Ken Segall
Former Ad Agency Creative Director for NeXT and Apple, author of New York Times bestseller Insanely Simple and Think Simple
Greg McKeown
Author of the New York Times bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, CEO of THIS Inc., and Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum
Photo credit: Cassandra Allred
Greg McKeown writes and speaks on his concept of Essentialism, a strategic framework for leaders to execute what matters and take their companies to the next level of innovation. Greg McKeown has spoken at numerous Fortune 500 companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
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About Greg McKeown
Greg McKeown is the author of the New York Times bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He also writes a regular blog for The Harvard Business Review as well as for LinkedIn’s Influencer group – his LinkedIn piece The #1 Career Mistake Capable People Make has been read by more than 2 million people. In his podcast, Essentialism, he encourages others to protect the asset, invest in their families, and prioritize the right projects at work.
McKeown is the CEO of THIS Inc, a company with a mission to inspire Essentialism in companies and people, whose clients include Apple, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Twitter, Salesforce.com, Symantec, VMware, and Yahoo!
In his Essentialism lectures, Greg McKeown shares a systematic, strategic framework for discerning what is essential, eliminating what is not, and removing obstacles in order to make the execution of what is actually essential as easy and streamlined as possible. By forcing audiences to apply tougher, more selective criteria for what is Essential, McKeown gives them the tools to regain control of their own choices so they can channel their time, energy, and efforts toward making the highest possible contribution toward the goals and activities that truly matter.
Originally from London, McKeown earned an MBA at Stanford University and serves as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum.
Discover how you can navigate change within your organization. Visit Greg McKeown’s Company Reads page to learn more.
Contact us for more information about how to book Greg McKeown for your next event.
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Speaking Topics
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
This lecture speaks to anyone who has ever felt overworked but underutilized, always busy but never productive. Greg McKeown offers a framework for discerning what is essential, eliminating what is not, and removing obstacles in order to make the execution of what is essential as effortless as possible. The disciplined pursuit of less allows employees to channel their time, energy, and efforts toward making the highest possible contribution to what really matters.
Leadership & Execution: Why Some Teams Break Through to the Next Level—And Others Don’t
IThis keynote looks at five ways teams become dysfunctional and how leading as an Essentialist is the key to combating these. Greg McKeown illustrates how to create unified teams that produce breakthroughs in results and innovation.
Creativity & Innovation. The Other Half of Innovation
The first half of innovation is fun and easy: it’s brainstorming, Post-It notes, exploration, iteration and ideation. The second half is rarer but it’s where the breakthrough value lies. This keynote teaches how to select only the most valuable ideas and how to execute them effortlessly.
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Praise for Greg McKeown
You blew it out of the park—you had participants on the edge of their seats for nearly two hours. We imagined a great event, but this far exceeded our expectations.
— VMwareAbsolutely fantastic. He really hit a home run with the audience.
— FiservGreg was a hit and a people told me his presentation was life changing. WOW! He is a gifted speaker, and I hope we will be working with him again.
— Interior DesignPraise for Effortless
In a world beset by burnout, Greg McKeown’s work is essential.
— Daniel H. Pink, author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is HumanPraise for Essentialism
Essentialism is a rare gem that will change lives. Greg offers deep insights, rich context and actionable steps to living life at its fullest. I’ve started on the path to an Essentialist way of life, and the impact on my productivity and well-being is profound.
— Bill Rielly, Senior Vice President, Intel SecurityWhile everyone else is still leafing through Lean In or Outliers, get a competitive jump on the new year with….Essentialism… learn how to identify the right things, focus on getting them done, and forget the rest. In other words, ‘do less, but better.’
— ForbesIn Essentialism, Greg McKeown makes a compelling case for achieving more by doing less. He reminds us that clarity of focus and the ability to say ‘no’ are both critical and undervalued in business today.
— Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedInGreat design takes us beyond the complex, the unnecessary and confusing, to the simple, clear and meaningful. This is as true for the design of a life as it is for the design of a product. With Essentialism, Greg McKeown gives us the invaluable guidebook for just such a project.
— Tim Brown, CEO of IDEOAs a self-proclaimed “maximalist” who always wants to do it all, this book challenged me and improved my life. If you want to work better, not just less, you should read it too.
— Chris Guillebeau, NYT bestselling author of The $100 StartupEssentialism holds the keys to solving one of the great puzzles of life: how can we do less but accomplish more? A timely, essential read for anyone who feels overcommitted, overloaded, or overworked—in other words, everyone. It has already changed the way that I think about my own priorities, and if more leaders embraced this philosophy, our jobs and our lives would be less stressful and more productive. So drop what you’re doing and read it..
— Adam Grant, Wharton professor and bestselling author of Give and TakeEntrepreneurs succeed when they say “yes” to the right project, at the right time, in the right way. To accomplish this, they have to be good at saying “no” to all their other ideas. Essentialism offers concise and eloquent advice on how to determine what you care about most, and how to apply your energies in ways that ultimately bring you the greatest rewards.
— Reid Hoffman, co-founder/chairman of LinkedIn and co-author of the #1 NYT bestseller The Start-up of YouDo you feel it, too? That relentless pressure to sample all the good things in life? To do all the ‘right’ things? The reality is, you don’t make progress that way. Instead, you’re in danger of spreading your efforts so thin that you make no impact at all. Greg McKeown believes the answer lies in paring life down to its essentials. He can’t tell you what’s essential to every life, but he can help you find the meaning in yours.
— Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive -
Books by Greg McKeown
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Featured Title
Effortless
“At a time when fear, uncertainty, and our ever-growing list of responsibilities have come to feel like much too much to handle, Effortless couldn’t be timelier, or more necessary.”—Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play
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