy? For this I’m regularly reading the FT and The Guardian, and a variety of other sources — plus keeping in touch with lots of people around the public sector and business communities to hear their insights.
