Michael Kerr
Life is too short to work in a soul-sucking workplace. That’s why Michael’s on a mission to turbo charge inspiring, happy, and humane workplace cultures that drive OUTRAGEOUS results.
Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame inductee Michael Kerr is an international business speaker, very funny motivational speaker, and workshop trainer. He’s also the author of 8 books including: The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take The Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace; The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank; and Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire: How to Recruit, Onboard, and Train New Employees to Live Your Culture Out Loud.
For more than 20 years, Michael has travelled the world researching, writing, and speaking about inspiring workplace cultures, inspiring leaders, and businesses that leverage their humor resources to drive outrageous results for their employees and their customers.
He is known as one of North America’s leading speakers on creating high-performing, service-first cultures. His high energy, hilarious, inspiring, and thought-provoking programs are often rated as having the greatest impact and relevance of any presentation at a conference, which is why Michael has been listed as one of Canada’s most requested business speakers.
Michael has delivered his captivating keynote presentations and training workshops to more than 3,000 audiences, from Austria to Australia, from Boston to Bermuda, from Cleveland to Calgary.
His presentations offer relevant, practical ideas delivered with his memorable brand of clean humor. “Inspiring,” “hilarious,” “energizing,” “fabulous ideas,” and “incredibly relevant and timely content,” are phrases clients repeatedly use to describe the impact of his presentations.
His ideas on building better workplace cultures have been featured in hundreds of publications worldwide, while his Inspiring Workplaces blog has been recognized as one of the top-30 workplace blogs in the world.
REASONS TO BOOK MICHAEL:
1 You don’t have to choose between relevant content and fun! Michael delivers relevant content in a highly engaging, energetic, and fun style. His sessions are seriously fun! (Or humorously serious?) Michael’s humor makes his messages extra “sticky” – so audiences are more likely to not only remember them, but to act on them!
2 Energize your event. Michael’s ability to energize and inspire audiences makes him the ideal speaker to kick off an event OR if you want to make sure people leave your event feeling energized with an inspiring, “feel-good,” memorable last impression, he’s also a great closer!
3 true professional. In fact, not only is he a Certified Speaking Professional, but he was also inducted into the Canadian Speakers Association Hall of Fame in 2008. What does being a professional speaker mean? It means Michael understands the importance of asking the right questions. He understands the importance of the basics: partnering with the audio-visual team, showing up early, delivering materials to meeting planners well before the deadline, adapting his presentation to last minute events or timing changes, and yes, finishing on time to ensure your schedule stays on track! It’s the small things and the small attention to detail that makes Michael a true professional.
4 Practical, inspiring examples from around the world. Audiences appreciate Michael’s depth of knowledge on workplace culture. And because he shares real-life examples from businesses around the world, audiences see that real changes in their own workplaces are possible and not just theoretical!
5 Tailored talks for the perfect fit. Michael tailors his messages, stories, and examples to your audience, ensuring that each presentation is as relevant as possible.
6 Laughing WITH people, never AT people. Michael practices “safe humor” so you never have to worry if the humor will be inappropriate for any audiences.
7 The critics are raving! Michael delivers, period. Check out Michael’s Rave Reviews that demonstrate the tremendous, long-lasting impact of his presentations over the past 20+ years.
8 Create a long-lasting impact. Michael’s presentations include follow up eResources, including handouts, articles, and eBooks – a tremendous value-added bonus that ensures his ideas and messages are taken back to the workplace.
9 More than just a one night stand! Michael also has a wealth of resources and options to help you succeed long after the presentation is over, such as:
- Preferred customer pricing for his online Culture Leadership Academy course/membership site
- A subscription to an ongoing series of follow up pre-recorded videos or virtual talks
- His weekly Inspiring Workplaces newsletter
- Books available at bulk discount for your entire organization
- Facilitating brainstorming sessions to help you turn ideas into action
- A very inspiring and active YouTube Channel featuring new videos every week
- One-on-one or group coaching for teams, leaders, and employees
9.5 Be dazzled by his signature moves! Although Michael is not a world champion ballroom dancer, he has some pretty fantastic moves that he can happily teach your audience.
If you want to leave your audience laughing, energized, and armed with relevant ideas they can immediately put into practice to make a real difference in the workplace, Michael’s the speaker for you!
Speech Topics
Michael’s Presentations
Inspiring Workplaces
How to Create a Dynamic, Collaborative, Service-First Culture that Drives OUTRAGEOUS Results
This presentation can be delivered as:
KEYNOTE WORKSHOP VIRTUAL
Your workplace culture is your #1 competitive advantage.
But here’s the rub. Great cultures don’t just happen! You can’t fake a great culture or buy your culture at IKEA.
You need to be intentional about your workplace culture. And you need to enlist everyone’s support to contribute to a purpose-driven, happier, more resilient, innovative, collaborative, and service-focused culture.
If you’re looking for a high-energy, humor-filled, idea-packed keynote or workshop that will leave your audience inspired, energized, and excited about ideas they can bring back to their workplace that will make a lasting change, then this may be the presentation you were looking for – and if not, keep reading, there’s more topics to follow!
- Why work matters! It’s far more than just a paycheck!
- The attitude choice we all make every day that contributes to a more positive workplace.
- How do you define your culture and does culture really eat strategy for breakfast? (Spoiler alert: Your culture seriously impacts every aspect of your business!)
- Leaders leading leaders: Why everyone in your workplace needs to step up and take personal responsibility for how they contribute to your culture (Fun fact: a study showed that some employee’s presence at work causes the rest of their teammates’ blood pressure to rise! We should probably talk about that.)
- Valuing your values: Actions speak louder than words and talk is cheap! How great companies live their values out loud and treat them as lines in the sand.
- Creating a purpose-driven culture: Connecting employees to the most powerful and influential motivator there is.
- Communication is everything and everything is communication: Busting silos, strengthening collaboration, creating space for meaningful conversations, and getting your meetings right!
- Money isn’t always honey! Creating a “want to” vs. a “have to” workplace that truly engages employees and turns lifelong employees into loyal, raving fans (there’s a huge difference between the two).
- Creating a service-first culture: Why phenomenal customer service starts on the inside and why some of your most important customers are also known as your teammates.
- Work is hard enough as it is without making it any harder! Why great organizations embrace a spirit of fun and how humor both creates more humane, resilient cultures, and reflects humane, resilient cultures.
- Keeping the culture message alive. You don’t build a rocking culture through a 1 or 10 times a year event. Get ready to walk away with inspiring ideas that will keep your culture conversation alive.
This presentation is geared for all employees, at any level, of any organization.
If you want to leave your audience laughing, energized, and armed with relevant ideas they can immediately put into practice to make a real difference in your workplace, this talk is for you!
Leaders Leading Leaders
Great Cultures Begin With Intentional Leadership From the Top
This presentation can be delivered as:
KEYNOTE WORKSHOP VIRTUAL
Great workplace cultures don’t happen by accident, and they don’t happen without intentional leadership.
Michael uses the term ‘intentional,’ well, intentionally. He’s interviewed 100s of leaders around the world, and inspiring leaders tell me time and again that the key to their success as a leader starts by simply being more intentional about being a leader.
Which means knowing there’s a difference between being a manager or boss and being a leader. Being intentional means consciously making decisions and choices about your attitude and behaviors that reflect and demonstrate real leadership.
Intentional leadership is about creating more leaders at work, not more followers, which is why so many high-achieving organizations embrace the mantra “we are leaders leading leaders.”
- Culture leadership: The critical role leaders play in shaping culture (as he shares with your audience, everything a leader does either builds or detracts from your culture).
- Leading with laughter: Why so many effective leaders embrace a spirit of humility and humor.
This keynote or workshop is for employees who are in managerial or supervisory roles, however, there’s also a “frontline leadership” version that focuses on instilling an attitude of personal accountability and leadership in your frontline employees who have no supervisory responsibility. So Michael has you covered either way! For the frontline leadership version, please hop on over to The Jerk-Free Workplace presentation.
Key messages for Leaders Leading Leaders:
- Why YOUR leadership matters. And not just to your company, but to your family and your own success and well-being.
- The leadership mindset: The 6 key differences between being “the boss” and being a leader that makes a real difference.
- Leadership isn’t about what’s on your business card, it’s about who you are being at work. (Fun fact: If you saw the messages outlined in my Inspiring Workplaces presentation, the blood pressure study was really talking about senior managers!)
- Leadership is people-centered, it’s not about “the stuff.” (Spoiler alert: No one wants to be managed, but employees are hungry for inspiring leadership).
- Leading change at work: How effective leaders embody a continuous improvement mindset that embraces change.
- Breaking down silos: Why leaders must think about what’s best for the entire organization and work across departments.
- What if it IS my fault? Being accountable and taking responsibility as a leader.
- Leading cultures: Why leaders must take on the role of culture champions.
- Leading on purpose: Why we need less vision statements, more visionaries.
- The power of values: How to value your values and live them out loud.
- Leading conversations: Why inspiring leaders have less meetings and more meaningful conversations.
- Well, this is awkward! Frameworks for mastering challenging, uncomfortable conversations.
- The power of purpose, pride and progress: Free your employees to be their best.
- Leading with laughter: How so many great leaders use their sense of humor to build trust at work, strengthen relationships, and boost morale. (And no, you don’t have to become a stand up comedian.)
This presentation is geared for anyone in a supervisory or management role including seasoned leaders, unseasoned leaders, leaders who have lost their mojo, leaders who are bored of being leaders, and every leader in between.
THE BOOK ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TALK…
The Jerk-Free Workplace
How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace
“An uplifting reminder that anyone can take the lead at work to create a happier, more collaborative workplace. The Jerk-Free Workplace should be required reading for every employee!”
Ron Friedman, Ph.D, author of The Best Place to Work
The Jerk-Free Workplace is for anyone who wants to be happier at work.
It’s about front-line leadership – the idea that anyone can become a leader at work regardless of what position they hold on the corporate food chain.
The Jerk-Free Workplace offers up ideas on how to…
- Prevent jerk-like behaviors
- Embrace a more resilient, positive attitude
- Develop a leadership mindset
- Have difficult conversations
- Stand out with your customer service
- Create a more fun work environment
This book is intended for employees at all levels – from frontline employees to senior leaders. It’s for anyone who wants to be happier at work, more successful in their career, and make a real impact on their workplace.
TESTIMONIALS