Speaking THAT
STAYS WITH YOU
Whether it’s a keynote for a thousand or a private talk for eight, my work is built around one goal: To help leaders remove what’s in the way of what matters most.
I DON'T SPEAK TO ENTERTAIN. I SPEAK TO change HOW LEADERS SEE THEMSELVES.
For 37 years, I've been in the room when the hard decisions get made. My talks aren't theory or motivation. They're pattern recognition from the trenches, delivered in a way that people can actually use.
Whether I'm in front of 50 people or 5,000, my goal is the same: to help leaders think differently, see more clearly, and leave with something they can act on immediately.
What I Offer
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Private Talks
My most important speaking happens in the smallest rooms. Confidential sessions for EO/YPO/Vistage Forums, leadership retreats, or executive teams. No slides. No performance. Just real conversation about what's hard to say out loud. The things that keep leaders up at night but rarely make it into the boardroom.
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Keynotes
Talks built to challenge assumptions, spark real conversations, and give people something they'll reference six months later, not just six minutes.
Whether it's 50 people or 5,000, I meet audiences where they are and help them see where they could be. -
Workshops
Working sessions designed to tackle real business challenges in real time. Built around your people, your reality, and your next chapter. Never a generic playbook.
What previous clients have to say
READY TO GIVE YOUR AUDIENCE REAL CLARITY?
If you want a speaker who transforms thinking rather than just inspiring feelings, let's talk.
Share your goals for the event. I'm here to help you make it extraordinary.
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KEYNOTES
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Getting the Basics So Right That Everything Else Falls Into Place
Description:
This talk is based on my book that Tom Peters, one of my heroes, called "a bible." It's about something I've believed for a long time: that 93% of every business is the same. The basics. Cash flow, purpose, delivery, relationships, focus.
Most business owners neglect this 93% while obsessing over the 7% they think makes them special. This talk flips that thinking. I show audiences how to get their basics so right that the 7% starts taking care of itself.
There are no new frameworks to implement. No systems to layer on top of what you're already doing. Just twelve principles that, when taken seriously, create a business you actually want to run.
What audiences take away:
- Why the basics beat everyone else's advanced tactics
- The 7% rule and why your "differentiator" matters less than you think
- How to say no without apology, and why it tends to double profit
- A way of thinking about your business that you can use the same day
Best for: EO, YPO, Vistage chapters, leadership retreats, annual conferences
Format: 45-60 minutes
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The Entrepreneurial Art of Getting More by Doing Less
Description:
Here's something I've noticed over 37 years: most entrepreneurs consume endless strategies, frameworks, and growth tactics, and yet they end up with the same results as last year. And the year before that.
The problem isn't that they're not trying hard enough. The problem is they're adding when they should be subtracting.
This talk makes the case that improvement doesn't come from the relentless pursuit of more. It comes from doing fewer things than anyone else, better than anyone else. It's about finding your enough and building a business around it.
If you're tired of the hustle culture narrative and suspect there might be a simpler path, this talk is for you. There is a simpler path.
What audiences take away:
- How to stop "boiling like a frog" in your own complexity
- The Reverse Michelangelo: how to sculpt your business by removing what doesn't belong
- Why saying no is the highest-leverage skill most leaders aren't using
- A different definition of success that might actually fit your life
Best for: Entrepreneur groups tired of hustle culture, leadership teams drowning in initiatives, anyone who suspects "more" isn't the answer
Format: 45-60 minutes
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The Only Three Things Your Business Needs to Master
Description:
Business is simple. Your pride makes it complicated.
After 37 years inside businesses, I've watched owners drown in complexity of their own making. Forty-seven dashboards. Eighty-three initiatives. Twelve strategic priorities that end up fighting each other.
This talk strips all of that away. I introduce what I call The Three Practices: Financial Truth, Marketing Clarity, and Perfect Delivery. Master these three and your business cannot fail. Neglect any one of them and no amount of strategy will save you.
This is for leaders who are ready to stop adding and start focusing. For those who suspect that the path forward is simpler than anyone's been telling them. It is.
What audiences take away:
- Financial Truth: Why your cash account tells the only story that matters, and how to actually listen to it
- Marketing Clarity: How to articulate what you do so clearly that sales starts taking care of itself
- Perfect Delivery: The infinite pursuit of making every touchpoint with your customer remarkable
- A framework for deciding what to stop doing, not what to start
Best for: Business owners who've tried everything, teams stuck in complexity, leaders looking for a simpler operating system
Format: 45-60 minutes
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Private Talks for Forums and Small Groups.
Description:
Some of my most meaningful speaking happens in the smallest rooms.
These are confidential sessions for EO, YPO, and Vistage forums, executive teams, and leadership retreats. No slides. No performance. Just a real conversation about what's actually hard.
These sessions go places that keynotes can't. Into the specific challenges your group is wrestling with. Into the questions that don't get asked in larger settings. Into the patterns that are keeping people stuck.
The topics vary depending on what your group needs, but they often include things like: the lies we tell ourselves about our businesses, what to do when you've "made it" but feel empty, leading through transitions that no one else can see, the loneliness that comes with leadership, and what happens when a business starts fighting itself.
Format: 60 minutes to half-day | Virtual or in-person | Groups of 5-20
How it works:
We talk before the session. I learn what your group is actually dealing with. Then I design a conversation, not a presentation, around what matters most to the people in the room.
*Other topics available – each talk is adapted to the group's needs.