Shane Snow

In the middle ages, the invention of gunpowder completely upended society. Some who adapted became kings. Others lost everything. As AI rises up and threatens to upend our industries, workplaces, and communities, that same human adaptability and decision-making that made the difference then will make even more difference now.

But it’s not going to be our technical skill that matters most. It will be the human part of us that determines whether our businesses can adapt and thrive—or get left behind. It will be our humanity that determines whether we end up in a utopia or dystopia when this is over.

THINKING AHEAD is a groundbreaking keynote from renowned business journalist and Tony Award-winning storyteller Shane Snow. It’s a Behavior Science-based blueprint on:

• Seeing & thinking clearly in the midst of fast-paced change.
• Asking sharper questions in a world of endless choices.
• Making smarter decisions when the stakes are high.
• Knowing how to adapt in the face of disruption.
• And how to counterintuitively leverage human skills to get groups of high-potential people to do all this together!

Drawing on decades of work and 3 bestselling books on systems thinking, human behavior, neuroscience research, and fascinating historical journalism, Shane Snow wraps important principles in entertaining stories designed to leave your audience changed forever.

Because if they’re going to thrive in the future that’s coming, they’re going to need to change.

Your team is your most valuable asset. But teamwork is work. To be effective, teamwork requires trust and open communication. To be consistently effective, teamwork requires a group of diverse and humble thinkers who are willing to dig deep and engage even when conflict gets hard.

(This is the Dream Teams formula at its core: Different Thinkers + Engaging Productively + Intellectual Humility = More Than The Sum of Our Parts.)

Ironically, the very thing that gives teams their potential—individuals' different ways of thinking and working—is also the thing that can prevent a team from reaching its potential.

This inspiring and high-impact keynote provides a science-backed framework to transform any average (or below average) team into your company’s greatest asset. Pulling from his #1 best selling book Dream Teams and his experience building groundbreaking businesses, Shane Snow lays out counter-intuitive, rigorously-tested strategies of high-performing teams, and gives you the tools to conquer the major pitfalls most teams encounter.

With proven approaches to increase trust, leverage people's differences, supercharge problem-solving, and make conflict productive, the audience will walk away ready to create courageous and effective teams.

Great stories build relationships and make people care.

Humans are programmed for connection, and stories are the tools to get us there. That's why great stories move us to action; they change our minds; they make us care; they build relationships. Understanding how stories work, and the best way to tell them, is one of the most influential skill sets we can master in business and relationship-building.

A veteran journalist (Wired, GQ, New Yorker) and founder of an award winning content marketing company that pioneered the brand storytelling industry, bestselling author Shane Snow is one of the world’s most renowned experts on the art and science of telling a good story.

The Global #1 instructor on LinkedIn on the topic of storytelling, Shane pulls examples from his years of experience and compelling original research to teach audiences not only how to master the elements of effective storytelling, but how they can harness the power of story to create connection, be more persuasive, and build stronger, more loyal teams.

With this completely customizable keynote, Shane will indoctrinate the audience with the powerful art of storytelling and teach them to utilize it to supercharge sales, build brand relationships, create connections, and drive change as leaders. Ensuring the audience walks away with the unique ability to tell stories that stick, Shane will provide the framework and skills audiences need to expertly apply storytelling the moment they walk out the door.

Innovation is about creating best practices, not following them. What if we've been solving problems wrong all along?

We're faced with challenges every day, each one an opportunity for creativity, growth, and improvement. However, most groups can't help but fall into existing habits and groupthink when they set out to tackle problems together. Outdated best practices and counterintuitive human behavior hold us back—and we usually don’t even realize it.

But if we continue to solve problems with the same playbook, we will keep getting the same outcomes. We have to break this cycle. In this keynote, Shane will help your audience do exactly that.

Based on years of human behavior research and his instant classic best-selling book Smartcuts, Shane provides the framework for how to train ourselves to think differently.

With proven strategies for effective ideation, and tactics that spur—even trick!—groups into being more innovative and creative, this keynote provides the perfect mix of inspiration and practical takeaways. Shane will show the audience how to use lateral thinking when faced with a challenge and to start thinking like the change makers they are capable of being.