Speakers

Mike Abrashoff was the most–junior officer in the Pacific Fleet when he took command of the near–worst performing ship. Twelve months later, the USS Benfold was the best ship in the entire Navy – using the same crew. The story of that stunning transformation has lessons for every organization: leadership matters – and culture is everything. Mike’s written four books – his first, It’s Your Ship, has sold over 1.3 million copies. His Leadership Roadmap offers clear, battle–tested, and actionable steps. Mike shows people at every level of the organization how to engage and take incremental steps toward change that can make a dramatic difference at work. Mike is clear, “I didn’t turn the ship around – my crew did that. What I did was to create an environment where they felt safe, empowered and supported. When you do that, anything is possible.”

In many ways, what Mike was able to do with the USS Benfold was an extreme example of the same problems facing many organizations today. That’s why dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company have cited Mike’s story as an inspiring lesson for business. Leaders especially identify with Mike’s being accountable for the results in an environment where he couldn’t make the rules.

“When my crew came to me with a problem, I’d say ‘It’s your ship – how would you fix it?’.” Mike focused on the one thing he could influence: his crew’s attitude, because culture is the ultimate competitive weapon for any organization. Mike’s established a set of management principles that he calls The Leadership Roadmap. At the core of his leadership approach on Benfold was a process of replacing command and control with commitment and cohesion, and engaging the hearts, minds, and loyalties of workers with conviction and humility. “The most important thing that a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. The idea is to empower every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence.”

By every measure, these principles achieved breakthrough results: turnover decreased to an unprecedented 1%; the rate of promotions tripled; and the crew slashed operating expenses by 25%. Regarded as the finest ship in the Pacific Fleet, Benfold won the prestigious Spokane Trophy for having the highest degree of combat readiness. This remarkable turnaround was accomplished by the very same crew that had performed so poorly just months before. Mike is author of four books. His first, It’s Your Ship, has a timeless message: don’t use outside forces that stand in your way as excuses – control the things you can influence and amazing results will happen. His next books, It’s Our Ship and Get Your Ship Together, showed how these principles have been put into action by business leaders in their own organizations. Mike’s latest book, Ship Happens (co–authored with Stacey Cunningham), serves as a guide for leaders, detailing his strategies for transforming USS Benfold into the top–performing ship.

A popular keynote speaker for audiences looking to ramp up organizational performance, Mike has spoken to every industry and kind of audience – from board retreats to front line personnel; from sales groups to universities; from Fortune 500s to startups. He inspires audiences to rethink their beliefs about leadership and organizational culture and tailors the message to focus on engagement, execution, change, safety, diversity, leadership, teamwork, innovation, accountability and more. Prior to commanding USS Benfold, Mike served as the Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. He also helped draft the air defense plan for naval forces in the Persian Gulf in 1990, coinciding with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait; and served as the executive officer of the Cruiser Shiloh, where he deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

Mike Abrashoff is the founder of Aegis Performance Group, a consulting firm which works with and supports leaders as they address leadership, talent and performance challenges within their organizations. Mike and his team prompt leaders at all levels to re–imagine their leadership thinking and create new ways to elevate individual, team and organizational performance.

Topics:

IT’S YOUR SHIP – ACHIEVING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

When Mike Abrashoff took command of the USS Benfold, morale was low, turnover was high and the ship’s performance ranked near the bottom of the Pacific Fleet. Just twelve months later Benfold was ranked #1 – using the very same crew. The lesson was clear – leadership matters and culture is everything. This inspiring talk is for every individual and organization looking for practical and usable ways to take organizational performance to new heights. In Mike’s case, he realized that before the ship’s performance could change, he had to change his leadership style. Mike worked to create a culture of trust and empower his crew to take charge and use ingenuity and initiative to improve every aspect of the way things were done. Top down leadership is dead, so when the crew would present a problem, Mike became famous for responding “What would YOU do? It’s YOUR ship!” Mike’s presentation leaves audiences with the tools and inspiration to accomplish big goals.

THE VIRTUAL LEADER’S ROADMAP

Mike Abrashoff had to change his leadership mindset when he took over the near-worst performing ship in the Navy. The situation was dire. If performance did not improve, sailors could have gotten injured…or worse. In response, Mike quickly adopted a new set of principles to guide a new way of leading. His focus was on building trust and authentic ways of engaging. It was about listening to and empowering his crew who then went on to make the USS Benfold the best ship in the entire U.S. Navy. These very same principles are the foundation of success for organizations that embrace working virtually. In the short term, many organizations have found virtual work arrangements actually increase effectiveness of employees. That effectiveness may not be sustainable if leaders and organizations don’t master a new skill-set of how to lead people they can’t see. It’s about measuring results – not activity; and about finding ways to let people know their efforts are appreciated. Those who succeed in leading in the virtual environment will create a decisive competitive advantage.

NO LIMITS – DON’T LET GOALS BECOME LIMITATIONS

Sometimes in our professional lives we might think we are in a battle to beat an adversary or a competitor when in actuality we are really in competition with ourselves but just haven’t figured it out yet. When battling the competition, you want to come out on top, if only by one more sale or maybe a few percentage points. Other times, someone at a higher level gives you a goal based on some median expectation set for others. When Mike Abrashoff took command of a well below-average ship in the U.S. Navy, his goal was to get to average. He initially set average goals and expectations for himself and his crew until one day it dawned on him: his ship could be much better than just average. It was Mike’s eureka moment: realizing they weren’t in competition with anyone but themselves. To be their best they had to stop putting limits on what they believed was possible. That realization changed Mike Abrashoff’s approach to leadership and led the same crew to accomplish one of the most remarkable turnarounds that was chronicled in the Harvard Business Review , Fast Company magazine and Mike’s New York Times’ and Wall Street Journal bestselling book, IT’S YOUR SHIP. This presentation will challenge audiences to think differently on how to set expectations while realizing the only limits that you have are self-imposed.

Liz Forkin Bohannon is the founder of Sseko Designs, an ethical fashion brand that works to educate and empower women. In four years, Sseko has grown from three women making sandals together under a mango tree to an international fashion brand that provides employment, educational opportunities, and entrepreneurial training to over 50 women in East Africa, enabling them to continue their education and become leaders in their country.

Organizations continue to face rapidly changing work environments, sales teams who are stuck in analysis paralysis, and the urgent need to rethink business models, products, and services to meet the changing needs of their customers. But what Plucky Leaders know is that inside these challenges you can find the greatest opportunity to pivot, progress, and innovate, and that’s exactly what Founder and CEO of Sseko Designs did and how she and her team created a massively successful turnaround story in the height of the pandemic.

Like many businesses experienced, March 2020 showed record low sales and revenue for Sseko Designs. But by May, not only was Sseko back up to baseline, but they had also surpassed their revenue goals by over 100%. How was this possible?!?! By taking her team through the principles in her bestselling book Beginner’s Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose & Impact Now, Liz helped her team reclaim their Pluck by choosing to get curious and tap their inner beginner. 

Organizations around the world are using Plucky Principles like Dream Small and Own Your Average to smash sales goals, drive innovation, and build teams focused on passion, purpose, and impact.

She now splits her time between Uganda and Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband, Ben, run Sseko Designs.

Topic information • Beginner’s Pluck: A Roadmap to Success in Highly Uncertain Times

When we are starting on any journey, there are things that we will do as beginners more naturally that will help us become more creative, innovative, and ultimately, more successful. Even uncertainty becomes something that we look at with curiosity instead of fear. This is a little something Liz Bohannon calls “Beginners Pluck.” By embracing your status as a beginner or diving deliberately out of mastery and back into the magical land of beginners, you will achieve goals you never imagined. 

Through exploring some of the 14 principles from her bestselling book, Beginner’s Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose & Impact Now, Liz will challenge your team to dream small so they can start doing instead of dreaming, show them how curiosity over criticism fuels innovation and set them on the ultimate path of success by weaving passion and purpose into every goal.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Become a Problem Finder – If you understand your customers’ lives at a granular level, you can look for other problems you might be able to solve for them, rather than searching for ways to make them comfortable with business as usual. 
• Be a Doer, Not a Dreamer – Just like start-ups who go from dreaming to doing, iterating and testing, you need to apply a beginner’s mind. 
• Reconnect your Sales Team with their Purpose – This is why purpose is so important. When unexpected curveballs are thrown your way that all but decimate your organization, the strongest unifier and innovation-inducer is purpose. 

* A journalist-gone-shoemaker, Liz shares her passion for social enterprise, conscious consumerism, social justice, creative leadership, gender equity, risk-taking, (pause for deep breath) ….and empowering women. 

Contact Kris to learn more about Liz and her extraordinary journey.

Amanda is a producer, filmmaker, branding expert, and sought-after public speaker, sharing her “Do Well By Doing Good” philosophy on stages around the country. She demonstrates how companies and individuals can make a meaningful and positive difference in people’s lives while fostering their own success in the process. She believes that companies must not only identify their brand purpose but put that purpose into action.

Through her work, Amanda has defined what it looks like for brands to act “as publishers,” creating movements through their content strategy. In her most recent demonstration of this, Amanda was the Chief Brand Officer of Deluxe, where the brand challenge was to reach small businesses. The solution? She created, produced, and hosted their Emmy-nominated series “Small Business Revolution,” which streamed on Hulu and was named among Inc. Magazine’s top shows for entrepreneurs. Through this inspirational reality show, Amanda proved the model of authentic content stretching a brand’s spend by achieving 12x the reach through this series over traditional paid media. The program accumulated over 13 billion impressions, 6,000+ earned media articles, and 20 million content views (and counting). This work changed lives, families, small businesses, and communities across the country.

Amanda is a nationally renowned brand expert, Forbes contributor, and frequent on-camera personality for national news outlets and celebrity interviews, ranging from LL Cool J to Peyton Manning. She has appeared on CNBC’s “Cleveland Hustles,” in addition to hosting the online “Small Talks” series that features successful entrepreneurs across the country.

That’s all while charting an acclaimed career that spans groundbreaking campaigns for brands like BMW, Reebok, and Sony, in addition to her role as an inspiring female executive at Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, such as United Health Group, Allianz, General Mills, and Deluxe. Amanda’s current and former board service includes the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Make-A-Wish, the Children’s Theatre Company, the Ordway Performing Arts Center, Ad Council, ANA (Association of National Advertisers), and the Women’s Business Development Center. She also passionately volunteers for causes such as Special Olympics, Feed My Starving Children, Habitat for Humanity, and more. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband (who happens to be her best friend), her daughter (who is a small but mighty force of nature), and their puppy (who is, of course, adorable).

Engage with her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook @amandakbrinkman

Daryl Davis is committed to helping people ignite positive change – using conversation to build bridges. His jaw-dropping experiences speak for themselves. For nearly 40 years, he’s engaged leaders of the KKK and White supremacist groups face to face to find the answer to a question: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” That question stemmed from his first encounter with racism at age ten when he was pelted with rocks, bottles, and soda cans by a handful of White spectators while marching in a parade. Seeking to understand, not to change minds, Daryl met their hatred with civility, patience, and listening. Those conversations spawned genuine and lasting friendships with many who changed their own minds and disavowed hateful beliefs. Some even gave Daryl their robes and hoods when they did. As a speaker, Daryl is an extraordinary storyteller who inspires and empowers audiences with tools they can use to make better workplaces, communities, and relations with family and friends. Daryl’s work is chronicled in his book Klan-Destine Relationships and the documentary Accidental Courtesy. Daryl’s TEDx talk has over 12 million views.

Topics:

CONVERSATIONS THAT IGNITE CHANGE

Conversation can build bridges or walls. It’s up to us. Daryl Davis should know. The noted Black musician gained international acclaim by confronting, face to face, leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacist groups who hate him simply for the color of his skin. Daryl’s was an effort to understand them, not to change minds, but those civil conversations forged unlikely and genuine friendships. Over time, many of his new friends changed their own minds and renounced their old beliefs. What can we learn from Daryl’s inspiring and jaw-dropping experiences?

Sample Takeaways:

• Apply universal tools to create positive change wherever conflict exists
• Understand the other person’s position and reasoning before you engage
• You needn’t respect what people say but you must respect their right to say it
• Learn to listen, and keep emotions in check, even in incendiary situations
• How to repair a relationship with a colleague, client, friend, or family member

DIVERSITY LESSONS FROM A BLACK KLAN WHISPERER

“We spend too much time talking about the other person, talking at the other person, and talking past the other person. Amazing things can happen when we spend some time talking with the other person.” So says Daryl Davis, whose jaw-dropping experiences engaging KKK and White supremacist leaders hold lessons that inspire audiences to think differently about how they engage others who don’t share their views, backgrounds, religion, etc. The more we talk, the more we understand each other and discover what we have in common. That’s when the possibilities open up and the importance of our differences diminishes.

Sample Takeaways:

• Learn to build bridges and ignite positive change
• Everyone wants the same 5 things. Learn what they are and how they drive behavior
• Spend 5 minutes together. You’ll find something in common
• A missed opportunity for dialogue is a missed opportunity for conflict resolution
• The power of empathy – put yourself in the other person’s shoes

HAIL, HAIL ROCK’N’ROLL – DELIVER ME FROM THE DAYS OF OLD

At its inception, Rock ’n’ Roll was called “the devil’s music” by its detractors. Some cities banned it altogether. Rooted in Black R&B and Blues, its infectious beat led young people in the South to leap over the rope that segregated Whites from Blacks in the audience. The 1957, Chuck Berry lyric, “Deliver me from the days of old,” in his hit song School Days, celebrated the music as a turning point in race relations. Daryl brings that history forward into his own story, using music as a common denominator and proving that musical and racial harmony go hand-in-hand.

Sample Takeaways:

• How musical inspiration differs from musical appropriation
• The Elvis conundrum: How he was crowned King of a genre he didn’t create
• How Country and Blues are the same music, and why society separates them
• How a Black musical genre improved race relations and elected a Black president
• Why music is a cultural necessity and not a luxury

Ryan Estis has over 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former chief strategy officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency NAS, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. As a keynote speaker, Ryan is known for his innovative ideas on leading change, improving sales effectiveness, and preparing for the future of work. He was recently recognized as one of “the best keynote speakers ever heard” by Meetings & Conventions magazine alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Colin Powell, and Mike Ditka.

Ryan delivers keynote speeches, courses, and online learning emphasizing actionable content to elevate business performance. His curriculum emphasizes emerging trends influencing leadership effectiveness, sales performance, and customer experience. Ryan helps participants prepare to thrive in today’s ultra-competitive, hyper-connected business environment.

Ryan supports leading brands, including Liberty Mutual, Darden Restaurants, Goodyear, the Dallas Cowboys, Medtronic, ECCO USA, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. He is a faculty member of the Institute of Management Studies, a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board, and a certified Human Capital Strategist.

Ryan and his team publish original research featuring client case studies to expand the live event experience. He is also the author of a popular blog on business performance. His writing has been featured in Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, FastCompany, SmartBrief, Business News Network, Crain’s Business, and Yahoo Business.

Ryan is an Ohio University graduate who resides in downtown Minneapolis. When he’s not traveling to speaking engagements worldwide, Ryan enjoys downtime with family and friends, practicing yoga, and cheering on his beloved Minnesota Timberwolves.

As the founding CEO of RISE, a breakthrough wellness company, Suneel Gupta helped thousands of people build better habits for life and work. Now as a bestselling author and Harvard Medical School visiting scholar, Suneel has taken his mission one step further – helping people achieve sustainable peak performance by bolstering emotional resilience and engagement. Suneel asks, “How can an organization excel on the outside if its people are exhausted on the inside?” Grit and hustle are simply not a long-term answer to dealing with non-stop change and stress. Suneel offers leaders and teams a better way to work; one that results in sustainable innovation, productivity, and fulfillment. He arms people with science-based habits that will avoid burnout, boost energy, and improve their professional and personal lives.

Suneel is a business survivor and the author of the international bestselling book Backable (2020). That book is rooted in his inner journey from twice-failed entrepreneur to becoming a leader behind two IPOs and being named “The New Face of Innovation” by the New York Stock Exchange. The book reveals the mindset shifts and hidden habits of people who are extraordinary at pushing new ideas forward.

His next book, due in 2023, will unveil the habits of high-pressure performers, explaining why some people burn out, while others reach new levels of resilience, productivity, and momentum.

As visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, Suneel researches and teaches the interconnection between inner well-being and outer leadership. He is also emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan.

As CEO of RISE Suneel helped thousands of people establish a way to personalize their physical and mental health journey while connecting with certified nutritionists and trainers at an affordable price. The company was named “App of the Year” and partnered with then first-Lady Michelle Obama before being acquired by the NASDAQ-listed company One Medical Group. In 2022, with its acquisition of One Medical Group, RISE is now part of Amazon.

Suneel is currently the host of Business Class, a docuseries created by American Express where he showcases entrepreneurs and business visionaries who embody struggle and resilience. He is joined on the show by guests like Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, former monk Jay Shetty, and Martha Stewart.

He has partnered with The Second City comedy theater to teach students and executives how to innovate “on-your-feet” during times of rapid change.

Suneel has also personally backed ventures including Impossible Foods, AirBnB, 23&Me, and SpaceX. He was one of the very first investors in CALM, which now helps millions of people achieve a greater sense of work/life balance.

When a reporter once asked Suneel about his purpose, his response was to “find good people, and inspire them to do what inspires them.”

MOMENTUM: ACCELERATE YOUR PERFORMANCE WITHOUT THE BURNOUT

In the face of an exhaustion epidemic, it’s time to rethink how we view high performance. Grit and hustle have their place but are also scientifically associated with burnout. As CEO of RISE, Suneel Gupta helped thousands of people overcome their challenges with physical and mental health. He now helps organizations increase performance, innovation, and creativity by showing why high-potential people and teams fizzle out. They don’t run out of time or talent, they run out of energy! This presentation is rooted in Suneel’s one-of-a-kind teaching at Harvard Medical School, as well as eight years of closely studying the habits of extraordinary leaders who reached breakthrough levels of productivity, resilience, fulfillment, and momentum.

Actionable Takeaways Tailored to Each Audience:

• Learn why managing energy is as important as managing time
• Build emotional runway and avoid burnout with science-based practices
• Discover habits from some of the happiest cultures on Earth
• Master everyday practices for boosting morale and engagement
• Reframe failure as a pathway to success
• Master the changing work landscape with less stress

GET BACKABLE – WHY SOME IDEAS MOVE AHEAD WHILE OTHERS GET IGNORED

The future belongs to organizations that fully engage their people in the effort to adapt swiftly to relentless change. But in the changing world of work, building community, collaboration, and connection has become harder than before. Creating a culture that spawns fresh ideas is only half the battle – showing people how to move their ideas forward is the other half that most leaders and organizations miss. When people understand how to get a new idea “backed” by colleagues, customers, and communities…big things happen. Breakthrough ideas rise to the surface, projects proceed faster and smarter, and organizations become magnets for top talent.

Actionable Takeaways Tailored to Each Audience:

• 7 ways to turn a new idea into an inspiring vision that captivates attention and inspires action
• How extraordinary leaders create a spirit of inclusion, collaboration, and community
• Learn the “Game of Now” and why extraordinary leaders don’t wait for the timing to be exactly right
• Embrace a new path to high performance that beats burnout and boosts innovation, creativity, and momentum

Damian Hughes is a bestselling author who combines his practical and academic background within sport, organisational development and change psychology, to help organisations and teams to create a high performing culture.

He is the author of eight best-selling business books, including Liquid Thinking, Liquid Leadership, How to Change Absolutely Anything, How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson and The Five STEPS to a Winning Mindset.

His latest book, High Performance: Lessons from the Best on Becoming Your Best, has been a number one Sunday Times best seller. His work has been translated into ten languages.

He has also been nominated for the 2007 William Hill Sports book of the year award for Peerless, his biography of boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson. In 2009, he co-authored a critically acclaimed biography of boxing legend, Thomas Hearns in Hitman: the Thomas Hearns Story. In 2013, his latest biography, Marvelous Marvin Hagler became the UK’s best selling sports biography.

He was appointed as a visiting Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Change for Manchester Metropolitan University in September 2010.

He is the co-host of The High Performance Podcast, an acclaimed series of interviews with elite performers from business, sport and the arts, exploring the psychology behind sustained high performance.

He has served as a member of the coaching team for England Rugby League, England Roses, Scotland Rugby Union and a wide range of international and national sporting teams.

Peter Katz is a JUNO Award- and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has spent the past 15 years touring internationally. He has been described by many of his fans and speaking clients as “a thunderbolt for the soul”.

Renowned CBC radio host Tom Power described Peter’s music as “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful, and vulnerable records of the year… an astonishing record.” To date, his music has been streamed almost 10 million times, his music videos have over 25 million views on YouTube, and his songs have been featured on countless TV shows and movies including the 2016 Rio Olympics/Paralympics.

Katz is also one of Canada’s most in-demand speakers and facilitators, being called on to give his highly customized “Keynote Concerts” to hundreds of companies and organizations across various industries like Bell, Johnson & Johnson, Xerox, Royal Lepage, American Express, Sick Kids Hospital, Mars, Trillium Health, and Royal Bank, to name a few. Beyond his transformational in-person events, Katz is also regarded as one of the pioneers of highly engaging virtual experiences, having performed to over 150,000 people virtually from his state-of-the art broadcast studio, including being invited to address the House of Commons of Canada.

“His ability to connect is unlike anyone I’ve seen. To be the highest standard of being a storyteller is to be like Peter Katz.”

Jeff Pulver, Founder of Vonage

Topics:

We Become What We Celebrate

If we want to be aligned with our highest values, then we need to celebrate them. We must pause, mark the moment, and share and listen to stories of these values in action. Through celebration, we see ingredients of the recipe rather than just eat the cake, allowing us to freely and consciously participate in its creation.

In his newest keynote, Peter Katz shows audiences how to harness the limitless joy of celebration. Far from superficial pleasure, celebration is a co-created experience that can revolutionize individuals and teams before, during, and after their most pivotal moments. As a Juno Award-nominated singer-songwriter, keynote speaker, and facilitator, Katz understands how to create the right container to recognize, amplify, and archive our brightest milestones so that we will always be able to draw on their power and connect back to our most authentic selves.

Audiences will learn:

• How to co-author an elevated and growth-oriented company culture.
• Practical steps to create the right “container” for celebration to thrive.
• Evergreen exercises for developing a deep sense of belonging and connection within teams.
• How recognizing and championing shared values will increase individual and collective resilience and give work a greater sense of purpose.

Resiliency and Dealing with Change

Change is the name of the game in today’s world. Change is also one of our highest sources of anxiety and one of our biggest emotional obstacles. Peter Katz speaks to the heart of the emotions surrounding change and helps create an internal infrastructure to not only weather the storm, but to ride the waves of uncertainty to new opportunities, impact, and innovation.

Bigger Picture Thinking

Beyond the emails, phones calls, and meetings, what is it that you’re actually doing and who are you doing it for? Peter Katz helps your employees and members zoom out from the daily grind to get a bird’s eye view of the real work that they’re actually doing and connect to its potential impact. That reminder is a powerful catalyst for a newfound sense of motivation and inspires new perspectives for creative thinking and innovation.

Mental Wellness

We can’t help others unless we help ourselves. Through his “lifelines” concept, Peter Katz leads by example in encouraging attendees to nurture relationships with key people in their lives for whom there’s no disconnect between who they need to be on the outside and how they feel on the inside. In an age where mental health has never been more talked about or understood as vitally important, Katz’s keynote pierces the heart and mind and provides a platform for meaningful dialogue and support to happen.

Passion in The Workplace

No amount of expectations, deadlines, or performance targets can compete with an employee who genuinely believes in what they’re doing. That deep internal motivation and passion propels your team members to surpass their usual targets and move themselves and the organization forward in the process. Peter Katz helps your team drop in and connect to their purpose in the work that they’re doing, leading to a new level of output performance that you didn’t think was possible.

Staying in It: Showing Up Wholeheartedly in Our Lives

How do you find the strength and courage to “stay in it wholeheartedly” when life is constantly presenting you with new challenges? How do you stay connected to the bigger picture so you can create the positive impacts you wish to make?

Part concert, part keynote — Juno Award-nominated singer-songwriter Peter Katz draws on his experience of surviving and thriving in the music industry to motivate attendees to stay on their path wholeheartedly, while also being open to change and embracing the unexpected along the way.

Through his powerful songs and stories, Katz pulls attendees in and leaves them inspired to show up with purpose every day.

Audiences will learn:

• That we don’t always know the impact we have in the world, and why it matters how we show up everyday.
• How to feel more connected to the bigger picture of what they’re actually contributing towards beyond day-to-day challenges.
• How to nurture meaningful connections.

Katz offers follow-up sessions and/or workshops to facilitate deeper training on the topics covered in his presentation.

Why I Seek Discomfort

Part concert, part talk, Juno Award and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter and four-time TEDx fellow Peter Katz uses his journey from nervous first-timer at an open mic to playing to thousands of people all over the world, to show how he discovered the direct correlation between the moments of greatest discomfort and fear in his life, and his moments of greatest discovery and growth.

What’s on the other side of that cloud called fear? What happens when you do something you thought you were too afraid to do? As it turns out, our biggest challenges are our biggest opportunities, and through his songs and stories, Katz gives permission to his audience to bravely take on their own challenges and, in doing so, discover the important lessons and hidden joys that they contain.

ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS

BREAKOUT SESSION: Why I Seek Discomfort

As a great companion piece to his keynote talk, Peter Katz can also do additional breakout sessions with smaller groups where students have an opportunity to go a little deeper in understanding the connection between their moments of greatest discomfort and the moments of greatest breakthrough in the pursuit of their goals.

Beginning with a loop demonstration and mini songwriting experience, the students take little risks by engaging in a fun and spontaneous creation process. Katz then debriefs the experience as a way of understanding the connection between the risk they just took, the change in how they feel after having participated in it, and then ties it to similar feelings of vulnerability required of them in their lives. Then, using the journey that one of his songs took, he shares a powerful personal story about what happens when you put something out into the world that you care about, despite the nervousness and discomfort that you may feel. The session finishes with every student stating one of their goals and identifying some of the key steps required in order to walk towards it, as well as identifying the potential moments of discomfort that may hold them back.

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP: Finding Your Way In

Over the course of this 90-120-minute workshop, Juno Award-nominated singer-songwriter Peter Katz will give students a glimpse into the songwriting process. He will teach them first the fundamentals of song components (verse, chorus, bridge) using popular songs that they’ll recognize, and then they will discuss choices that can be made in the creation process that affect the impact of the song on the listener (tempo, major/minor chords, dynamics). Once these basic concepts are in place, Peter and the group will then take that newfound knowledge and apply it to creating the beginnings of a song together. Students will be able to see that the creation process is fun, free-flowing, and contains infinite possibilities. With the older students, concepts like similes/metaphors will also be discussed to add greater depth to the lyrics.

Ideal group size is no more than 25 per session, but some flexibility is possible. Preference would be to do multiple sessions with smaller groups to ensure that all students are able to get hands-on with the songwriting process.

Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker.

He has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s an internationally recognized expert on innovation and is the author of four books on the subject, including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming, and The Road to Reinvention.

Josh is passionate about starting and building companies. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā Venture Partners – an early-stage venture capital firm – and was previously the CEO and founding partner of Detroit Venture Partners. Over the last 30 years, he’s helped over 100 startups launch and scale.

Today, Josh serves as Chairman and co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year twice and is a recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession for greasy pizza.

Ally Love is the CEO of Love Squad, Peloton instructor, host, inspiring speaker, and adidas global ambassador who can be seen wearing a multitude of hats, from the bike to the floor of the Brooklyn Nets arena, where she serves as host. Ally who was born and raised in Miami, Florida, headed to New York City to pursue and eventually receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Fordham University, and minor in Theology. As a dancer for the New York Knicks and participant in contemporary ballet companies throughout North America, Ally began exploring her career in performance.

In 2015, Ally founded and created the Love Squad community to empower women through the facilitation of motivational and educational conversations. Inclusivity, boldness, respect, and authenticity are the values that Love Squad strives to instill in women everywhere, both personally and professionally. Love Squad gets real about topics from negotiating salaries to fertility, tackles the realities of running a business while raising a family, and encourages women to boss up and take control of their lives.

As an empowering speaker and writer, Ally created her video series, The Basics of Bossing Up, where she discusses key virtues and presents tangible takeaways for her viewers to implement in their own lives. Instead of getting caught up in the buzzword of the moment, Ally takes it back to the basics of how to execute success, and ultimately create the life you want to live. Signed to top agency CAA, Ally has been the co-host for the ESPYS, the US Open morning show “The Warm Up”, host for the inaugural Jopwell Talks Featuring Gayle King, WE Day Official for the United Nations, as well as moderator of Chicago Ideas Week. She has inspired audiences from major global corporations including Google, JP Morgan, Amazon, Salesforce, and many more. Ally has been featured in Vogue and the New York Times as well as appearing on various shows including Good Morning America.

Ally embodies the concept of the slash -generation, with a well-rounded knowledge and experience in sports, fashion, faith, fitness, public speaking, wellness, and activism. Dedicated to empowering people in their pursuit of natural wellness, Ally is a Certified Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Medicine. As a Peloton instructor, Ally’s mission is to empower, encourage and uplift. Ally motivated Peloton members, Nets fans, and avid followers of her social media to seek collaboration over competition and show up to tackle the goal of progress, not perfection. Business owner, host, motivational speaker, ambassador, fitness instructor, and boss, Ally Love is an inspirational powerhouse, using her authentic passions to create avenues for those who engage with her to succeed and prosper.

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. Seth 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.

Seth is the founder and CEO of FutureSight Labs, an organizational design and transformation firm that supports many of the world’s most inspiring leaders by helping them prepare for the future of work through research, training, advising, coaching, digital tools, and thought leadership.

Riaz Meghji is a human connection expert and author of the book Every Conversation Counts: The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships. His insights have been featured in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review and Financial Post. After one conversation led him to take a dramatically different career path that changed his life for the better, he became dedicated to exploring the ways that authentic human connection can change lives and organizations.

In addition to being a respected thought leader and author on the topic of human connection, Riaz is also an accomplished broadcaster with 17 years of television hosting experience; he has interviewed experts on current affairs, sports, entertainment, politics, and business.

Riaz has hosted for Citytv’s Breakfast Television, MTV Canada, TEDxVancouver, CTV News, and the Toronto International Film Festival. He is a natural storyteller with a proven ability to conduct engaging, in-depth conversations across various disciplines.

Off-camera, Riaz dedicates himself to philanthropy and causes he cares about including Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and Covenant House. He holds a degree in business from Simon Fraser University and studied leadership communication at Harvard Extension School and the Canadian Management Centre.

Neil Pasricha thinks, writes, and speaks about intentional living. All his current work focuses under themes of gratitude, happiness, failure, resilience, connection, and trust. Neil is the author of nine books and journals including: The Book of Awesome, a spinning rolodex of simple pleasures based on his 100-million-hit, award-winning blog 1000 Awesome Things, The Happiness Equation, originally written as a 300-page love letter to his unborn son on how to live a happy life, Awesome Is Everywhere, an interactive introduction to guided meditation for children, Two-Minute Mornings, his simple daily morning practice, and You Are Awesome, a nine-step guide to building resilience told through stories and research. Neil’s books are New York Times and #1 international bestsellers, have spent over 200 weeks on best-seller lists, and have sold over two million copies across dozens of languages.

Neil also gives over 50 speeches a year at places like Harvard, SXSW, and Shopify. His first TED talk “The 3 A’s of Awesome” is ranked one of the 10 Most Inspiring of all time and his second is called “How do you maximize your tiny, short life?”, an artistic side-project called the world’s first TED Listen, composed entirely of questions. Neil gave the most attended feature keynote at SXSW 2019 called “Building trust in distrustful times”.

Neil hosts an Apple “Best of” award-winning podcast called 3 Books where he is on an ‘epic 15- year-long quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world.’ Each of the 333 chapters discusses the three most formative books of an inspiring person like Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, Roxane Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Kevin the Bookseller, Seth Godin, David Mitchell, Mark Manson, or Judy Blume. 3 Books is recorded live and in-person and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each chapter dropping on the exact minute of every single new moon and every single full moon up to September 1, 2031 at 5:21 a.m. Neil shares his current writing on this blog and in a series of newsletters read by over 100,000 people.

Neil’s pro bono work focuses on literacy, bibliophilia, and mental health. Neil has degrees from Queen’s University and Harvard Business School. Neil lives in Toronto with his wife Leslie and their four boys.

It’s an impersonal world, where so many products and services are seen as easily–replaced, indistinct commodities. Whether you stand out or get lost in the crowd is a choice. A mindset. Ken Schmidt faced those same challenges himself and gained acclaim for his role in the extraordinary turnaround of the legendary Harley–Davidson Motor Company. That transformation was based on a change in mindset and a focus on answering three key strategic questions. While times have changed, what humans want and need from the businesses they buy from and work for hasn’t. In his high–energy speeches, Ken inspires companies and individuals to shift their thinking and ride a path to success by becoming memorable – not for what they do or what they make, but for how they connect with people. Ken is author of Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance. He’s also host of the Tailgating with Geniuses podcast and co–founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. In all of his endeavors, Ken brings an unconventional perspective that helps organizations and individuals reframe how they engage with their marketplace.
Ken Schmidt’s career in the motorcycle industry began in 1985 as a specialist in corporate positioning and media relations for the then–struggling Harley–Davidson. He was tasked with helping the company restore its image, improve its competitiveness, and create demand for its motorcycles. Within a few short years, sales of Harley–Davidson motorcycles skyrocketed, and the company returned to prominence as one of the most respected, profitable, and frequently reported–on companies in the world.
In 1990, Ken became director of Harley–Davidson’s corporate and financial communications, serving as its primary
spokesperson to the media and the financial communities. He frequently appeared in mainstream and business media to offer insights on nontraditional communications, customer attraction, and brand–building. His expertise and success at Harley–Davidson ultimately led to consulting assignments and speaking invitations from all over the world.
In 1997, Ken left Harley–Davidson to take an ownership position with a highly successful Chicago–based marketing firm, VSA Partners. In addition to Harley–Davidson, VSA served a virtual who’s who of the world’s best–known brands. In 1999, he sold his portion of VSA to start his own business, Ken Schmidt Company, to combine two of his greatest passions, motorcycling and speaking. He uses motorcycles as a metaphor to expose people to proven ideas and concepts they’ve likely never imagined.
In addition to speaking and consulting, Ken is co–founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. Through a combination of hands–on training and interactive workshops, these sessions help individuals and organizations re–position themselves to become dominant competitors, maximize leadership effectiveness, build a people–first culture of innovation and foster loyalty among customers and employees.
Ken is also the host of the popular podcast Tailgating with Geniuses, wherein he talks with some of the most innovative and successful leaders in a variety of industries to discuss their unique perspectives on leadership, major challenges, and success.
Ken’s relatable and engaging hosting style has made the podcast a hit with listeners looking to learn from the best and achieve their own personal and professional goals.
Ken authored Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance, which gives business leaders an easy–to–follow
roadmap for improving their competitiveness, using many of the techniques he championed at Harley–Davidson. He considers his work on 100 Years of Harley–Davidson, a global best seller, to be one of his greatest and most rewarding achievements.
After all he has accomplished, Ken remains committed to his philosophy of standing out, taking risks, and having fun in both his personal and professional life. He says, “Never do what’s expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible, and have a lot more fun than you’re supposed to.”

Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, TV Host, & Founder of the 100things Movement Driven by a passion for seeing others achieve, Sebastian’s one-of-a-kind story has organically become a powerful catalyst for personal growth and organizational transformation.

Sebastian’s action-based keynote integrates individual evolution with professional development by leveraging the power of goal setting and striving as a vehicle to maximize mental wellness, individual productivity, and team engagement.

“Seb’s philosophies, tools, and processes will unleash anyone’s ability to put aside procrastination and prioritize what’s truly important to them in living a happier and healthier life. Time with Seb is a gift, and one my whole team and I will forever be grateful for – it’s nothing short of life-changing.”

– Nick Drake, CMO of Google

Shocked by the death of a close friend in his mid-twenties, Sebastian experienced a moment where he asked himself a simple question; ‘Am I happy?’

The answer was NO, so he created a list of 100 things he hoped would transform his life. For over a decade, Sebastian has been chasing the goals on his list and teaching others how to do the same. From marrying a stranger in Vegas (Goal #2) and delivering a baby (#23) to living on a deserted island for 1 week (#63) and even helping a quadriplegic man complete a half marathon by pushing him (#26), Sebastian’s story turned into a best selling book, his own reality show and a renowned keynote that has inspired millions of people around the world.

The impact of time and experience has helped shape Sebastian’s journey from pursuing fun and exciting life goals to realizing that these strategies transfer to the mechanics of organizational health.

Sebastian’s keynote blends masterful storytelling with processes, research, and data from the field to offer equal shots of inspiration, education, and entertainment, leaving his audience with a toolkit and mindset for ongoing growth. “Honestly, it was just great!”

– Nick Tran, CMO of TikTok

Often noted as the highlight of any conference he presents at, Sebastian’s keynote is an experience that will make your audience laugh, think, cry and ultimately take action.

After decades 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 go personally.

Having grown his own companies by accelerating the growth and transformation for clients that include: 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 dare to tell themselves the truth, take intelligent risks, and assume ownership for driving the alignment necessary to build an organization that behaves in ways worthy of its leadership position.

In being true to his ambitions and relentless pursuit of growth, Peter has published seven books, built three global companies, and delivered more than 2,500 presentations in 40+ countries. Today he and his team at Karrikins Group are focused exclusively on inspiring leaders to do the hard work required to accelerate growth and transformation.

Denise’s award-winning film, Project Eñye, has one single and simple purpose… to transform how we think and speak about culture, identity and what it means to belong. And it’s amazing. 

In 2020 Denise was recognized as a “Featured Host” by Apple Podcast North America for her podcast “The Self-ish Latina” which has listeners in 32 countries. Denise has been invited to speak to some of the world’s most recognized brands: Progressive, Microsoft, AARP, Facebook, LinkedIn, JP Morgan Chase, Salesforce, Proctor & Gamble, Dow Jones, Eli Lilly, KPMG, Starbucks, VaynerMedia, and SONY to name a few.

Her work with Project Eñye has been featured on Forbes.com, CNN, NBC Latino, Chicago Tribune, Telemundo, Univision, Fox News Latino, HOLA and the Huffington Post.

Denise is currently in production with her second feature length documentary (Fall 2022) and also working on a new book about Belonging (Spring 2023).

Whether she’s keynoting an event, conducting a Q&A or participating on a panel, Denise communicates about emotionally difficult concepts in a way that makes people feel validated, understood and yet profoundly challenged to be a better version of themselves.

Topic information

Through the power of film and an interactive conversation, Denise Soler Cox takes audiences on an emotional journey of understanding the most inherent human need—belonging. 

Simply put, Denise brings clarity to what is happening underneath the surface so that attendees from all cultural backgrounds, nationalities, and ethnicities, walk away feeling personally understood and professionally empowered to be more impactful leaders.

Denise distills learning compiled over the course of eight years into an interactive and authentically delivered keynote that inspires a new way to think about culture, identity, and what it means to belong.

• Participants will understand that the ultimate expression of diversity is the individual. Each of us must learn to embrace our own story. Only then are we free to share who we are with others. That authenticity is the first building block of belonging.
• Participants will experience psychological safety, which is the key ingredient groups need, to tackle meaningful professional challenges as a team.
• Participants will better understand how their cultural past shapes their perception of today, and their vision of the future. In a refreshing and fun process, each person will begin to build the “scaffolding of belonging.”

Denise’s presentation illuminates how each of us want to be seen, heard and understood. 

Video: Watch the trailer for her award-winning film here.

*Want to see the entire film or hear how it’s being used powerfully in both live and virtual events?

After years spent surveying tens of thousands of people, working with hundreds of category-leading companies, and authoring a bestselling book on the new world of work, Eric has firmly established himself a trusted expert, delivering a refreshing, actionable message for leaders at every level, as we navigate the future of work together.

KEYNOTE #1

BLUEPRINT TO THE FUTURE: Leading in a New World of Work

While the trends, charts, graphs, and predictions about the future of work are interesting, the rhetoric around the future of work isoften stuck on what it might look like, not how we get there. Instead of wasting time trying to predict what’s next, leaders need to better understand the specific steps we need to take to focus on building incredible teams that thrive in the face of adversity and uncertainty;and have each other’s backs along the way.

In this engaging, insight-filled, and actionable presentation, workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende shares his research-backed blueprint for successful leadership in a world that has yet to be created.

Attendees will receive a practical guide to building teams that are more productive, engaged, creative, and innovative. They’ll learn from the experiences of the National Football League, category-leading companies,

and trailblazers from around the world about the importance of building trust, removing friction, and creating a culture of experimentation. Attendees will discover ways to ‘future-proof’ their teams by making a series of one- degree shifts that result in an improved sense ofbelonging, psychological safety, and engagement. Attendees will walk away with immediate, actionable, budget-free steps to become the type of leader that builds resilient, innovative teams, no matter what else is going on in the world.

What audiences come away with:

• Practical strategies to boost trust, resilience, and camaraderie
• Research-backed insights on building team agility and excitement toward impending change
• An understanding of how to harness the power of one-degree shifts
• Methods for finding and reducing friction within teams
• Actionable steps to cultivate a culture of experimentation, risk free

KEYNOTE #2

UNWAVERING: Building Incredible Teams for the Future of Work

Uncertainty is inevitable in the new world of work. In the face of ongoing change, will we see our people running for the exits, or will they be there to support and help each other? Change is happening faster than ever before and building unwavering teams that are resilient, ultra-collaborative, and even excited about that change has never been more important. But how do we build unwavering teams? Trust, empathy, and ongoing experimentation.

Workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende has spent nearly a decade decoding exactly what creates unwavering teams: those that are resilient, rooted in belonging, and have a deep sense of safety and inclusivity. These are the types of teams that thrive through change because they know that while change may be difficult, the only thing worse is standing still. Eric has created a playbookfor cultivating unwavering teams, and in this session, attendees will both learn it and be able to take it home with them.

By discovering how to enhance collaboration, developing excitement for all of the possibilities experimentation yield, and deciphering the root of trust across a team, attendees will come away from this session understanding how to become the incredible leader who inspire their teams to perform at their best and stand strong through anything the future may hold.

What audiences come away with:

• Deep knowledge about the root of collaboration and how to enhance it across the team
• Research-backed insights trust, psychological safety, and belonging at work
• How to enhance excitement about change and how to involve the whole team in the process
• The most important question to ask to get engagement and buy-in
• Why the future is something to be excited about, not scared of

KEYNOTE #3

SNOWFLAKES AND FINGERPRINTS: How to Attract Top Talent in the Future of Work

Regardless of where we look, talent shortages are impacting every industry, and competition is fierce. With an entire generation on the precipiceof retirement, and not enough workers ready to replace them, the situation is only going to get fiercer. More than ever before, we need to do whatever we can to attract and retain top talent – but what is that? After a decade of research on the world’s greatest places to work, workplaceculture and leadership expert Eric Termuende has the answer.

Like snowflakes and fingerprints, it all comes down to uniqueness. The days of job listings demanding an extensive list of skills and attributesfrom potential employees are gone. Instead, we need to talk about the larger workplace experience and the difference our organizations are making in the world. To attract the right talent in today’s environment, we must plant our metaphorical flag in the ground and emphasize what makes us, as employers, different from the rest.

This means highlighting not only how and where we work, but also the more intangible aspects of our organization, like our purpose and values.It means leveraging our current employees’ experiences and sharing why they love their jobs. To attract talent in the future of work we need to beloud and proud about the things that make us uniquely us.

In this fun and takeaway-filled presentation, attendees will not only learn how to create their own compelling stories to attract the right talent to their organization, but they’ll also leave with a talent attraction framework they can continue to refine as the world of work keeps evolving.

What audiences come away with:

• Actionable ways to create and share a unique, sticky, and impactful employee value proposition
• Key strategies for leveraging your best recruiters (your existing team)
• An understanding of why creating a ‘best’ place to work might not mean what you think it does (and what licorice, cilantro, and pineapple pizza has to do with it)
• Knowledge of where culture lives, and how to adapt your story based on the team/location you’re hiring for

KEYNOTE #4

GENERATION ALL: How to Build and Lead Multigenerational Teams

Regardless of which workplace resource we look at, we’re inundated with information about how to ensure harmony, productivity, and alignment when the different generations come together as co-workers. But what if we’re answering the wrong questions? Instead of asking ‘how do we get different generations to work together?’ we asked, ‘how do we build deeper connection, trust, and awareness of the peoplewe work with every day?’

In this refreshing, insightful, and actionable presentation, workforce expert and bestselling author Eric Termuende shares insights gleaned from his years of research into how to build a better workforce – one that includes all generations, perspectives, and experiences. After studying the topic for years and surveying tens of thousands of people, Eric knows exactly what it takes to lead multigenerational teams. While the future of work may be unpredictable, one thing is certain: those who are able to build strong, multigenerational workplaces will have the advantage.

What audiences come away with:

• Actionable ways to improve engagement and alignment across all generations in the workplace
• Strategies for leading different generations
• An understanding of the role of company purpose, and why it is secondary to workplace experience
• Knowledge of the differences and similarities across generations as employees and teammates
• The skills needed to promote idea sharing, creativity, and inclusivity across generations