Speaker Trends and What's Hot

In all areas of life we see trends and there is constantly something new or hot.  (Remember hula hoops, mood rings, pet rocks, neon and lace clothes, Furbys… do we have to go on?)  This fact holds true in the speaking and meeting industries, also.  We see various trends on speaker topics, presentation styles, meeting themes, and overall event functions and purposes. 

Finding the correct speaker to bring you the best Return on Investment (ROI) can be an enormous task and we want to help you.  While the old standards – Sales, Motivation, Marketing, Leadership, etc – will always be important, below is a short list of highly requested topics – and a sampling of corresponding speakers – that we think could be of great interest to you. Call us or email us for the best choices for your meeting!

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the decision-making and implementation process that guides all company activities in the protection and promotion of international human rights, labor and environmental standards and compliance with legal requirements within its operations and in its relations to the societies and communities where it operates. CSR involves a commitment to contribute to the economic, environmental and social sustainability of communities through the on-going engagement of stakeholders, the active participation of communities impacted by company activities and the public reporting of company policies and performance in the economic, environmental and social arenas.

                                               
     Tim Sanders                 Will Marre                  Marci Rossell                   Jeff Salz

Generational Workforce

For the first time in history, there are four generations in the work force. Each generation brings a new perspective, values, ideas, and challenges. Working with the generations requires patience and understanding. When blending the generations you have to be flexible and open to new ways of getting a message across. Most people believe their generation is the best, and it is human nature to believe such. Truth is – each and all add value to the workforce! Defining the four generations: The Matures (born prior to 1946), Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1980), and Millennials (born 1981-1994). The Matures are dedicated to a job once they take it, the Boomers live to work, Generation X work to live, and the Millennials live in the moment. All have great ideas and all can benefit an organization, and all can be the source of big problems.

                                                
     Eric Chester             Daniel Abramson         Meagan Johnson            Matt Thornhill

Innovation

The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes in thinking, in things, in processes or in services. An invention that gets out in to the world is innovation. In many fields, something new must be substantially different to be innovative. In economics the change must increase value, customer value, or producer value. The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation leading to increased productivity is the fundamental source of increasing wealth in an economy. Innovation is an important topic in the study of economics, business, technology, sociology, and engineering. Since innovation is also considered a major driver of the economy, the factors that lead to innovation are also considered to be critical to policy makers. Innovation requires using new knowledge and understanding, experimenting with new possibilities, implementation of new concepts, and a desire to create new value.

                                                
    Daniel Burrus                Jim Carroll                   Oren Harari                   Art Turock

Corporate Social Networking

Most people seek a sense of belonging or aim to be a member of some sort of group. This relatively basic aspect of human nature has fueled the growth of corporate social networking (the coming together of people who have some sort of affinity or common interest). Corporate (or Enterprise) Social Networking (CSN) is changing the way relationships are formed and strengthened in business environments. In the past, employees built relationships by working in close proximity or sharing information directly. As organizational structures have evolved, dispersed, and separated geographically, individuals have begun to initiate, extend, and manage their network of professional relationships through social technologies. In addition to being a general recruitment and retention tool, CSN can help address the unique needs. Networks provide value, drive up recruiting and retention, development and promotion.

                                                
    William Eager              Dave Sherman             Keith Ferrazzi               Dean Lindsay

Employee Retention

Employee retention is the number of employees that remain with a business over a period of time. High levels of retention are seen to reflect good HR practices and employee relations. An effective Employee Retention Program is a systematic effort to create and foster an environment that encourages employees to remain employed by having policies and practices in place that address their diverse needs. The key to employee retention is to understand why employees stay with their current employer and why many leave. Studies show that promised efforts are not enough to retain good employees when the commitment and true support that is needed to achieve job success are not adequate.

                                                
     Mel Kleiman                Chester Elton                Cheryl Cran                   Bob Losyk

Going or Being Green / Sustainability

Going/Being Green is a focus on doing whatever it takes and/or can be done to be more environmentally friendly. The green movement's prevalence is on eco-friendly or organic products, understanding environmental dangers, lowering emissions and waste, and being more efficient. Be earth friendly. Implement practices and ideas centered on concerns for conservation and improvement of the natural environment, both for its sake as well as its importance to civilization. Give the natural world a stronger voice in human affairs and struggle to make governments, industries and other institutions see the importance of ecology and to treat nature with greater respect. The movement is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement. In general terms, advocating the sustainable management of resources, and the protection (and restoration) of the natural environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior is what is desired. Some argue that an environmental ethic of at least some sort is urgently needed in all aspects and forces of life.

                                                
     Tom Hinton                Richard Worzel                Ed Begley                   Rohit Talwar