Business - Big Idea Speakers

Michele Payn

15 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Michele Payn personifies passion. Known as one of North America’s leading farm and food advocates, she serves as a resource for people interested in connecting the people and science of food and agriculture. Michele encourages all of her clients and audiences to connect with people’s hot buttons and speak their language – whether it’s building a connection between farm gate and food plate, developing corporate sponsorships or growing advocacy.

Widely known as a “change agent,” Michele delivers advocacy training programs and motivational keynotes to empower organizations to build connected communities; and she measures success in conversations around the food plate by people who are willing to reach out to help make their cause matter.

Videos

Biography

Utilizing her diverse professional experience in the agricultural, sales and not-for-profit sectors, Michele founded Cause Matters Corp., a company designed to build connections around the food plate, in 2001. Cause Matters Corp. focuses on sharing agriculture’s story, science communication, social media strategy and growing a food movement. In each of these core areas, MPK helps organizations clearly identify issues, understand their audience and connect solutions. Michele’s goal is to help you communicate “why your cause matters” – whether you’re a scientist, foodie or in agribusiness.

Agriculture advocate. Science enthusiast.

She knows agriculture because she lives agriculture. She holds degrees in Agricultural Communications and Animal Science from Michigan State University, where she saw science come to life firsthand as a student worker in the animal reproductive physiology laboratory. Michele is past president of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Association and had the impact of her work featured in a Spartan Saga. Career highlights include a Regional Directorship for the National FFA Foundation, where she sold over $5 million in corporate sponsorships and led campaigns to develop community support for various Foundation expansions. She has also marketed and sold dairy genetics to more than 25 countries, managed e-business accounts and presented training programs in developing countries. Michele still holds her firsthand farm and science experience as the best contributor to her work.

Speech Topics

Translating Farm to Food

How can you move beyond advocacy?

Have you looked into agriculture’s future? Who will be making decisions about how farmers are allowed to take care of our land and animals? Not agriculture, if we can’t learn to meet at the intersection of farm and food. Sharing your farm, ranch, or agribusiness story is great, but it’s time to go beyond advocacy. Do you have what it takes to translate today’s agriculture to grocery shoppers?

Michele just completed her second book, Food Truths from Farm to Table: 25 Surprising Ways to Shop & Eat Without Guilt. The book addresses myths throughout the grocery store to bring clarity and common sense to the food conversation. She embedded 25 food truths throughout the book to translate how food is grown, why modern practices are used and how marketing is misleading food buyers. The book includes stories of 50+ contributors to translate the science of today’s agriculture on a human level.

All can benefit from taking their skills to another level. Advocacy and telling a story are wonderful but can be rather one-sided. Translating what happens on today’s farms and ranches is key to connecting at a heart level. This eye-opening keynote or training will help your audience learn:

Tips to distill technical issues such as animal welfare, GMOs, antibiotics, food safety, pesticides and hormones into simpler conversations.
Techniques to translate the complex business of growing food, fuel, feed and fiber in real-life communications.
Advanced methods to communicate why food is grown the right way by the right people for the right reasons.
Leadership skills in the conversation around farm and food as a best business practice.
Ways to easily integrate these skills across social media channels.

Authentically Agriculture: Connecting on a Human Level

Agriculture isn’t just your work, it’s who you are.

Or is it? Now is the time to translate the agriculture world to the non-ag folks and YOU are the one to do it. It’s also time for us to take responsibility for not communicating about what’s happening on today’s farms and ranches – which means we must relate as humans.

You have the opportunity to connect on common values, regardless of who is on the other side of the conversation. MP’s new program is filled with examples of standing in 100% authenticity for agriculture. She’ll help you find a way to “go beyond the choir” and connect with people who can still be influenced through conversation. Michele’s “agversations” with moms, CEOs, children and media come to life with her humorous look at agriculture’s messages. This program will show you how to:

Connect on common values – shared interests and results
Provoke interest and let others learn from your personal experiences and stories
Create “agversations” with those within and out of the agriculture to spread your message
Share what is happening on today’s farms
Discover how to be casual yet influential in conversation rather than defensive
Help others understand the importance of ag issues –become more comfortable discussing issues with others
Interpret the journey from farm to plate with your own stories
Learn how Michele talks about ag issues to non-aggies comfortably, meaningfully so you too can become a compelling storyteller

Audience members will be inspired to take a hard look at “who am I”, consider “what does that mean to others” and then take actionable steps through “how do I translate agriculture to something meaningful for others.” Michele is known for lighting a fire under farmers, ranchers and agribusiness people – this program is designed to help your meeting attendees understand how to relate on a personal basis, as one human to another.

Learn from Michele’s experiences discussing food, fuel, feed and fiber with parents, foodies, influencers, international audiences, friends and nutrition professionals. She’ll give you freedom to be authentic even when you’re not “talking shop” with people who share your same background. MPK is often asked “How can I be in a situation that’s unrelated to agriculture and still share my message?” This memorable program gives the answers – and grows your comfort level, confidence, and clarity.

Typical audience outcomes:

Use your strengths to comfortably reach beyond the choir
Find more voices in a bigger, more robust conversation about agriculture
Identify new tools that allow you to practice the conversation with a variety of non-ag people
Gain confidence in high risk situations to deliver results

When you’re ready to allow people the opportunity to connect on a human level,contact MPK to help you translate farming to food in a meaningful way.

Celebrating Agriculture Keynote

Celebrate the People, Promise and Passion of Agriculture

When you’re ready to stand up andcelebrate the people, promise and passion in our business,bring Michele to your meeting. You will laugh and cry while celebrating work from the farm gate to the consumer plate. Fill your room with energy and unmatched passion for the agrifood business– MP is known for lighting up audiences and leaving an imprint on their heart.

Michele’s keynote is filled with poignant moments from her life on the farm, lessons from working with farmers from over 25 countries and how to really make a connection that impacts the future of agriculture. She’ll even incorporate kickboxing moves and throw in audience humor as they join her on stage. This memorable keynote will help you understandhow to lead through the significant changes facing agriculture in the 21st century and leave a legacy for your business.

When you attend Celebrating Agriculturepresentation, you will:

Consider thought leadership in the conversation about food, fiber, fuel and feed
Understand the necessity of proactive positioning for agriculture

Learn to leverage trust to protect your bottom line

Identify ways to more effectively connect with key influencers
Find the power of emotions in connecting with other humans

Outcomes:

Inspiration for agriculture from one of their own
Tools to better understand how to communicate about our business

Ways personal legacy can drive your leadership in agriculture

Grasp of speaking the same language as the 98.5% of the population not on a farm.

Not only will Michele’s lifelong passion and background in agriculture keep your audience on the edge of their seats, Michele’s interactive style gets them out their seat – both at your meeting and back at home.

Testimonials

With Michele’s guidance, our science community learned to make their science meaningful on a personal level. Thanks to Michele we are better prepared to have important conversations about agriculture and science.
Genome Prairie

The Agri-Business Council of Oregon hired Michele to present a keynote speech at our 2012 Annual Membership Meeting, as well as to facilitate a fundraising workshop with my Board of Directors. She did a fantastic job connecting with both audiences in a way that was entertaining, educational and functional. Her passion for agriculture is true to her heart, and you can see how much it means to her when she speaks. She was worth every penny.

Agri-Business Council of Oregon

Your “Celebrating Agriculture” presentation was very well received. Participants certainly benefitted from your experience to become a source of information to educate friends, neighbors, consumers, etc. about farming and speak up for the industry. Building relationships – one hour, once a week to champion agriculture was a great message to leave the group with. Your presentation was educational and informative!

COGA, British Columbia, Canada

Michele was Alpha Zeta’s keynote speaker at the National Agricultural Leadership Conference and also presented a workshop to the attendees. She did a phenomenal job. Not only was she engaging in her presentation style, but she also presented great information and ideas on how Alpha Zeta members can improve the perception of agriculture in a way that resonated with the students. Alpha Zeta hasn’t had a speaker like that in quite awhile.

Drake & Associates

Michele’s presentations “Championing Agriculture” and “Responding to the Rhetoric: Overcoming Activist Claims” were the highlight of our National Corn Grower’s Association (NCGA) meeting. Many of our attendees, which included state association staff and grower recruiters, came away from the meeting impressed and energetic about their industry. The six and one-half points to remember when championing agriculture resonated very well and are used by our attendees in their membership recruitment and community relations efforts.

Wow! Dynamic, enthusiastic, energetic right on target, and exemplary are just a few ways to describe Michele and her talents. The custom designed workshops and general session that Michele provided were incredible.
American Farm Bureau Federation

It is rare to have a person customize their efforts to our precise needs the way you do…I would have to recommend you to anyone that is really serious about strengthening his or her customer skills work with you. Your ability to identify needs and help a staff develop their own solutions is the best I have seen.

Eastern Michigan Grain

Thank you for touching our hearts, opening our minds and literally letting us kick up our heels.

Wisconsin Association of Fairs

Michele, your presentation on championing agriculture provided solid suggestions for how participants can approach the communications challenges they constantly face… you took an issue that’s very near and dear to their hearts, yet very general, and gave them practical steps and tools for creating high-impact messages for specific audiences.

Rob Saik

14 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

It’s been said that when it comes to Agricultural marketing, management, and technology integration, Rob Saik is “an educator, entrepreneur, innovator, visionary, consultant, advisor…” and more. Keynote speaker and author of the “The Agriculture Manifesto – 10 Key Drivers that will Shape Agriculture in the Next Decade”, as well as his latest book “Food 5.0: How We Feed The Future” Robert is truly an outspoken champion of agriculture, is also a “Distinguished Agrologist”, a Professional Agriculture Consultant, and a veteran entrepreneur; he has been hailed as an agriculture futurist with unparalleled insight into where the industry is headed.

He has leveraged these strengths to found over 15 companies in the areas of Farming, Agri-Retail, Distribution, Media and Ag Tech. He was the founder and CEO of The Agri-Trend/Agri-Data Group of Companies which was acquired by Trimble. He also served as CEO of DOT Technology Corp (Autonomous Farming) through the acquisition of DOT by Raven Industries.

Rob has given talks to agricultural groups and has visited farms all over the world, from Peru to Kazakhstan. As he highlighted in his TEDx Talk, Will Agriculture be ALLOWED to Feed 9 Billion People?, Rob is confident that agriculture can meet the challenges of providing global food security if the voices of reason and science are not drowned by the voices of fear. In his amazing talk, you will learn about apples that don’t go brown, about potatoes that don’t bruise, and about a modified strain of rice that can save malnourished children from going blind – as well as how artificial intelligence, precision agriculture, water conservation, sensor technology, satellites and data are all tools being implemented right now, on today’s “digital farm”. How is all this possible? Rob Saik’s keynote will share how, as the following list of global audiences has already found out:

Videos

Biography

ROBERT SAIK has forty years of experience as a Professional Agrologist, entrepreneur and an
international consultant who’s worked with a wide variety of agriculturalists from Nigeria’s
Minister of Agriculture to Bill Gates. He was one of only 3 private citizens to address the October
2020 FAO_UN High Level Special Event (Rome) organized by the Committee for World Food Security to
address agriculture sustainability.

His latest book, “FOOD 5.0 How We Feed the Future” is a pragmatic look at the five iterations of
agriculture, culminating in an examination of how technology convergence is reshaping the farm and
the consumer. Robert, an outspoken champion of agriculture, is a Distinguished Agrologist, Professional
Agriculture Consultant, a veteran entrepreneur and has been hailed as an agriculture futurist with
unparalleled insight into where the industry is headed. He has leveraged these strengths to found over 15 companies in the areas of Farming, Agri-Retail, Distribution, Media and Ag Tech. He was the founder and CEO of The Agri-Trend/Agri-Data Group of Companies which was acquired by Trimble. He also served as CEO of DOT Technology Corp (Autonomous Farming) through the acquisition of DOT by Raven Industries.
Robert is the founder and CEO of award-winning AGvisorPRO, a technology platform that connects
those seeking agriculture advice with trusted experts who can provide answers now. The goal is to
leverage knowledge to increase agriculture sustainability using AGvisorPRO to shrink time and
space.

Through Saik Management Group Inc he facilitates the PowerFARM peer group for progressive farmers.
His first book, “The Agriculture Manifesto – Ten Key Drivers That Will Shape Agriculture in the
Next Decade” was a 2014 Best of Amazon Books and this TEDx Talk “Will Agriculture be Allowed to
Feed 9 Billion People?” has been viewed over 170,000 times. Robert is a passionate keynote speaker
and is executive producer of the Know Ideas Media a science based multi-media company addressing
issues such as GMO’s and their use in food production.

He has financed both the Rob Saik Bar None Scholarship at the University of Alberta that provides
support for two rural first year students entering the faculty of agriculture and the Robert Saik
Ag Tech Award that supports two urban students entering the Ag Tech program at Olds College.
He serves on several Boards including the Canadian Agri-Food Autonomous Innovation Network (CAAIN)
as well as Proteum Energy. Rob is an advisor to Olds College, is a member of the A100 (Alberta Tech
Entrepreneur Network), a student of Strategic Coach and Singularity University and a member of
Abundance 360. As a partner in Perigro Venture Partners he participates in early-stage technology
investments.

He has been recognized for agriculture leadership by the Alberta Institute of Agrologists
(Provincial Distinguished Agrologist of the Year 2006) and in 2016 was awarded Canadian
Agri-Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association. In 2021 Robert was recognized
as one of Canada’s Top 50 Most Influential Agriculture Leaders and was named one of Canada’s Top 10 Ag Mentors.

Speech Topics

UNTIL WE HAVE STAR TREK TRANSPORTERS

How can we take the knowledge and wisdom of an Agrologist and stretch it thousands of miles or over
millions of acres? Well, all you need is a transporter…but wait, one does not exist … yet. However,
the one thing that COVID-19 has taught us is that we can use technology to shrink time and space in
brand new ways. The world has profoundly and forever changed. This will affect how PAg’s interact
with society and their clients. Rob will take us on a journey of what this technology “convergence”
means for our industry; We are going to look at how you can be on the farm, in the barn or in the
greenhouse without leaving your home…and he will share a new way to monetize your brain.
All this while we wait for the magic words “Beam me up Scotty”.

FOOD 5.0: How We Feed The Future

While denominations such as paleo, vegan, and organic debate which is “the way,” we’re ignoring a truth that affects us all: to support a population nearing 10 billion by 2050, agriculture must become infinitely sustainable.
To feed the world, we have to grow 10,000 years’ worth of food in the next thirty years, which means farmers worldwide must increase food production by 60 to 70 percent.

This book is about the small percentage of those “farmers of consequence” being called upon to grow the vast majority of the world’s staple food supply. While mighty in their ability, they need support from a general public that increasingly has no idea how they operate.

In Food 5.0, Robert Saik takes you on a journey from the “muscle era” of farming to a future where the convergence of new technologies like sensors, robotics, and machine learning make infinite sustainability achievable. With the veil lifted on modern agriculture practices, you’ll be inspired to contribute to a culture where farmers can adopt the science and tools they need to carry out their mission of feeding the planet.

THE AGRICULTURE MANIFESTO:

10 Key Drivers that will Shape Agriculture in the Next Decade

Agriculture is no longer Murray McGlaughlan’s “dusty old farmer bent over the tractor wheel” but a full-fledged modern business integrating all the tools available to it. We will look at how Science and Technology are being integrated with modern agricultural practices to provide society with a safe, reliable food supply in an environmentally sustainable manner AND we will look at some of the threats that could potentially erode our ability to feed the people on the planet. There are major technology currents pulling on all of humanity. We can choose to fight the current or be aware of their strength and swim in the same direction…and be ahead of the competition. Rob will take you on a quick journey showing how farmers are integrating technology to feed a growing world population. He will touch on exponentially, robotics, artificial intelligence, sensor integration, bio synthesis (GE and GMO), data systems and environment sustainability.

Finally, we will look at HOW we could integrate all these technologies to best serve our farmer customers through new business opportunities offered by our dealerships. And lastly, you will walk away with a sense that, in spite of what the media reports, things are actually pretty good and getting better all the time.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Managing Your Organization in Turbulent Times

Business, like sailing is constantly buffeted by “The Winds of Change”. The degree to which you can manage change really comes down to how well you read the wind, how well you have set your sails and how well you have trained your crew. Your industry has been buffeted by technology, disintermediation and new competition. How will you manage in these new turbulent waters? Do you know where you are headed? Is your course plotted? Do you know how to use the tools to ensure you arrive at your destination?

Drawing on his entrepreneurial and sailing experience as well as his over 22 years of enrollment in Strategic Coach (a coaching program for entrepreneurs). Rob will talk about ideas and tools you use to adjust your sails as you encounter obstacles and trials. During this session Rob will be introducing some tools for managing change and there will be some time for individual and group exercises. The goal would be for you to walk away with some practical insights as to how you can better manage your individual and business life. As a business leader, Rob will guarantee you will walk away with some actionable strategies while empowering and providing confidence to your team.

KNOW GMO: Will Agriculture be ALLOWED to Feed 9 Billion People?

As a professional agrologist who works with all types of farming operations, I am in a unique position to observe what is going on both in agriculture and society at large. I travel a lot, so I see things especially in urban markets…I am a techie, so I am in-touch with trends and I am connected to agriculture directly, providing me with a unique perspective on what constitutes the perception vs the reality of modern agriculture.
Since the dawn of agriculture, man has been genetically modifying plants and animals to better provide food. This technological evolution continues today in the form of Bio-Engineering.

There is a “disconnect” with what is going on at the farm; how technology is being used and what people “think” is going on at the farm. It’s time to change the conversation from NO GMO to KNOW GMO. It’s time to stop shouting and start listening. And it’s time we had an uplifting discussion about food.

Rob’s TedX Talk which was titled “Will Agriculture be ALLOWED to feed 9 Billion People?” would go hand in hand with his “KNOW GMO” presentation.

Dr. Robert Lustig

14 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Dr. Lustig is the author of the NY Times Bestseller “Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease”, and his YouTube speech video called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” has been viewed over 5 million times. His latest book, “The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains” gets into what any pleasure seeking is doing to us; not just the bad food.

Dr. Lustig’s keynote has many takeaways: You will learn why all calories are not created equal; you will learn, astonishingly, about the record rates of obesity (and childhood obesity!) we are now facing in North America, and how this came to be. Now, with his latest research, it seems that between the sugar, processed food and the new technology, we are addicted now not just in body, but in mind, too. Will they get our souls next? Have Dr. Lustig speak at your next event to find out…

Videos

Biography

Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL

Dr. Lustig is a Member of the Institute of Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, whose research focuses on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He is currently investigating the contribution of nutritional, neural, hormonal, and genetic influences in the expression of the current obesity epidemic and diabetes both in children and adults. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980, and his Masters of Studies of Law from UC Hastings College of the Law in 2013. Dr. Lustig is the past Chairman of the Ad hoc Obesity Task Force of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, a current member of the Obesity Task Force of The Endocrine Society, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association of the Bay Area. He is the author of many articles, chapters, and reviews on childhood obesity, including the academic volume “Obesity before birth”, and the popular books “Fat Chance: beating the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity, and disease” and “The Fat Chance Cookbook”. He is also President of The Institute for Responsible Nutrition, a non-profit dedicated to eradicating childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Robert H. Lustig is an American pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics.

Speech Topics

Processed food: an experiment that failed
Saving Social Security
The three myths of the food industry
The four myths underlying health care
Sugar: policy vs. politics
Sweetening the pot: rethinking investment around food
The case for societal action to reverse chronic disease
Healthy, wealthy, and wise? The consequences of the Western Diet
Darwin, diet, disease, and dollars
Corporate wealth or public health?
Sugar: the elephant in the kitchen

Speech Topics For Medical Professionals:

Sugar, metabolic syndrome, and cancer
Is sugar toxic beyond its calories?
What is metabolic syndrome, and why are children getting it?
Tooth decay and liver decay: What did the dentists know, and when did they know it?
Dietary factors, NAFLD, and metabolic syndrome
Why sugars hurt Asians more
Targeting insulin in obesity
Is diabesity due to a poison?
The neuroendocrinology of obesity
Sugar, hormones, and addiction

Erik Wahl

14 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

As an internationally recognized graffiti artist, and a #1 bestselling business author, Erik redefines the term “keynote speaker.”

Pulling from his history as both a business strategist and an artist, he has grown to become one of the most sought-after corporate speakers available today. Erik’s on-stage painting seamlessly becomes a visual metaphor to the core of his message, encouraging organizations toward profitability through innovations and superior levels of performance.

His list of clients includes AT&T, Disney, London School of Business, Microsoft, FedEx, Exxon Mobil, Ernst & Young, and XPrize; Erik has even been featured as aTEDpresenter. The responses received have been nothing short of incredible, with standing ovations to prove it. Be sure to call us today for booking information.

Videos

Biography

Erik Wahl is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur, Erik redefines the term “keynote speaker.” Pulling from his history as both a businessman and an artist, he has grown to become one of the most sought-after corporate speakers available today. Erik’s on-stage painting seamlessly becomes a visual metaphor to the core of his message, encouraging organizations toward profitability through innovations and superior levels of performance. His list of clients includes AT&T, Disney, London School of Business, Microsoft, FedEx, Exxon Mobil, Ernst & Young, and XPrize; Erik has even been featured as a TED presenter. The responses received have been nothing short of incredible, with standing ovations to prove it.

Erik’s understanding of vision was originally born in the school of disappointment. After a eight-year career as a partner in a corporate firm, he became frustrated by the lack of innovative thought and corresponding profits he saw in business. So he set out to challenge companies to change their way of thinking, while simultaneously pursuing his own individual passions. He rediscovered his love for art, and now plays in the business world by workingthrough his art.

In the past 10 years, he has shared his incredible message with the largest and most influential companies in the world, leaving behind his prized artwork as a reminder of his passion for breakthrough thinking. He’s the Warhol of Wall Street, the Renoir of ROI, the Picasso of Productivity, the Jobs of… well, having a Job.

He is Erik Wahl: graffiti artist, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Speech Topics

Only the dreamers who do and doers who dream will survive and thrive in the new world. If you are not thinking about disruption, complexity and continual innovation in your industry, then we’ve got news for you: You are ignoring a perilous gaping void, and if you don’t fill it, someone else will.

Technology and culture are in a state of continual flux, and today’s business demands an environment where innovation is not only welcomed, but required. So how can you keep up and instill a disciplined approach to innovation?

Erik Wahl, bestselling author, artist and one of the nation’s most in-demand keynote speakers. His new book and presentation, THE SPARK AND THE GRIND: IGNITE THE POWER OF DISCIPLINED CREATIVITY presents the yin and the yang of the creative process: How to create and maintain the flow of ideas, and how to execute them. The world is filled with dreamers and doers—but the only way things happen are when dreamers muster the mental tenacity and hard work, and when doers harness their innate creativity and flexibility.

Erik’s dynamic presentation explores the process of creativity and creation. Audiences are inspired to laughter, tears and always leave with a desire to unearth more meaning in their work and their lives, and the tools to find it.

In THE SPARK AND THE GRIND keynote, Erik:

Deconstructs the process and discipline necessary to realize the visions of master creators such as Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Delves into the science of innovation, and how to tap it for your own purposes
Drives home the importance of creative culture, regardless of industry, and how to harness it for individual and collective success.

The Art Of Vision®

The best sustainable edge in business is the ability to differentiate yourself from your competition. Through this entertaining and highly practical program, we will uncover new ways to make your organization more creative, innovative and profitable, but more so, help your employees see the need to become better storytellers within and for your company and industry.

By embracing innovative strategies, professionals at all levels can achieve superior levels of performance, by creatively and visibly differentiating themselves from the competition. No matter what kind of organization you have—from a small company to a large corporation—employees at all levels will better able to embrace the future by becoming more innovative, more productive and ultimately more profitable.

Organizational Excellence

Differentiation, Differentiation, Differentiation
Telling a Better Story
Outthinking the Competition

Embracing Change

Working Smarter, Not Harder
Sustaining Excellence in a Changing Economy
Leveraging Chaos to Capitalize on Opportunities

The Art of Leadership

As the business landscape continues to change, Leaders need to stay ahead of the game by fostering a steady stream of disruptive strategies and unexpected solutions to revive stagnant markets or completely reinvent the competitive dynamics of an industry. Disruptive thinking requires a culture of innovative leadership which can provide the framework and motivation to generate those strategies and execute those solutions. It is an essential skill for any business leader, from a small start-up to a global corporation, with the desire to transform organizational processes and behaviors

To thrive in this new era, organizations and institutions, executives and entrepreneurs need to rethink the habits that have made them successful in the past, and challenge the conventional wisdom and industry models that have defined their world. Through The Art of Leadership, Erik Wahl will make business leaders wonder, “Why haven’t we ever thought about our business and culture this way before?

Leadership

Creates Emotional Connections to drive future discretionary effort
Creates a Culture of Commitment
Creates innovative process and productivity

UNthink™

UNthink is the signature keynote experience from Erik’s bestselling book. It is dynamic multi media keynote experience specifically designed to challenge audiences to achieve superior levels of performance. It will inspire them to let go of their traditional thought patterns and better understand how to create disruptive strategies of innovation. Creativity is in all of us. We simply need to rediscover the keys that will unlock our untapped potential. Somehow we’ve come to believe that creativity is reserved for the chosen few- the poets, the painters, the writers. The truth is bigger and better than that. Creativity is in all of us. We simply need to rediscover the keys that will unlock our potential. UNthink is the keynote experience that will push members of your organization beyond their traditional thought patterns and habitual levels of performance. UNthink will inspire audiences to realize they are capable of so much more than they have been led to believe.

The UNthink program helps reframe your organization’s thinking so that new creative actions become possible. Learning how to UNthink will inject your daily grind with new passion, allowing employees to see how the organization wants and needs all of their talents and energies, not just the ones they’ve been using so far. You’ll begin the process of rethinking your life as a blank canvas of limitless opportunity on which to create your masterpiece.

This program will allow your organization to:

Step outside convention to discover new and unexpected solutions to business challenges
Challenge pre-conceived notions about what’s possible
UNthink your way to increased creativity, productivity and passion

Seth Mattison

14 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Seth Mattison is an internationally renowned expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics. As Founder and Chief Movement Officer of FutureSight Labs, Seth advises many of the world’s leading brand and organizations on the key shifts happening around talent management, change and innovation, leadership, and the future of work. He’s been rated one of the top speakers at every event he’s keynoted. Most importantly, his presentations combine three essential qualities: entertainment, information, and motivation. Recently named to the Editors’ Picks for Favorite Speakers by MeetingsNet, Seth’s presentations bring an entirely unexpected perspective on the future of work, talent, innovation, and the power of relationships. With a passion for helping to create greater understanding and collaboration in today’s workplace, Seth offers participants actionable content that can immediately impact business performance.

Video

New! Updated for 2024:

Biography

Seth is an internationally recognized thought leader, advisor, and top rated keynote speaker on talent management, change and innovation, digital transformation, leadership, and the future of work. His research, case studies, and thought leadership focus on inspiring audiences while sharing actionable strategies to drive meaningful outcomes for individuals and their organizations. He also coaches high performing leaders with practical, life-tested ideas, concepts, and frameworks to elevate their impact and create lasting legacies.

Over the past decade, Seth has shared his insights with thousands of business leaders around the globe for many of the world’s most recognizable brands including Mastercard, Johnson and Johnson, IBM, The Dallas Cowboys, AT&T, PepsiCo, GE Energy, E&Y, Caterpillar, and The Walt Disney Company, to name a few.

In addition to speaking, Seth is the founder and CEO of FutureSight Labs, an org design and transformation firm that supports many of the world’s most inspiring leaders by helping prepare themselves and their organizations for the future of work through research, training, advising, coaching, digital tools, and thought leadership.

Seth delivers presentations with specific take-away value that will help organizations:

Harness the power and perspective of their top talent
Tap into the hidden brainpower throughout the entire organization
Establish an ongoing system to nurture and harvest the best ideas
Learn how to adapt more quickly and proactively to changes in the marketplace
Foster a culture of stewardship of careers, capabilities, resources, the environment, and values

Seth knows that sitting through a boring or off-topic speech is utterly painful. So he keeps things edgy and interactive. He uses stories and humor extensively to craft presentations that are educational, motivational, and entertaining. But whenever he’s in front of a group, of twenty-five people or twenty-five hundred, he provides valuable and actionable information about the new world of work and what future focused leaders can do to prepare for it.

New! ALL Updated for 2024

The Human Advantage: The Strategy for Winning in the Age of Machines

As we find ourselves propelled into the age of artificial intelligence, it can be challenging not to think that tools will define our trades and machines will take much of our work. With every passing month, jobs are changing faster than people. For humans to thrive in this new era, we must reimagine our role and the value we create by connecting to the parts of our work that only we can do. Because, while machines might replicate the work, they’ll never reflect the soul. They might take tasks, but they can’t take heart. It’s here, we find our edge.

Leveraging our human advantage isn’t just about helping to connect to more meaningful work. It’s about helping our businesses stand out in a sea of AI sameness. It’s about connecting with the market on a level that algorithms can’t. It’s about being so uniquely human that customers can’t help but pay attention and employees can’t help but love their work. Let’s unleash the power of your people.

Key Takeaways

Embracing our Humanity: Tap into the irreplaceable aspects of human creativity, empathy, and emotional intelligence that drive meaningful work and innovation.
Differentiating Authentically: Stand out in the AI era by forging genuine, human connections to create standout customer experiences that algorithms can’t replicate.
Deepen Customer Connections: Go beyond digital to build personal human touchpoints to create a bond that feels authentic and irreplaceable.
Unleashing Workforce Potential: Foster a culture where passion, purpose, and personal investment are at the forefront, making every task and interaction distinctly human and impactful.

Made With Love: The Key Ingredient to Unlocking Competitive Advantage

In a world where societal disconnection, business uniformity, and AI-induced role uncertainty converge, we face a profound crisis: individuals feel isolated and purposeless, brands grapple to differentiate and stand out, and professionals fear the diminishing essence of their work and identity.

In the wake of these changes a new strategy emerges for humans and organizations to thrive by embracing our most unique and powerful human asset – love. Not romantic love, but love as an energetic force of creation, the innate desire to build, create, express, and innovate. To put love to work by creating brands, products, and experiences that deeply resonate with customers and employees.

Through captivating stories and actionable insights, we delve into a profound realization shared by high-performing groups: love is more than a feeling; it’s a tactical advantage. This isn’t about finding work you love; it’s about infusing love into the work you do, leveraging it as a force of innovation, a nurturing tool for expansion, and a guiding principle for decision-making.

Key Takeaways

Embracing Love Strategically: Learn to put love to work as a creative and strategic asset in your organization.
Innovating with Passion: Discover how infusing love into work can unlock creativity and resonate with customers and employees.
Differentiating Brands with Love: Leverage love to make your brand stand out and create meaningful customer experiences.
Decision-Making through Love: Apply a love-centric approach to enhance empathy and compassion in strategic choices.

Obsession: Building a Business and a Brand People Love

In a world where ‘good’ is no longer good enough, the magic happens when brands crack the code on going from being liked, to being loved, from being a choice to an obsession. This isn’t just business as usual; it’s about creating movements and crafting legacies where brands don’t just exist in the market, they live in the hearts of customers.

The journey is about making every transaction a story of transformation, kindling a fire of loyalty and passion in your audience by reflecting their innermost desires and values through your brand. Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword here; it’s the linchpin of this strategy, making each interaction not just memorable but transformative. The goal is to elevate your brand from a mere option in the marketplace to a symbol of devotion and obsession, resonating deeply and meaningfully with those it serves.

Key Takeaways:

Elevating Brand Experience: Transform your brand from just another option to an essential part of customers’ lives. It’s about creating experiences that resonate deeply, turning customers into passionate advocates.
Crafting Transformative Stories: Make every interaction a story of transformation. It’s about connecting your brand’s narrative with your customers’ desires and values, creating a powerful emotional bond.
Fostering Authentic Connections: Build authenticity into every aspect of your brand. Genuine, heartfelt engagements are key to moving from mere transactions to memorable, transformative experiences.
Igniting Customer Passion: Kindle a fire of loyalty and devotion in your audience. Aim to reflect and amplify their innermost desires through your brand, making it a symbol of their own values and aspirations.

Teams on Fire: Igniting High Performance Cultures

In a world of rapid transformation, hyper competition, and a labor market tighter than ever, leaders today face the difficult task of not only attracting and retaining great people but enabling those individuals to perform at their highest potential in and across teams.

But what sets apart the highly successful, resilient, and agile teams from the rest? Surprisingly, it’s not about individual team member’s skills, competencies or even potential. The secret to enabling high performance lies in leadership’s ability to foster the routines, rituals and habits that unlock connection, trust, belief, standards of excellence, and a compelling vision of the future.

Backed by two decades of research on the future of work, leadership and teams, this program will unpack the key drivers needed to help leaders create exceptional teams capable of delivery results and committed to the customer, the mission and each other.

Attendees will gain:

Insight on the new state of talent.

Actions for attracting and retaining top talent.

Strategies for unlocking connection and greater collaboration.

Perspective on the key drivers of high-performance.

The Heart of Leadership: Charting a New Course in a Changed World

In a world that’s rapidly evolving, understanding how to navigate the new landscape is crucial. We’re all aware of the change, but the real task is developing a future-ready strategy that’s attuned to the shifting expectations of customers and employees. This is an era calling for a shift in leadership focus – placing people and their needs at the forefront.

Traditional leadership models are becoming outdated amidst these changes. What’s needed now is a leadership style that’s as dynamic and adaptable as the environment we operate in. This new paradigm of leadership is about more than just management; it’s about forging genuine human connections, aligning teams around a shared vision, and cultivating a workplace where every individual is acknowledged and valued.

Key Takeaways:

Understanding Emotional Intelligence is Key: Learn how to ditch the old playbook and embrace emotional intelligence. It’s about listening, really listening, to your team and understanding what makes them tick.
Unlocking Fearless Freedom: When we create environments where people feel free to take shots, make mistakes, speak up, step back, and lean in, we unlock next level performance.
Recognizing Empowerment is the New Control: Discover how letting go is the new holding on. Empower your team to take the reins, make decisions, and drive outcomes. It’s about trust, and it’s about time.
Embracing Authenticity Above All: Learn how to lead with authenticity. Cut the corporate speak and connect with your team as real people. It’s about building trust, fostering genuine connections, and creating a culture where everyone can thrive.

Testimonials

You can see this latest testimonial spoken, it’s worth it: https://youtu.be/ZQZJESKcqB4

“Last Fall, in Nashville at our CEO Summit, we had Seth Mattison speak to our CEO leaders. I have done conventions for over 40 years. I have never met a plenary speaker who spends more time, more energy and more focus on an upcoming event than Seth. He absolutely hit a grand slam at our CEO Summit. He was so good, people said you have to have him back and you have to bring him to the National Convention. You should know that we have talked to Seth multiple times before this event because he wanted to know about you, about this event, about this sector. You’re never going to meet anybody who has more energy, more vision, more enthusiasm, more personality than this gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Seth Mattison.”

“You have probably heard speakers on the topic of generational differences in the workplace but Seth Mattison is by far the best. His presentation Rocking the Workplace: Managing and Leading the Four Generations skips over all the negative and annoying stereotypes (‘millennials have no loyalty, no work ethic’) and gets the audience fired up about the idea of getting along with four—soon to be five—generations at once. His presentation is fun and funny, energetic, and totally relatable. He manages to engage every member of the audience, which in most cases will span every generation, in an affectionate and endearing way.” – Betsy Blair, Director of Content and Media Integration, MeetingsNet

“Seth did a fantastic job keynoting for us at our FMI Supply Chain Conference. He was spot on with all aspects of his presentation and his “prep work” on the front end set it all up. He was one of the most prepared and engaged speakers I have ever worked with. I am not surprised this has translated into increased momentum. I hope you’re getting all the engagements you can handle.” -Rhett Asher, Food Marketing Institute

Eric O’Neill

14 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Eric is an accomplished public speaker and the inspiration behind the Universal Studios’ feature film, Breach. Eric is a security expert that lectures internationally about espionage and national security, cybersecurity, fraud, corporate diligence and defense, hacking, pursuing ones dreams and surviving Hollywood.

In February 2001, Eric helped capture the most notorious spy in United States history, Robert Phillip Hanssen. In the three months preceding Hanssen’s arrest, Eric was selected to work with the spy within the newly minted information assurance division, created to protect all classified FBI intelligence. Eric was charged with gaining Hanssen’s trust and then using that relationship to slowly draw the traitor out of deep cover. Eric’s investigative skill led to the arrest and ultimate conviction of the master spy.

Video

https://youtu.be/o7wChsKxaGY

Biography

Eric O’Neill is an attorney, security consultant and professional public speaker. In 2001, Eric helped capture the most notorious spy in United States history: Robert Hanssen, a 25 – year veteran of the FBI. The remarkable true events of his life are the in spiration behind the critically acclaimed dramatic thriller Breach, starring Ryan Philippe as O’Neill. The film is the story of the greatest security breach in US history.

Eric began his career in the FBI as a “Ghost” – an undercover field operative tasked to surveil and monitor foreign, national, and domestic terrorists and spies. During the Hanssen investigation, Eric worked directly undercover with the spy within the FBI’s Information Assurance Division – created to protect all classified FBI intellige nce.

Currently, Eric runs The Georgetown Group, a premier investigative and security consultancy out of Washington, DC. Eric is also the National Security Strategist for Carbon Black, the leader in next generation endpoint protection.

A talented moti vational speaker who weaves real life experiences into a presentation that is both entertaining and rewarding, Eric O’Neill provides practical insights into real work situations relevant to many industries.

Speech Topics

An Insider’s Look into the Robert Hanssen Investigation: How the FBI Caught the Worst Spy in American History

Motivational/security/cyber security: Learn intricate details of the investigation that caught the most damaging spy in United States History. Robert Hanssen spied for the Soviet Union and Russia for over 22 years. The FBI had a very narrow window of just a few months to catch him. This is the story of how we succeeded in one of the most impressive undercover operations ever orchestrated by the FBI.

Cyber Security in the Age of Espionage.
CyberSecurity/ Protecting yourself and your company online:

Recent years have seen a massive increase in cyber theft of private and confidential information from government agencies, business and private individuals. The modern spy is responsible for these attacks. Today’s spies are sophisticated, brilliant, devious and technologically advanced, and they are targeting your data. Robert Hanssen was the first of these new cyber spies, charged with selling American secrets to Russia for more than US$1.4 million in cash and diamonds. His ability to exploit computer systems allowed him to protect his identity during a 22 year spy career. Join Eric as he uses real-life spy stories to show how careful diligence, counter espionage techniques and restraint in social media can help identify the numerous spies, hackers, hacktivists and trusted insiders that threaten every stroke of the keyboard.

A Spy Story: Setting Goals & Achieving Them through Courage, Confidence & Determination

Motivational/Leadership: My story of acting to take control of any situation and excel, not just succeed, takes place in the center of the FBI’s most important espionage investigation. Imagine being locked in a room for eight hours a day with the most ruthless and damaging spy in United States history. Imagine feeling unqualified and outgunned, knowing that the country depends on you to succeed despite the fact that no one has provided the means to do so. My story is not just an edge of your seat spy thriller. It is a story about discovering tools for success inside oneself by setting small goals that lead to big accomplishments until finally, through courage, confidence and determination, victory is achieved.

The Human Element: The Weakest Link In Every Security System Is Not A Computer.

Trusted Insider: Security professionals must not only look outward when securing a system, they must become spy hunters, looking for internal exploits and penetrations that may not be easy to detect. Includes an analysis of Robert Hanssen, Edward Snowden and other recent internal penetrations.

Corporate Security: The Top Things You Should Be Doing To Secure Your Company

Blended Topic: This personal list was compiled over decades of work as an undercover operative in the FBI and security consultant. The keynote is a hot topic format of issues that are most critical to protecting information, set in a narrative of true stories that inform with actionable learning while they entertain. Issues looked at include: The Need for Diligence; Critical areas in Physical Security; Phishing and Email hacks; Social Media Do’s and Don’ts; How Spies Recruit; Economic Espionage; and Preventing The Insider Threat.

How The World Will End: Cyber Security In A Shrinking World

Cyber Security: The global phenomenon of information sharing has created extraordinary innovation in communication, but has also become a gold mine for cyber criminals. This topic explores the current cyber threats facing industry, government and private individuals, from threats to national infrastructure, to corporate espionage and cyber terrorism, to identity theft and online fraud.

Surviving the Age of Social Media: What You Need To Know To Protect Yourself From Social Media Spies And Fraudsters

CyberSecurity/Social Media techniques:

Hacking is the necessary evolution of espionage. As people have moved their lives, relationships and personal data online, spies have learned to exploit this data in order to steal identities, intellectual property and more. Learn the most critical ways that spies are stealing your data by leveraging your social media accounts and how you can take steps to stop them.

Testimonials

“Eric O’Neill’s presentation on “An Insider’s Look into the Robert Hanssen Investigation: How the FBI Caught the Worst Spy in American History” is a breathtaking insight into one of the worst spies in United States history. Eric presented on never before heard facts that wowed the audience and left everyone wanting more. His professional approach and mild mannered attitude were spot on for an engaging delivery. Everyone was so focused on Eric for the full hour that you could have heard a pin drop in a room of 1,000+ attendees. Eric is truly a once in a lifetime speaker that everyone should see and hear in person!” ~NCMS Seminar Committee

“Eric O’Neill totally captured our conference audience with his insights on cybersecurity and its similarity to locating spies within. Approximately 250 people were fully engaged and asking for more at the end of the hour. Eric is definitely a powerful speaker and not-to-be missed.” ~Kathy Kimball, CISO University of Virginia

“Eric was the perfect guest speaker for our event. With an audience of IT Security folks, he not only captivated the room with his thrilling espionage story, but also incorporated our latest cybersecurity report and other cybersecurity themes into his talk. Eric has a long list of interesting topics he can speak on, and we hope that we can bring him back to speak again in the future.” ~

“Eric O’Neill’s presentation on “An Insider’s Look into the Robert Hanssen Investigation: How the FBI Caught the Worst Spy in American History” is a breathtaking insight into one of the worst spies in United States history. Eric presented on never before heard facts that wowed the audience and left everyone wanting more. His professional approach and mild mannered attitude were spot on for an engaging delivery. Everyone was so focused on Eric for the full hour that you could have heard a pin drop in a room of 1,000+ attendees. Eric is truly a once in a lifetime speaker that everyone should see and hear in person!” ~NCMS Seminar Committee

“Eric O’Neill totally captured our conference audience with his insights on cybersecurity and its similarity to locating spies within. Approximately 250 people were fully engaged and asking for more at the end of the hour. Eric is definitely a powerful speaker and not-to-be missed.” ~Kathy Kimball, CISO University of Virginia

“Eric was the perfect guest speaker for our event. With an audience of IT Security folks, he not only captivated the room with his thrilling espionage story, but also incorporated our latest cybersecurity report and other cybersecurity themes into his talk. Eric has a long list of interesting topics he can speak on, and we hope that we can bring him back to speak again in the future.” ~Carrie Page, Manager, Events & Partner Relations, CloudLock

Jim Carroll

12 June 2018

Robert Adams

No comments

Categories: speakers

Jim is the world’s leading global futurist, trends and innovation expert, with a massive global blue chip client list. Over the last 20 years, more than 2 million people have shared his insight with his events on stage. Jim helps transform growth-oriented organizations into high-velocity innovation heroes! Jim assists in organizations in dealing with the future, trends and innovation through three distinct types of events: As a keynote speaker, panelist, or workshop facilitator. Jim specializes in speaking at corporate round tables with business leaders.

As Jim will discuss, we have seen more change in the last 5 years than we have seen in the last 100 – and yet there is much more yet to come. But with economic, political, career and business model volatility all around us, it’s all too easy to fall prey to a swirl of negative thinking — with the result that you lose sight of the fascinating opportunities from what comes next. The best antidote? An uplifting, hopeful and motivational view into the future with futurist Jim Carroll. Also – Jim is always one to stay on the cutting edge of what is coming next – and this includes the next biggest, and potentially the MOST game changing megatrend ever: A.I.

Jim says we need to be thinking about the BIG future – and those are the A.I. Megatrends that have been transforming entire industries for a while now, but these changes are happening faster now. We have entered what Jim calls the “Era of Acceleration”. Jim has not one but 2 keynotes on this topic, and if you want to know how these changes may affect your business or industry, Jim Carroll’s keynotes are not to be missed.

Videos

Biography

Jim is one of the world’s leading global futurist, trends and innovation experts, with a massive global blue chip client list. Over the last 20 years, more than 2 million people have shared his insight at his events …..clients include NASA; Walt Disney Corporation; PGA of America; Wall Street Journal; DuPont; The GAP; Siemens; Lockheed Martin; Swiss Innovation Forum; Fairmont/Raffles Hotels International; RGA Reinsurance; National Australian Bank; CIGNA; Pfizer; Johnson & Johnson…. topics cover future trends and innovation … sample keynote topic “Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast: Innovating in the Age of Acceleration” … he has shared the stage at events with Leonard Nimoy (“Spock” of Star Trek), President George W. Bush, Carrie Fisher (“Princess Leia” of Star Wars), Terry Bradshaw of the NFL, Biz Stone (Founder of Twitter), Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia, Astronaut Scott Kelly (last pilot of the Space Shuttle), Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11, Jack Welch of GE, Roger Goodall, the Commissioner of the NFL, Lee Trevino and Bubba Watson of golf, among others … Jim assists in organizations in dealing with the future, trends and innovation through three distinct types of events: as the opening or closing keynote speaker for the annual meetings/conferences of national or international associations; keynotes or workshops for private corporate leadership events; or keynotes or panel discussions on customer oriented meetings or promotional events…. BusinessWeek on Jim: “a leading source for innovation insight;” CNBC guest expert on innovation; insights also covered by ABC News, INC, Fast Company, the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), STOrai Magazine (Retail Association of India), The Age (Sydney, Australia), American Way, CAPITAL Magazine (Dubai/United Arab Emirates) CEO Magazine Hungary, Association LEADERSHIP, the National Post and PROFIT. Plus, he’s a really nice guy and fun to work with!

Speech Topics

AI Megatrends: Beyond ChatGPT

How AI is Redefining Your Industry, Profession, Company, and Career – And What You Need To Do About It!

The acceleration of AI is not just about the technology; it’s not just about ChatGPT; it’s about the AI Megatrends! The transformative and disruptive concepts involving such things as predictive diagnostics, autonomous technologies and machine vision, the hyper-connectivity of intelligent devices, the integration of AI into robotics and virtualized digital twin technologies, workforce and process augmentation technologies, virtual knowledge assistants, real-time risk monitoring, product reinvention, and transformation through embedded AI, and so much more!

These are the types of AI Megatrends that you need to understand in order to comprehend how your industry, profession, association, and job and career will change. AI is already causing a massive change in every industry such as: changing the way we diagnose and treat medical conditions; how we assess and underwrite insurance risk using sophisticated AI risk management tools; how we manage our march to precision-farming using AI-driven autonomous technologies; how we are using AI throughout retail and manufacturing for deep supply chain analysis and inventory management.

It’s vast, sweeping, transformative megatrends that will continue at a faster pace as we enter the ‘era of acceleration.’

Futurist Jim Carroll puts these realities into perspective for your organization in a fast-paced keynote or leadership meeting presentation. A highly customized, industry-specific AI Megatrent overview, based on customized research specific to your industry and organization, and aligned to your unique perspective. It’s insight that matters that is relevant and actionable!

What you need RIGHT NOW is highly relevant AI Megatrends guidance from a realistic, strategic business perspective.

Jim will help you understand:

the AI Megatrends that are already underway, and those that are yet to come
the disruptive and transformative context of these trends in your industry, profession, or association, based on up-to-the-minute detailed research specific to your requirements
why the ‘era of acceleration’ with AI will now challenge all your assumptions about your future
the strategic opportunities that exist with AI within your industry and organization, on a near, medium, and long-term basis
the significant challenges and risks that exist for the same time frame
what leading innovators and competitors are doing to align with these fast-moving trends
what actionable steps you can pursue so you can prepare a concise strategic plan for your organization and team

Futurist Jim Carroll will help you cut through the noise and the hype to understand what is really happening, and the critical nature of the important trends that you must pay attention to!

Keynote 2:
ChatGPT, The Acceleration of Artificial Intelligence and the Arrival of the Personalized Knowledge Butler – Promise and Peril in The Next Technological Transformation

Here’s what you need to know – it’s pretty certain you won’t find your job being replaced by AI, but it might be replaced by someone using AI, particularly with ChatGPT and other similar LLM (Large language model) technologies!

In this fast-moving keynote, Futurist Jim Carroll takes a look at the short-term trends sweeping the world today as ChatGPT and other technologies come to change the nature of the way we search, learn, interact, and think. It’s a new era of human-knowledge augmentation through the emergence of personalized knowledge butlers; an acceleration in just-in-time knowledge through on-demand knowledge robots; the arrival of the always-available knowledge servant. The fact is, we are in the midst of the biggest knowledge revolution in the history of mankind since the arrival of the Internet – and it is occurring at a speed that is staggering. You need to cut through the hype, filter the noise, and get a clear – and up-to-the-moment – strategic overview of what is happening in real-time

You don’t need to understand how ChatGPT and other LLM (“large language model”) systems work – you need to understand the impact they will have. Making sense of what’s real and cutting through the hype to discover real opportunities within the trends is one of the most important things you can do! This is not a time to get caught up in ‘fast FOMO’ – ‘fear of missing out’ – nor is it a time to ignore the speed of what is occurring. There are significant implications to the sudden arrival of artificial intelligence and other trends, from very real business model disruption to unique legal and copyright issues, education, knowledge, and workforce skills challenges, as well as the emergence of disruptive new industry competitors and accelerated new product development and innovation opportunities. The scope of what these technologies represent is increasing because the pace of their evolution is now moving faster than fast.

What does this mean to you and what do you need to do? Jim will provide you with actionable strategies on how to stay ahead in the AI knowledge race; insight into some of the most powerful tools emerging in this new AI knowledge universe; actionable strategies to continually enhance your just-in-time knowledge skills through AI; and how you can align your skills, attitude and personal motivation factory to align with this new era of high-velocity change.

In this highly customized keynote, is prepared specifically for your company, industry, or association based on up-to-the-minute research.

Jim will help you understand:

the challenges and opportunities behind these trends within your industry and organization
the disruptive impact on your business and operations or upon your industry or association members
the strategies you should be thinking about to align with the new realities they present
the key strategic action plans designed to get your team moving forward, balanced with a realistic assessment of the timing of specific trends and how they will unfold.

Futurist Jim Carroll will help you cut through the noise and the hype to understand what is really happening, and the critical nature of the important trends that you must pay attention to!

KEYNOTE 3

AI MEGATREND: AI IN AGRICULTURE – TRANSFORMING THE WORLDS OLDEST PROFESSION VIA AI

Whether it’s driverless tractors, weed-zapping robots, or data-transmitting crops, the future of farming is happening faster than you might think! We’re rapidly transitioning into a world of 24-hour farming, no longer restricted to farming only when the sun is up! The arrival of AI provides a future world of farming that is full of promise and peril, opportunity and challenge.

Spending on AI in agriculture was about $2 billion in 2022 but is expected to grow to $75 billion by 2035. Little of this has to do with ChatGPT – and has everything to do with accelerating trends that were already underway in the world of farming. We are on the precipice of a new era of change with precision agriculture, crop prediction, plant disease detection, livestock monitoring, harvest optimization, supply chain management, autonomous farm equipment, and more. And beyond that – a new era of on-demand, at the moment knowledge acceleration as a result of new tools like ChatGPT!

Futurist Jim Carroll – one of the most respected leadership speakers in the world, with clients like NASA, the World Bank, Mercedes Benz, and IBM, will share his insight on the future world of farming in the era of accelerating AI. Over the last 30 years, more than 2 million people on 5 continents have seen his keynote presentations on the future, trends and disruptive thinking.

Jim’s ag clients is a veritable list of who’s who in the world of ag, including Nurtien, Syngenta, Dupont, Land O’Lakes, Simplot, Elanco, Purina, Monsanto, the US Department of Agriculture, the United Soybean Board, Reinke, the Texas Cattlefeeders Association, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, and many more.

Keynote 4: A.I. in INSURANCE

The world of insurance is being transformed at a pace that defines new opportunities, presents new challenges, and turns the established order upside down. It also challenges every assumption the industry has ever known. The arrival of accelerated AI – already in prevalent use throughout the industry – will only accelerate trends that were already underway, but at a faster pace that is staggering.

The background? The insurance industry was already being rapidly disrupted by tech companies. Existing brokerage and distribution networks are being challenged as more people buy insurance directly online. Predictive analytics is shifting the industry away from actuarial-based historical assessment to real-time coverage. Policy niches, micro-insurance, and just-in-time insurance are driving an increasing number of new revenue models. The Internet of Things (IoT) and massive connectivity are providing for massive market and business model disruption as real-time device reporting provides for instant risk assessment – which allows for lower-cost underwriting. Fast-paced trends involving self-driving cars, the sharing economy, personal drones, swarm-bots, smart dust, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality will either mitigate, accelerate or challenge the very notion of risk assessment and underwriting! What happens when Amazon, Google, or some kid in a garage decides to really change the insurance business model? And then there is the element of risk itself – at a recent global insurance risk summit in Switzerland, Jim outlined the dramatic new forms of accelerated risk that the industry must now confront (including, obviously the heightened risk of AI itself!)

The bottom line is this: what seemed to be science fiction just a few short years ago has become a reality today, as time compresses and the future accelerates within the insurance industry. Whichever way you look, all sectors of the insurance industry are set for an era of disruption, challenge, and change! Is the industry ready for transformative change? Not really! A recent survey indicated that while 94% of Chief Strategy Officers at insurance companies agree that tech will “rapidly change their industry in 5 years,” fewer than 1 in 5 CSOs believe their companies are prepared. Does the insurance industry have the innovation culture necessary to deal with the potential for what comes next?

The Lessons of Powerful Optimism: Rethinking the Future Right Now

We have seen more change in the last 5 years than we have seen in the last 100 – and yet there is much more yet to come. But with economic, political, career and business model volatility all around us, it’s all too easy to fall prey to a swirl of negative thinking — with the result that you lose sight of the fascinating opportunities from what comes next.

The best antidote? An uplifting, hopeful and motivational view into the future with futurist Jim Carroll. In this engaging, humorous and yet powerfully refreshing keynote, he takes you on a tour of the trends which are reshaping our world in a great way. A renaissance in manufacturing enabled by 3D printing, advanced robotics and massive digitization, self-driving cars, space tourism, asteroid mining, vertical farming, and other fascinating fast paced trends. Opportunities for the transformation of entire industries such as healthcare, sports and transportation through unprecedented levels of hyper-connectivity. The acceleration of ideas with science that are allowing us to solve some of the biggest challenges of our time in the world of education, healthcare, the environment and education. A generation of millennials who know that it is a great time to think big ideas and do great things with their boundless enthusiasm and global awareness.

It’s time to turn your mind to the future once again, restore a sense of hope and optimism, and link yourself to the fast paced trends which energize your outlook on opportunity!

The Disruption and Reinvention of Retail: Aligning to the World of Speed

It’s hard to discount the speed of change occurring in the world of retail and consumer products, particularly as the global pandemic accelerated the rush to e-commerce. “Shopper marketing,” which combines location intelligence, mobile technology, and in-store display technology for a new form of in-store promotion, continues to move forward at the pace of the technology on which it is based. Supply chain volatility and accelerating infrastructure demand require significant investment to continually reinforce operations, at the same time that consumer behavior changes at a furious pace. Logistics has taken center stage with the rapid installation of “click and collect” infrastructure and omnichannel distribution dominating all strategies. Add to this the arrival of active, intelligent packaging and intelligent (“Internet of Things”) products, collapsing product life-cycles, rapid product obsolescence, and the implications of all this on inventory and supply chain concepts!We are going to see more change in the world of retail in the next 5 years than we have seen in the last 100. Savvy brands, retailers, shopping malls, and retail infrastructure companies are working to understand these fast-moving trends, and what they need to do from an innovation perspective to turn them from challenge to opportunity.Futurist Jim Carroll is known worldwide for helping executives to understand the tsunami of change sweeping every aspect of the sector. In this keynote Jim will put into perspective the latest consumer, technology and marketplace trends and how they will provide new opportunities for disruption, innovation, and business model transformation. Attendees will gain insight into how to tap into these trends and insight to adapt their strategies to a fast-moving future, and how to move forward with an aggressive, action-oriented strategy.

The Internet of Things: Disruption and Opportunity in an Era of Pervasive Connectivity

Every industry is set to be transformed as an era of hyper connectivity becomes the new norm. The result? Massive business model disruption; the rapid emergence of new competitors; industries in which customers empowered with mobile devices control a wide variety of devices that are a part of their daily lives; unique opportunities for deep analytical insight into trends and opportunities emerging in industries; a reinvention of manufacturing, logistics, retail, healthcare and other industries because of consumers that are empowered, connected, and enabled with a new form of lifestyle management that we’ve never witnessed before.

The Internet of Things is real, and it is unfolding at a blistering pace. We’re in the era of connected thermostats that link to an intelligent energy grid and autonomous vehicle technology that is self-aware and networked into sophisticated, intelligent highway flow control systems. A connected trucking fleet that is self-diagnostic and predictive. Intelligent home appliances that link to packaged food products that automatically upload carb, sodium and other dietary information as part of an overall health and wellness program.

Jim has been talking on stage about The Internet of Things since the late 1990’s, when he began using the phrase “hyper connectivity” to describe a world in which “every device that is a part of our daily lives is about to become plugged in.” Since then, he has delivered his insight on the topic to a wide variety of organizations: several global technology leaders with a keynote talk on the future of home automation; several of the world’s largest HVAC companies about what happens when a global, intelligent home and industrial energy infrastructure emerges through widespread connectivity; consumer, food and packaged goods conferences about the impact of intelligent packaging. He has been booked by many leading global health care organizations for keynotes that have focused on what happens when consumers start aligning their wellness strategies through their own personal healthcare infrastructure.

The Internet of Things is a substantive, transformative trend that will provide more change in every industry in the next ten years than they’ve seen in the last thirty. Jim Carroll already has over a dozen years of on-stage experience with the topic, and can help you understand the strategies, risks and opportunities that you need to be aware of as you move into a hyperconnected future.

Healthcare 2020: The Transformative Trends That Will REALLY Define Our Future

When Jim Carroll began a recent keynote talk for the Minnesota Hospital Association CEO Summit, he announced that he wouldn’t even mention health care reform — and the audience of 300 senior executives cheered! Instead, he told the audience that he would take them on a voyage to the world of health care in the year of 2020, and provide them the insight they really need to deal with the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Everyone in a leadership position in the US health care system knows that even with health care reform, the challenges facing the US health care system are substantial and immense. That’s why innovation has quickly come to be one of the top issues that senior health care executives and medical professionals are thinking about. There is a realization that there is an urgent need to challenge the very philosophies upon which the system is built. They’re seeking insight into the major scientific, technological, consumer and social trends that will, by the year 2020, allow for some very dramatic changes in the concept of health care delivery.

Where will we by the year 2020? We will have successfully transitioned the system from one which “fixes people after they’re sick” to one of preventative, diagnostic genomic-based medicine. Treating patients for the conditions we know they are likely to develop, and re-architecting the system around that reality. A system which will provide for virtual care through bio-connectivity, and extension of the hospital into a community-care oriented structure. A consumer driven, retail oriented health care environment for non-critical care treatment that provides significant opportunities for cost reduction. Real time analytics and location-intelligence capabilities which provide for community-wide monitoring of emerging health care challenges. “Just-in-time” knowledge concepts which will help to deal with a profession in which the volume of knowledge doubles every six years. That and much, much more.

The fact is, we are going to witness more change in the world of health care in the next ten years than we have seen in the last 200. For the last fifteen years, Jim has been providing his guidance into future trends to a wide range of global Fortune 1000 companies, associations, and other groups. In his Healthcare2020 keynote, Jim puts into perspective why innovation is no longer just a fashionable phrase — it’s the critical new leadership focus for executives in the health care sector. Jim has captivated management teams and health care professionals in keynotes for major US health groups such as St. Joseph’s Health System, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cardinal Health Care, Providence Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, and the American Society for Health Care Risk Management to name but a few. He was the closing keynote speaker for the 4th Annual World HealthCare Innovation and Technology Congress in Washington DC, which featured a virtual who’s who of the health care scene in the US today.

The Future of Education: Rethinking Opportunity in the Era of Knowledge Velocity

Sixty five percent of the children who are in pre-school today will work in a job or career that doesn’t yet exist. Half of what students learn in their first year at college is obsolete or revised—by the time they graduate. Fifty percent of the US gross domestic product will be taken up by training and knowledge activities within the decade. With all of these changes at hand, futurist, trends and innovation expert Jim Carroll helps some of the world’s leading educational organizations and institutions make sense of this rapidly evolving future.

Jim challenges audiences to think about innovation in the education sector that takes on bold goals to deal with a reality that has rapid knowledge obsolescence and emergence, the disappearance of existing careers and the emergence of new careers, an ongoing need for continuous knowledge replenishment and the migration of knowledge generation further away from academia. There’s a massively increased challenge from overseas knowledge generation, the fast emergence of new micro-careers, an economy that succeeds through knowledge deployment and a fundamental transformation in the role of educational institutions. In other words: much of the education structure that we have in place today doesn’t match the reality of what we really need to do, given the rapid change occurring in the fundamentals of knowledge—which is why innovative thinking in the field of education today is more important than ever before.

In his keynote presentations, Jim provides concise insight that links a wide variety of global, social, demographic, scientific, technological, business and other trends to the impact on education. He provides an understanding on the velocity of change impacting the industry, and why we need to rethink the context of “how we teach” in light of the realities that has knowledge growing exponentially, the foundation of knowledge generation forever changed and global social networks challenging traditional education delivery models. The reality is that the exponential growth of knowledge leads to massive career specialization—we are in the midst of a fundamental structural organizational and career change, and by 2020 or sooner, it will be all about “just-in-time knowledge.”

Big Trends in Agriculture: What Ag Will Look Like In 2045

Jim Carroll, an agriculture futurist and innovation expert, will look into his crystal ball and predict what agriculture will be like in 2045. Whether it’s driverless tractors, weed-zapping robots or data-transmitting crops, Jim will forecast what farms might be like 30 years from now, and encourage the industry to embrace high-velocity innovation. Jim is recognized worldwide as a “thought leader” and authority on global trends, rapid business model change, business transformation in a period of economic uncertainty, and the necessity for fast-paced innovation. You will not want to miss his predictions.

Many people continue to view farming from the sepia-toned photos of the 1940s and 1950s. They don’t realize the technological and scientific advances or the massive opportunities for international growth. Growers that focus on innovation as a core value will find success; their innovation will focus on the triple-feature need for growth, efficiency and ingestion of new science. It will be by adopting new methodologies, products, partnerships and ideas that they will learn to thrive.

Jim is recognized worldwide as a “thought leader” and authority on global trends, rapid business model change, business transformation in a period of economic uncertainty, and the necessity for fast-paced innovation.

Jim has extensive experience with all aspects of the agricultural sector. A good example? He was the opening keynote speaker at a conference of the top 100 cattle ranchers, feedlots and stockers in the US — and thrilled the audience with his insight into global trends impacting the agriculture sector. Based on that event, he was then invited in to inspire 500 cattle ranchers — a very discerning audience — with the feedback that “you certainly challenged us as to the pace of change the future is bringing to our industry, at the same time that you inspired us to embrace it’s opportunities. You were outstanding! Ranchers are pretty conservative – particularly here in Texas – but you were the best speaker we’ve ever had at our event!”

Some of Jim’s agriculture clients include the global agricultural powerhouses of FMC Agriculture, Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta…. In addition, he has provided keynotes for • CHS Cooperative • Farm Media Journal • Texas Cattle Feeders Association • Colorado Cattle Ranchers Association • FCC Services US (Farm Credit Cooperative) • MicroBeef Technologies • Mid-America Crop Protection Association • FarmTech • AgProgress Conference • Agricorp • CropLife Canada • US Department of Agriculture • American Agriwoman Society • American Landscape and Nursery Association • United Soybean Board • and more…. .

His keynotes feature up to date insight based upon extensive research. Jim spent so much time customizing the presentation for one agricultural conference that at the conclusion, one fellow came up and asked him how long he had been a farmer!

Moving Beyond the Meltdown: Aligning Yourself for Growth Through Innovation

In the face of widespread economic volatility, organizations have three essential choices: they can panic, making rash decisions on structure, markets, and investments; they can freeze and do nothing; or they can respond to rapid change through innovation, particularly with respect to strategies, structure, capabilities, markets, products, and activities.

Many CEO’s and senior executives understand that in addition to managing existing challenges, now is the time to focus on trends and the future, and that they need to act quickly to establish an innovative mindset to get there intact.

Jim shares his insight on the strategies that leading edge organizations are pursuing to stay ahead of the economy.

Through his signature keynote addresses, after-dinner talks, discussions at small intimate management/board meetings, or by speaking and participating in large scale senior management and leadership meetings, Jim provides his unique insight on staying ahead in volatile times. It’s timely and critical insight!

7 Things You Need to Do Right Now: Aligning the Fast Future to Your Current Strategy

While volatility rocks global markets, there continues to be fundamental truths: your industry, products, competition, skills requirements, organizational capabilities, and ability to respond to rapid change will define your future success. Innovative organizations succeed by mastering the pace of the new high velocity economy.

Product innovations occur today at such a pace that “time to market” is now measured in weeks rather than years. The furious pace of technological innovation continues unabated, with the rapid emergence of new technologies that change entire industries. Customer mindset has become increasingly difficult to capture as we become a society with massive attention deficits. Business models are subject to upheaval due to economic turmoil, commercialization of product, and the rapid emergence of new competitors.

It’s a fast paced world — and that’s why leading edge organizations are focused on key leadership strategies that provide for a fast paced future. In this inspirational keynote, Jim Carroll will challenge you to confront the “big trends” that you need to face head on and what you should be doing RIGHT NOW.

Where’s the Growth? Transformative Opportunities for Transformative Times

Where will we be in 2015? 2020 or 2025? What challenges and opportunities will we face? In a world of massive globalization, what will our markets, customers, industries and organizational structures look like?

These are truly transformative times, with an alignment of political leaders, business executives, consumers, researchers and industry groups all realizing that now is the time that we need to solve complex problems with bold thinking and “big ideas.” Some of the biggest organizations in the world – including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Toshiba, the Swiss Innovation Forum, the BBC, Motorola and Nestle – have sought just such insight from Jim Carroll. As someone who has assisted hundreds of organizations in thinking about and preparing for the future, Jim has become globally recognized as one of the world’s leading international futurists.

In a highly customized presentation, he outlines the major trends that will impact you, and what you need to start doing now in order to respond. He will open up your mind to the opportunities of this transformative time – a new era when big ideas and bold actions are proving to be the foundation for significant transformation in how we approach global challenges, problems and opportunities. In doing so, he will ensure you are well positioned for the future!

What’s Happening with Our Workforce: Making Generations Work!

Join international futurist, trends and innovation expert Jim Carroll as he explores some of the biggest challenges facing organizations today. With the coming “end of retirement,” most companies will come to realize they’ll need a lot of telephones with big buttons for members of the 70+ folk who are still a part of their workforce — and a lot of innovative workplace practices as well.

That’s but one challenge. The arrival of “Gen-Connect” (also known as “Gen-Y”), the kids who have been wired with a mouse since birth, into the work force will lead to the question of whether “good luck” will be the only possible response to the question of “Managing Gen-Y.” This workplace weirdness will only be compounded by the ongoing rapid evolution of knowledge and skills, such that most organizations will find it impossible to find the highly specialized skills needed in the economy of the future. Are we really in an economy in which there is an emerging profession of folks known as “manure managers?” You bet — and it’s all part of the unique issues that companies must begin thinking about today.

Jim’s unique insight into emerging HR trends is in high demand – 3,000 members of the International Human Resource Information Management Association recently heard him put the issues in context on stage in Dallas, Texas. Join Jim as he shares his insight into the trends that you are already faced with, and the innovative and creative ways that you can come to grips with the depth of the challenges ahead.

Testimonials

“An outstanding presentation for an industry and association that falls on its traditions so often. We learned that our tradition should not be something that holds us back, but rather the launching pad for innovation for the future. Thanks Jim for your thought provoking presentation!” – 94th PGA of America Annual General Meeting

“On behalf of the entire Innovative Technology Partnerships Office, thank you for your engaging and thought-provoking presentation at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. From the feedback we have received, the event was a great success. Thank you for sharing your insight and expertise with us!” – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

“We were extremely pleased with Jim’s presentation… the content was bang-on and would hopefully prompt people to think about the rapidity of change going on in our world!. Jim’s storytelling approach really helps to get his points across! He did a great job!” – Walt Disney Company

Peter Sheahan

8 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Peter says “Companies don’t transform; leaders do. I have never seen strategy and structure outperform the limitations of a misaligned leadership team. However, an aligned leadership team will consistently outperform the limitations of strategy, structure, capital allocation and even market conditions. The role of a leadership team is not to protect the status quo, but to successfully migrate their organization from one competitive advantage to the next.”

Perhaps his most important message for leaders is on his tough but thoughtful approach on transformation; how to do it, and why it can be such a challenge for all kinds of leaders: Transformation is a psychological journey first, and a strategic challenge second. Leaders often confuse awareness of change, with taking ownership for leading it. Have the courage to accept reality and then unleash an ambition worthy of your disruptive potential.

Peter has advised leaders from companies as diverse as Apple, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Hyundai, IBM, Pfizer, Wells Fargo, and Cardinal Health. He is the author of seven books, including Flip, Generation Y, Making it Happen, and his latest release, Matter. Peter has delivered more than 2,500 presentations to over 500,000 people in 20 different countries, and he has been named one of the 25 Most Influential Speakers in the World by the National Speakers Association, and is the youngest person ever to be inducted into their industry Hall of Fame.

Bestselling Author and World Renowned Speaker on Exploiting Business Trends and New Market Opportunities
Founder, Karrikins Group
CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame®

Videos

Here is a sample of Peter’s virtual content; when it comes to virtual, Peter says: Creating an engaging digital experience with lasting impact is more complex than simply taking an offline experience and putting it online. It is critical to take a fit-for-purpose approach to each individual opportunity, and to think beyond the presentation itself to find creative ways to achieve the ultimate objective. With the current isolation caused by COVID-19, now more than ever, we need to connect with our teams, inspire our leaders, and add value to our clients and member. We believe that in economic and social crisis there is opportunity…

Biography

After 15 years of standing in the fire with leaders of high-performing organizations, Peter Sheahan has come to believe that an organization will only go commercially where its leaders first grow personally.

Having grown his own companies by accelerating growth and transformation for Apple, Chick-fil-A, DeBeers, and AT&T — Peter will provoke you to get bigger, by getting better! When leaders are true to their purpose, they gravitate towards doing work that matters and solving higher-order problems. The journey to get there requires that they have the courage to tell themselves the truth, take intelligent risks, and assume ownership for driving the alignment necessary to build an organization which behaves in ways worthy of its leadership position.

In being true to his own ambitions and relentless pursuit of growth, Peter has published seven books, built three global companies and delivered more than 3,000 presentations in 40+ countries. Today he and his team are focused exclusively on inspiring leaders to do the hard work required to enable growth and transformation.

Speech Topics

ACCELERATING GROWTH

Turning Challenge Into Opportunity and Disruption Into Competitive Advantage. Accelerating growth requires that leaders take ownership for their changed reality, unleash an ambition for their organization to move towards, and align their teams to a new way of working. A company will only go commercially where its leaders are first willing to grow personally.

As the cliché suggests, you are either growing or you are dying. But in today’s marketplace, it’s no longer about growing or not. It is about growing faster today than we did yesterday, and doing so in spite of the larger base we now operate. In this engaging, case-study rich session, we will unlock the keys to accelerating growth in your team and your organization in order to:

Help you understand the difference between arbitrary double-digit growth targets and true ambition
Define the levers you can pull to create a growth-enabled culture defined by innovation, excellence, and accountability
Provoke you to reflect on the critical role you play as a leader to unleash the necessary appetite for intelligent risk-taking and action orientation required for growth
Introduce you to the three critical questions required to ensure market relevance and position your organization for accelerated growth
Orient your thinking towards alignment and the reduction of friction inside your organization

MATTER

Finding opportunity in disruption to create more value and become the obvious choice

As the pace of commoditization accelerates and the emergence of technological disruption threatens our existing business models, we must find ways to remain relevant and differentiated in the hearts and minds of our customers! This inspiring, case-study rich session will show you how to find opportunity in disruption to reverse the downward spiral of commoditization and matter more to your customers than your competition. This journey will require that you:

Understand the difference between value creation and value extraction
Move towards the very disruption that challenges you and your customers
Elevate your Impact in the Five Critical Dimensions that clients and customers value most during times of rapid change
Elevate your Perspective by learning at the ‘Edge of Disruption’ and becoming a thought leader in the business models of tomorrow
Elevate your Relationships to position you not just as a trusted adviser but as a strategic partner for your customers
Act in a way worthy of your desired leadership position

TALENT (R)EVOLUTION

Are your leaders getting the most from their people? Are you attracting and retaining the best possible talent? In Talent Revolution, best-selling author, and architect of dozens of powerful human capital strategies for organizations around the world, Peter Sheahan’s case-study rich session will:

Help you understand the changing expectations of talent so you can transform organization into a magnet for smart and engaged people
Explore the changing nature of leadership and outline new models for developing capability in your organization, and driving the alignment of people and strategy
Share proven approaches to driving collaboration inside and outside your 4 walls and harness the discretionary efforts of people on and off your payroll
Give you direct insight into what some of the world’s best companies are doing to win the war for talent

In today’s hyper competitive world talent is your source of competitive advantage. this session will put you on the cutting-edge of this critical strategic issue.

Making It Happen: Unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit and turning your good ideas into great results…

There is no shortage of ideas in the world. There is a shortage of people with the ability to transform those ideas into reality. Combining the need for imagination and action, ‘Making it Happen’ will go deep into the secrets of positioning ideas, products and services in a way that makes people not only pay attention, but to part with their time, money and energy. There is no point having a new idea, developing your new strategy or embarking on a journey of transformation if your people can’t make it happen in the real world.

Making Money in the Cracks: Counter- Intuitive Strategies for Finding and Exploiting New Market Opportunities

Unleash innovation in your company by knowing how to find the opportunity in the “white space”. Inspire leaders to take the risks necessary to make money in the white space and discover creative solutions to business problems by facilitating interdisciplinary thought. Attendees will learn how to build structures that not only generate, but shine light on the best ideas in your business and how to break the cultural norms that squash the innovative new ideas you need to thrive.

Moving the Market: Accelerate your impact by influencing how and why buyers make decisions

Ensure that your sales process is sophisticated enough for today’s buyer by capitalizing on the science behind the way people think, act and buy. Learn how the world’s most profitable companies avoid competing on price, and how you can too.

Testimonials

You’ve been an absolute wonderful partner, adjusting to our transitions and pivots along the way. Brilliant. Agile. Trusted. Confidant. Integrity. Inspiring. These are some of the attributes I use when describing your contribution to AT&T. Thank you for what you have brought us… It is corporate life changing for us and you have left a lasting impression on the leaders of AT&T!

AT&T – PRESIDENT

Your insights were exceptional and I appreciated the research you did and the focused attention you gave to our particular needs. Your content was spot on for this audience of global leaders and I sincerely enjoyed our time together and received many comments on the value you brought to our global managing partners meeting.

DELOITTE – GLOBAL CEO

OUTSTANDING. I ate lunch at my desk-side and attempted to multi-task, do other work, with headphones on. Peter’s ability to deliver content was spell bounding though. I had to give my attention over more than once. Excellent. I hope every person at director level and above made time for this. Affirms we are doing the right things at GY these days. Just having opportunity to listen in on spur of the moment on talent like this speaks volumes. Thank you.

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY – EXECUTIVE

From the creative’s in the editing rooms of LA, to the Chairman himself in New York, Peter has had a profound impact on this company. It is very rare, to find someone who is both engaging and whose work is clearly based on ground-breaking research and genuine insight into what makes a business and its leaders successful in today’s uncertain marketplace. I have no hesitation recommending Peter to any organization looking to drive innovation deeper in their company and wanting to inspire their leaders to think differently and take the necessary risk to future-proof their business.

NEWS CORPORATION – SVP

“Peter, I cannot thank you enough for your outstanding presentation. Presenting to an audience of leading CEO’s is always a challenge. But once again you exceeded their and my expectations. Your incredible global insights and thought provoking presentation engaged all in attendance. You related to each and every person in that room and all walked away with a “pearl”. Always a pleasure working with you and look forward to a long association with you and Karrikins Group.” CEO Circle – John Karagounis, Managing Director

“Peter Sheahan could light a small town with energy, enthusiasm and insight. He combines deep practical knowledge with unending passion for both his subject matter and his audience. In my 10+ years of speaking with executive-level audiences, I find Peter to be unsurpassed in his ability to engage senior executives. Peter can draw out of your people answers to questions they did not know they had. That, and even more powerfully, he will have them question the very answers they come up with in a way that reveals an even deeper level of insight and understanding. Whether he is presenting or facilitating, Peter is clearly world class educator.” Corporate Executive Board – David Willis, Managing Director

“First off, thank YOU for rocking our group in Pebble. They LOVED YOU! You are awesome—personally, a delight and a gentleman, and professionally, the real deal. Your content, delivery, and engaging manner was just what the doctor ordered.” Nielson Group – Rachel Long

Jeff Havens

8 June 2018

Robert Adams

No comments

Categories: speakers

Jeff’s expert insights about how you can supercharge your business – coupled with an engaging, high-energy, and wildly entertaining delivery – create a unique environment for real learning and lasting change. His impactful keynote addresses go in depth on the most pressing challenges in the modern business world. Learn how to kickstart innovation, perfect your customer experience, improve your leadership, or solve generational issues — all while laughing more than ever before.

Delivering well-researched and relevant business insight is something a lot of keynote speakers do, but combining that with the entertainment value of a comedy show is not. Engaging, charismatic, and full of energy, Jeff Havens is the only business growth expert who provides serious solutions in a seriously funny way.

But even more than that, Jeff makes things easy. All of us are constantly being asked to do more with less, so the last thing you need is someone to tell you how difficult your challenges are.

Jeff has a unique ability to simplify seemingly complex problems in a way that will provide your audience with a fresh perspective, one that runs counter to the conventional wisdom of the business world. He’ll show you that we’re not actually creating a completely new type of person every 15 years, and that being innovative is not something only a few special people know how to do. Both exceptional leadership and customer experiences are built on surprisingly slender foundations.

You will leave Jeff’s keynotes refreshed, relaxed, happy, and more confident than ever, feeling prepared for the road ahead.

Videos

Biography

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vanderbilt University, Jeff has quickly become one of the most in-demand presenters in North America. His truly unprecedented ability to deliver high-quality education in an undeniably entertaining way has earned him dozens of repeat clients, all of whom appreciate Jeff’s insistence that education is the only way that we improve at anything and that we’ll all improve better and faster if we enjoy the learning process. By combining the content of the traditional presentation with the entertainment value of a comedy show, Jeff has found enthusiastic audiences in government, academia, small businesses and several Fortune 50 companies, all while still being one of the youngest members of the professional speaking circuit.

The Jeff Havens Company exists because of Jeff’s firm belief that making learning fun is the quickest, cheapest, and most effective way to create a culture where people are eager to continually improve. Whether you want to improve your leadership or change management strategies, whether you want a plug-and-play solution or something more perfectly tailored to your particular needs – if it’s important to you, we’ll make it fun. Because here at The Jeff Havens Company, we know that improving your business doesn’t have to be boring.

Speech Topics

NEW!

Conquering Tomorrow

Change Management for People Who Occasionally think Changes Are Dumb

If there’s one thing that’s true for everybody, it’s that things are constantly changing. And sometimes that’s great, like when we win the lottery or land an important account. These are the easy changes to deal with, and nobody really needs help figuring out what to do about them.

But sometimes change is not so great, like when we get divorced or our company goes through a restructuring or there’s a worldwide pandemic that comes out of nowhere and shuts the entire planet down – that happened once, remember? And when these changes hit us, we have a tendency to run and hide and kick and scream and basically deal very poorly with them. Unfortunately, deciding that we don’t like a particular change won’t make it go away. If only there were a way to see “negative” changes in a more positive light…

And that’s where Conquering Tomorrow comes in. Designed for anyone who has ever approached an upcoming change with hesitation or dread (which is everyone, by the way), Conquering Tomorrow takes audiences on a journey through some of life’s most common “bad” changes – some personal, some professional – to reveal a profound and important

truth: that while the process of going through difficult changes may not always be fun, the end result of those changes is usually far better than we’re afraid it will be.

Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing is funny? Delivered with Jeff’s trademark wit and infectious enthusiasm, Conquering Tomorrow is a highly personalized approach to the one of the thorniest challenges facing modern businesses – getting employees to buy into the changes that will inevitably come. Part motivational speech, part change management seminar, and all hilarious, Conquering Tomorrow will leave your people feeling like they can handle anything the world throws at them – even if they weren’t looking for it.

Partial List of Takeaways:

Recognizing the four main reasons we most commonly fear or resist unplanned, unexpected, or unasked-for changes
Learning to distinguish between the process of change (which is sometimes frustrating) to the result of change (which is usually positive)
Developing a long-term attitude toward change management to help reduce short- term frustrations and put temporary setbacks into proper context
How to use current successes as a guide for how future changes are likely to resolve themselves

Decoding Your Customers!

Perfecting the Customer Experience In Four Simple Steps

Ah, the customer experience.

It used to be that you just had to provide customers with good service, right? But that somehow became synonymous with dealing with problems and putting out fires, and so now you have to provide your customers with an experience that is so positive, happy, seamless, and nauseatingly joyful that they will happily wait in lines for hours just for the privilege of giving you money. You’d be forgiven if creating a great customer experience sounds exhausting. If only there were a fun, funny, high-energy, deeply researched keynote to help you figure out how to make this process a little easier.

Well now there is. Decoding Your Customers: Perfecting the Customer Experience in Four Simple Steps will provide you with a comprehensive, straightforward, and entertaining explanation for how to win hearts and minds like never before.

Now there are plenty of other customer experience keynotes. But the overwhelming majority of them either tell you how important it is to make your customers feel special (which you already knew) or share stories of businesses who have loyal customers (which you’ve already heard). And if you want to hear what you’ve already heard before, then hire somebody else.

Decoding Your Customers takes a vastly different approach. As hilarious as it is informative, this keynote concentrates on the human behaviors that have brought the customer experience to where it is today, then synthesizes those behaviors into four simple realities that provide a clear vision for how to move forward. Decoding Your Customers will answer why customers behave the way they do and how you can meet their needs – not only today, but into the foreseeable future as well.

And last but certainly not least, this isn’t going to be a dry talk. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of customer psychology and how to adjust your business accordingly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh as hard as you ever have at a corporate keynote.

Because with Jeff Havens, you get serious solutions in a seriously funny way. It turns out that crafting a winning customer experience strategy isn’t as scary or unpredictable as others may have made it seem.

Partial List of Takeaways:

How the drive for convenience has changed in the past 30 years, and what that means for how you design and sell new products and services
The effect of constant connection on customer behavior, and how smart businesses have learned to think smaller in order to grow
How most businesses vastly underestimate the importance of marketing their products, services, and ideas, along with two essential types of marketing every business should engage in
How the universal desire for meaning can inform your interactions with customers and drive greater sales
Absolutely no That’s right, you will not hear ‘advocate,’ ‘tribe,’ ‘brand ambassador,’ or ‘rabid fan’ once in this keynote. How’s that for a refreshing change of pace?

Us Vs. Them!

The Funniest, Most Informative Generational Keynote Ever!

If you’ve listened to any other discussion about generational issues at work, then you’ve undoubtedly been told there are four distinct generations operating side-by-side in today’s working world. You’ve then been told the differences between those four generations, and then you’ve been told (although probably not in these exact words) that you need to just deal with all these different people, because they’re not going away and they’re not going to change how they operate. If that advice suits you, fantastic.

However, if you’ve ever been frustrated by how impossible it seems to employ four different strategies to manage four distinct generations, and if you’ve ever felt like you’re the only one who’s being asked to make any changes, then Us Vs. Them is exactly what you need.

Because it turns out that there really aren’t four generations. In this hysterical keynote,

you’ll learn a simpler way of looking at your own generational picture, and you’ll also learn how to understand, recognize, and resolve every generational issue facing today’s

workforce. That’s no exaggeration; by the end of Us Vs. Them, you and your colleagues will walk away with all of the knowledge you’ll need to address 100% of the generational issues you’ll face for the rest of your career. Other generational presentations focus on what people want, but Us Vs. Them will tell you why everyone wants the different things they do. It’s an important distinction, and it will make implementing new solutions easier than you ever thought possible.

So get ready to laugh more and learn more than you ever thought possible. Because improving your generational issues doesn’t have to be boring.

Partial List of Takeaways:

Learn to replace the complicated four-generation model with a workable dichotomy between older, more experienced workers and their younger, less-experienced counterparts
Understand the key cultural, technological, and social changes that have conspired to create a disconnect between team members from these two generations
Walk away with several immediately applicable strategies to address and eliminate problems caused by the disconnect mentioned above
Inspire a healthier, more robust work ethic in your younger employees (and your older ones, too)
Inspire a healthier, more robust attitude toward change in your older employees (and your younger ones, too)

Uncrapify Your Future!

The Most Innovative Innovation Keynote In The History Of Ever

If you’ve listened to anyone talk about innovation recently, you’ve probably heard

something along these lines: “The world is changing at a crazy fast rate. Everything you’re doing now is about to become obsolete. If you don’t come up with some amazing, industry- changing ideas in the next 18 seconds, your business is basically going to disappear. Have a nice day.” And if that’s the kind of doomsayer message that you and your friends love hearing, then you can stop reading now.

But if you’d like to present innovation as a simple process that literally everyone is capable of performing, then you might want to listen to Uncrapify Your Future! Filled with the trademark wit that has made Jeff Havens one of the most in-demand speakers in North America, Uncrapify Your Future! will make the process of coming up with new ideas easier and more rewarding than you ever thought possible. Because it turns out that every innovation in every industry – from automobiles to streaming music, coffee cup holders to wartime treaties – follows the same straightforward pattern.

Your business is always changing, and so you will always need people to anticipate and capitalize on those changes. If you want them to think that being innovative is a daunting task that only a few elites can handle, listen to someone else. But if you want your audience walking away realizing that they’re all capable of greatness, then Uncrapify Your Future! is for you.

Oh, and did we mention that it’s also hilarious? Well it is. And imagine that – a keynote

that’s both educational and enjoyable. How innovative!

Partial List of Takeaways from Uncrapify Your Future:

The three-step process which every innovation throughout all human history has inevitably followed
The one and only barrier to innovative thought, and how to overcome it
Case studies of various innovative products and ideas – which any one of your audience members could conceivably have come up with on their own
Reframing the entire concept of innovation from “big ideas that change the world” to “small ideas that slowly become big ideas that eventually change the world”

Unleash Your Inner Tyrant!

The Most Original Leadership Keynote You’ll Ever See!

(management and leadership)

The first of its kind, Unleash Your Inner Tyrant! helps managers and executives become better leaders by showing them everything they should avoid – including how to create a culture of fear and mistrust, how to oppress and demoralize employees, and how to stand firm in the face of all change – before wrapping up with a serious conversation about the kind of leaders we should all strive to become.

Covering four main areas of leadership – creating a healthy corporate culture; management/employee relations; crisis management; and change management – Unleash Your Inner Tyrant! is every bit as content-rich and intensively researched as a more traditional leadership seminar but has the added benefit of an unparalleled delivery style that will have your audience laughing the entire time they’re learning how to become more effective leaders. Simply put, there is nothing else like this in the business world, and no better way to energize your management team while providing them with invaluable training they will remember for months and years to come.

Partial List of Takeaways:

How to create a healthy, vibrant corporate culture through open communication and active accessibility
How to inspire trust and loyalty in your employees by setting reasonable expectations and delivering truly constructive criticism when necessary
How to approach change to achieve seamless integration of new product lines, marketing strategies, department mergers, and other new initiatives
How to employ one simple technique to move employee from satisfaction to engagement

How to become the kind of leader others are excited to follow

Testimonials

People like Jeff. Some of them have liked him enough to hire him back multiple times. A few of them were nice to enough to say so out loud – and we didn’t have to pay them or anything! They were legitimately happy! And you will be too.

Jeff has spoken to just about every kind of group you can imagine, so if you’d like to see testimonials specific to your industry, please contact us.

Robert Herjavec

8 June 2018

Robert Adams

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Categories: speakers

Robert Herjavec, dynamic entrepreneur and Shark, customizes each speech to fit the objectives and vision of the client. His sense of humor, energy and interaction with the audience will engage and inspire anyone willing to keep up with the pace of change. Robert leverages his life and business experiences as he navigates his presentation, giving audiences practical and tangible tools they can incorporate into their own professional and personal aspirations.

Robert’s motivational business advice has received millions of impressions through TV, print, radio and digital media. He shares his expertise with other entrepreneurs each week as a leading Shark on ABC’s Emmy Award-winning hit Shark Tank.

Videos

Biography

Robert Herjavec is one of North America’s most recognizable business leaders. Born in Eastern Europe, he arrived in North America on a boat with his parents after escaping Communism in the former Yugoslavia. From delivering newspapers and waiting tables, to launching a computer company from his basement, his drive to achieve has led him to the fulfillment of a better life for himself and his family.

A dynamic entrepreneur, Robert has built and sold several IT companies. In 2003 Robert founded Herjavec Group, and it quickly became one of North America’s fastest-growing technology companies. His inspiring books, Driven, The Will to Win and You Don’t Have to Be a Shark: Creating Your Own Success, have all appeared on bestsellers’ lists.

Today, Herjavec Group is recognized as a global cybersecurity operations leader specializing in managed security services, compliance, identity services and incident response for enterprise-level organizations. Robert’s motivational business advice has received millions of impressions through TV, print, radio and digital media. He shares his expertise with other entrepreneurs each week as a leading Shark on ABC’s Emmy Award-winning hit show, Shark Tank.

Speech Topics

Interview

See what happens when the tables turn on entrepreneur Robert Herjavec, Founder and CEO of Herjavec Group, when he finds himself in the hot seat answering questions on business trends, entrepreneurship and revealing a few secrets from inside the Shark Tank.

Fast Forward and Focused

Technology is constantly transforming, creating new possibilities and risks in the business world. Dynamic IT entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Herjavec Group, Robert Herjavec, will explore evolving technology trends, and the rising cyber security threats we face personally and professionally on a daily basis. He will reveal a few secrets from inside the Shark Tank and inspire anyone willing to keep up in a fast moving world.

The Will to Win

Anyone can succeed, as long as they’re willing to take chances, take control of their future and stay true to their vision. Dynamic IT entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Herjavec Group, Robert Herjavec, reveals the secrets and sales tips that took him from waiting tables to growing his nascent technology company into a world-class conglomerate. He shares life principles that are as valuable in the living room as they are in the boardroom.