Speaking
Content and Professionalism
I have a reputation for providing content-rich programs. My presentations have a clear purpose, they’re well organized, they’re delivered with energy and flair, and they provide strong take-away value. I want your people to use the ideas I present in strengthening their own performance—days, weeks, and months after I’m gone.
I use (always clean) humor that makes a relevant point and reminds people that part of high performance is being “human.”
I use lots of stories and metaphors to make my points memorable, and to bring energy to my presentations and contribute a fun atmosphere of learning.
If you want a speaker who challenges the status quo with mature and thoughtful ideas that are relevant to your organization and your audience, I can deliver.
One client said my speeches are like “transforming chicken soup into a bullion cube.” That’s no accident. I carefully create multi-vitamin, fat-free messages that are enriched with calories that count.
Preparation
The first rule of effective communication is “know your audience.” So I take great pains to gather pertinent information on the purpose of your event and the needs of your group. In addition to close coordination with your meeting planner, I often do telephone interviews with some of your organization’s key people. My programs are carefully tailored to your program and audience and needs. As a practicing consultant and executive coach, I constantly gather fresh information and insight.
Results
I always appreciate high ratings after a speaking engagement. But my greatest satisfaction comes when a client reports how my ideas and counsel are translated into notably better performance. I want them to discover ways to do better and to be better, and I work hard to provide insights that they’ll want to embrace with renewed enthusiasm and commitment.
This is what I’ll deliver for you. You have my promise.
Speaking Topics
Be a Gardener, Not a Mechanic
A first tendency of many business people is to fix things. Unfortunately, some leaders then try to fix people. Not many folks want to be fixed. Dr. Duncan shows how great leaders adopt the role of gardener rather than mechanic. With his characteristic pattern of real life illustrations, he explains how the gardener/leader creates an environment that encourages growth—full of light and nourishment. This program is ripe with ideas on getting a great harvest in your leadership garden.
Building a High Performance Culture
With Real Staying Power
Dr. Duncan has helped scores of organizations breathe new life into their cultures. With lots of stories from his vast reservoir of experience, he’ll show how your organization may actually contradict your professed values. Learn the keys to strategic alignment—ensuring that the behaviors at work in your environment reinforce your mission, vision, values, and strategic business objectives.
Wake That Sleeping Giant!
Within most of us there’s a gigantic potential waiting to be focused on a life of productivity, high performance and achievement. Learn the five keys to waking up the GIANT within. Dr. Duncan underscores the power of SMART goals, the importance of courageous action based on personal vision, the necessity of saying no to forces that pull you off track, and the indispensable vitality that comes from mental conditioning.
Collaborating for Results
Dialogue Skills That Make Smart People Smarter
People add value to the organization by virtue of their skill in interacting with other. When that skill is deficient, bad things happen: missed deadlines, busted budgets, turf battles, and more. This highly engaging program reveals the specific dialogue skills that enable top performers to get consistently superior results.
CHANGE-friendly LEADERSHIP
Transform Good Intentions into Great Performance
Truly effective change is an elusive goal for most organizations. It doesn’t have to be. Dr. Duncan offers a simple though powerful seven-step approach to completing your implementation on time, within budget and with all human and technical needs met. Dr. Duncan believes the second most expensive thing that can happen to an organization is for smart, capable people to quit and leave. He believes the single most expensive thing that can happen is for smart, capable people to quit and stay. In this powerful program, Dr. Duncan shows you how being Change-Friendly enables you to engage your people’s heads, hearts, and hopes.
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