Keisha A. Rivers Sees the Steps to Success – And Wants to Help You See Them, Too
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
“When I was a kid, I used to drive people bonkers with questions,” shares Keisha A. Rivers with a short laugh. “But, I was just so curious; I’ve always just been so curious.”
Turns out, that curiosity led Rivers’ to discover a true strength. {Continued below}
As Founder and Chief Outcome Facilitator for The KARS Group, Ltd., Rivers offers personal and professional strategic development services for individuals, small businesses, and larger organizations. She manages and facilitates the process by which clients not only see the big picture, but also understand the steps to achieve that big picture.
As we all know, those steps can sometimes feel challenging, daunting, and overwhelming.
“Over the course of my career, I’ve come to realize that not everyone thinks the way that I do,” Rivers says. “I’ve come to realize my ability to see those steps clearly and help people get from here to where they want to be, is a real strength of mine.”
“My goal in all this is legacy building,” she says. “if you’re [a client of mine] and you’re able to realize and achieve your big dream because I helped you see the steps to get there, then just think about all these people you’ll be able to impact because of that. Being a part of that is really special to me.”
Rivers’ professional journey was forged by her innate curiosity about life and learning; it was also shaped by an important, aha! moment she experienced while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at The University of Pennsylvania.
“I took a class in children’s literature my junior year of college, and I remember thinking, ‘I want to do this,’” Rivers recalls. “So, to the surprise of a lot of people – including my mom – I switched my major from Marketing to Elementary Education.”
Following graduation from Penn, Rivers went on to pursue graduate work at the University of New Orleans in Curriculum and Instruction with a Concentration in Leadership and Development. Her academic experiences at both the undergraduate and graduate levels became a solid foundation for a career in education – or so she thought.
As much as Rivers enjoyed teaching and working with students, there was something always something else on her mind – something bigger.
“I was teaching, but I was always thinking bigger; thinking things like how to expand what we were doing grade-wide or school-wide,” she shares. “I was always curious as to how we could take whatever we were working on, just make it bigger. My mind was just always working that way.”
That thought process eventually led Rivers to leave education in order to pursue what she does today – manage a unique cross-section of education and business that provides her the opportunity to stay curious and keep learning, but also support others in seeing a goal and getting there.
“Over the course of my career, I’ve come to realize that not everyone thinks the way that I do,” Rivers says. “I’ve come to realize my ability to see those steps clearly and help people get from here to where they want to be, is a real strength of mine.”
She launched the KARS Group, Ltd. in 2005, starting with corporate clients, many of whom proved difficult. “They just wanted [me] to come in and do something specific,” she shares. “They weren’t interested in the big picture and how it all flows together.”
Rivers pivoted strategically, shifting to work with small businesses. She eventually hit a sweet spot – working with new, fresh emerging businesses interested in establishing a business foundation and then laying the groundwork for a big picture strategy.
All these years later, it’s all come full circle. Corporations are reaching back out to Rivers.
“They’re now realizing that they need to teach, train, and develop their people with the big picture in mind,” she says. She’s clearly onto something.
Regardless of client size or scope, Rivers is uniquely aware that all this curiosity is really about so much more.
“My goal in all this is legacy building,” she says. “if you’re [a client of mine] and you’re able to realize and achieve your big dream because I helped you see the steps to get there, then just think about all these people you’ll be able to impact because of that. Being a part of that is really special to me.”
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Julia Murray, owner of Julia Fay Photography, feels most at home behind a camera with a story to tell on the other side. Her business began during her sophomore year of college, while majoring in radio and tv broadcasting. Now residing in Charlotte NC, she primarily shoots weddings and other local small businesses like her own. Her favorite part about her job is the connection it brings between art and people.
