Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned award-winning professor and #1 bestselling author of Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life. He is one of the world’s foremost experts in creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. He helps industry-leading organizations reimagine the status quo with moonshot thinking.
Ozan is consistently ranked one of the top speakers at conferences and private events. Audiences love his blend of big ideas, witty stories, and down-to-earth humor. He’s a master at simplifying complex topics and delivering numerous “a ha!” moments. Ozan has the rare ability to get people to drop their phones and leave them with practical insights they can implement right away to level up in work and life.
A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Ozan grew up in a family of no English speakers. He learned English as a second language and moved to the United States by himself at 17 to attend Cornell University and major in astrophysics.
While there, he served on the operations team for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers project that sent two rovers–Spirit and Opportunity–to Mars. He built stuff that went to the red planet and wrote code that snaps photos of the Martian surface.
Ozan’s diverse personal background (as a former rocket scientist turned lawyer turned university professor and popular author) allows him to connect with wide-ranging audiences. He’s delivered keynote speeches to small and large crowds at conferences, start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies across numerous industries. He’s trusted by institutions like Microsoft, Intel, adidas, General Electric, Google X, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Navy.
Ozan has been called a “true original” by Adam Grant and dubbed a “superhero” by Dan Pink. His work has been described as “must read” by Susan Cain and featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, and more. The book is:
- One of Inc.com’s “6 Business Books You Need to Read in 2020 (according to Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, and Adam Grant)”
- One of Amazon’s Top 20 business books of 2020
- Adam Grant’s # 1 pick of his top 20 leadership books of 2020
- One of 6 Groundbreaking Books of Spring 2020 (according to Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Dan Pink, and Adam Grant).
Speaking Topics -
Reimagine the Status Quo with Moonshot Thinking
Moonshot thinking is a way of turning the seemingly impossible into the possible. It’s the key to leaving behind the baggage of history and fostering innovation.
Businesses that take moonshots perform better, attract and retain top talent, and inspire teams and customers. In times of unrelenting change and uncertainty, it’s moonshot thinking that sets apart industry-leading businesses from the rest.
In this keynote, Ozan reveals his 4-step moonshot model to help you launch your own moonshot, spot opportunities you couldn’t see before, and create an extraordinary advantage to shape the future of your industry. The keynote draws on Ozan’s #1 bestselling book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist, which has been called “dazzling” by Adam Grant and “must read” by Susan Cain.
Key Takeaways
- How invisible assumptions constrain your business (and what to do about it)
- How to abandon the “We’ve always done it that way” mindset and reimagine the status quo
- Why obstacles and uncertainty present opportunities to innovate
- The single principle SpaceX used to revolutionize rocket science (and how you can use the same principle to transform your business)
- Why breakthroughs begin with a smart question—not a smart answer
- How to nail your next product launch using an unstoppable astronaut training strategy
- How to place little bets on innovative ideas without risking it all
Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary
We say that some people march to the beat of a different drum. But implicit in this cliché is that the rest of us march to the same beat. We copy and paste from our peers and competitors, chase trends, and adopt the latest fad. We hide the creative genius of our employees under outdated modes of working.
An extraordinary group of organizations think and act with genuine independence. They stand out from the crowd because they don’t copy the crowd. They unlock the full creative potential of their employees and create a thriving workplace that attracts and retains top talent. They become remarkable in an increasingly competitive marketplace and generate raving customers.
In this keynote, which draws on Ozan’s bestselling book Awaken Your Genius, Ozan will share practical strategies that you can use to escape conformity, ignite creativity, and become extraordinary.
Key Takeaways
- How to ignite the creativity of your team members and unlock their superpowers
- How to discover your edge—the qualities that make your organization extraordinary
- The secret to fostering an engaged and motivated workforce
- Why brainstorming doesn’t work (and what to do about it)
- What you can learn from Netflix’s biggest mistake
- Why there actually are stupid questions (and how to ask better ones)
- How to look where others don’t look and see what others don’t see
- Why success creates complacency (and what to do about it)
Innovation and the Future of Work
The old ways of working no longer work. Businesses can’t afford to live in a world of endless meetings, bureaucratic red tape, and broken ways of collaborating that decrease employee morale, hurt engagement, and hamper innovation.
The pandemic-induced disruptions—including greater uncertainty, talent shortages, and supply chain constraints—are just the beginning. Although people yearn for a return to “normal,” or try to predict the “new normal,” there is no such thing as normal. There is only change. Never-ending, constant change. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but constant nonetheless.
As we return to work, how can businesses stay at the forefront of change instead of being unraveled by it? In this keynote, Ozan shares research-backed tools and tactics for accelerating innovation in the new world of work.
Key Takeaways
- What you can do to activate a culture of belonging, boost psychological safety, and set up the ideal environment for creation and collaboration
- How to strengthen your organization with lessons learned during the pandemic, instead of reverting to “business as usual”
- Why searching for certainty is a mistake—and how to thrive, not just survive, in uncertain conditions
- Three science-backed strategies for avoiding burnout and cognitive overload
- Why searching for certainty is a mistake—and how to thrive, not just survive, in uncertain conditions
- Three science-backed strategies for avoiding burnout and cognitive overload
- How to let go of past successes and continuously reimagine the status quo
Think Different: The Power of Cognitive Diversity
Many businesses strive to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace. But they often overlook cognitive diversity—which is based on differences in viewpoint or perspective. As a result, groupthink and conformity thrive even in institutions whose lifeblood is creativity. Employees hide their best selves rather than go against the grain.
In this keynote, Ozan shares a lively, research-backed roadmap that business leaders can use to promote a thriving corporate culture that harnesses cognitive diversity and fosters innovation.
Key Takeaways
- The two reasons why most modern workplaces stifle cognitive diversity and undermine creativity
- How you can promote psychological safety where employees feel free to speak up and share their best ideas
- How to harness the power of diversity while maintaining team unity and alignment
- Why innovation often begins with input from industry outsiders
- What you can do to foster collaboration across organizational silos
