Branding and innovation speaker Ken Tencer says, “If you can slice a melon or make a right-hand turn, you can be a breakthrough innovator.” Ken’s simple, empowering message has been inspiring business audiences – from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 executives – since 2010. Whether your business is in transition or simply looking for an innovative spark, Ken provides a formula for low-cost, continuous innovation that will change the way you work and transform your organization into a market leader. Based on his book, “Cause a Disturbance,” Ken helps business leaders and entrepreneurs change the way they think about innovation, opening their minds to the possibilities – and simplicity – of being innovative every day!
Is Ken Tencer the right speaker for your audience? Listen in as Ken answers some of the key questions to help you decide:
Quick Reference Card
Branding, Business, Change, Employee Engagement, Innovation, Leadership
Domestic Keynote Fee Range*:
$15,000-24,999, $25,000-40,000
Canada, New York, US
Perfect for:
Associations, Entrepreneurs, Management, Senior Executives
• Discover a formula for low-cost, continuous innovation that will change the way you work and transform your organization into a market leader
• Learn what really drives innovation and how to identify the many simple day-to-day opportunities for innovation that exist
• Discover how to shift your mindset from thinking like a simple commodity provider to defining a purpose and platform that enables growth
• Learn how to develop a disciplined process that builds on and reinforces the best in your organization: people, processes, products and services
• Discover the secrets of identifying and exploiting innovative opportunities based on your purpose and platform
*Speaker fees vary based on event location, program duration and other factors, and are subject to change without notice. Please contact us for an accurate fee quote for your event.
Ken is recognized internationally as a business and innovation thought leader who helps organizations, investors and business families to bring their ideas to market faster and continuously.
A successful entrepreneur and business developer, Ken has built international-scale companies spanning manufacturing, product development, distribution and professional services. As CEO of Spyder Works, he helps companies with both corporate and innovation strategy.
Ken is the co-author of two books on innovation – The 90% Rule and the bestseller Cause a Disturbance which are being avidly read by business leaders in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Business journalists with leading publications and networks including The Globe & Mail, INC, CNBC, Forbes and Bloomberg have recognized the timeliness and power of these important works. Ken is currently working on his highly anticipated third book set to close the loop between dynamic team building, customer experience and intrinsic value – Never Be Satisfied: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Intrapreneurship.
Ken’s insights on entrepreneurship and innovation have appeared in his guest columns for Canada’s National Newspaper, the Globe & Mail and CNBC. He is also an in-demand keynote speaker and workshop leader having delivered talks across North America, Europe and South America including such notable events as the World Innovation Convention in Cannes, France, and Unleashing Innovation in New York. Ken sits on a number of for profit and not-for-profit Boards including the Conference Board of Canada’s Council for Innovation and Commercialization, and the Sprott School of Business.
A lifelong learner, Ken is currently pursuing his Doctor of Business Administration focused on human ingenuity, innovation and intrapreneurship through the executive stream of ISM in both Paris and New York. Ken holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and a Masters of Science in Management from Boston University through its campus in Brussels, Belgium. Ken is also a graduate of the Directors Education program offered jointly by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and holds their ICD.D designation.
Say Hi to the Future: This Is Not Theatre
In 2015, Ken Tencer wrote the irreverent article in Canada’s National Newspaper, the Globe and Mail, ‘Fail fast, fail often’ may be the stupidest business mantra of all time. ” Some disagreed, and others disagreed more. But why? Is continuous failure really something to aspire to? In an era of unrelenting change and intertwined problems, Ken is back with his latest keynote, ”This is Not Theatre.” With it, he will provoke you to change how you think and lead others in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity. And yes, strive for success.
As leaders, we need new answers, fast. But according to business builder and speaker Ken Tencer, finding those answers first requires leaders to think differently. More boldly,
more creatively, more holistically, and more collaboratively. He calls unleashing “Human Ingenuity” (HI), the clever, inventive, and original thinking that enables us to reframe the problems we face, communicate better with our teams, and generate powerful, lasting solutions faster.
The key takeaways from “Say Hi to the Future: This is not Theatre” will engage seasoned and next-gen leaders, innovators, and learners who believe that only three questions stand between us and success, “What If? Why Not? and How?” as you:
- Learn to find the path through the scatter.
- Discover what type of problem you face – tame, complex or wicked.
- Differentiate between problem and symptom.
- Embrace the fact that resolutions may be more powerful than solutions.
- Accept that sometimes two out of three won’t cut it.
Ken has delivered keynotes internationally to groups of 100 to thousands. He creates a dynamic opportunity to engage, listen, share, learn, solve, and build better.
Cause a Disturbance
Make no mistake: Cause a Disturbance is more than a book, or even a keynote or workshop. It’s a way of seeing the world, a formula for low-cost, continuous innovation that will change the way you work and transform your organization into a market leader.
The theme of Cause a Disturbance is straightforward and empowering: Anyone can be an innovator! If you can slice melon or make a right-hand turn, you can learn to create new, breakthrough products and services that will upend your market and make your organization an industry leader. It’s a simple, empowering message that has been inspiring business audiences – from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 executives – since 2010.
You determine how close you want to get to Cause a Disturbance – and let’s get started!
Keynotes: What makes innovation so hard? Our engrossing presentations explore the barriers to successful innovation and introduce the principles of the 90% Rule: rediscovering your core strengths and leveraging lower risk opportunities you’re already 90% capable of mastering. Our examples of cutting-edge innovators will inspire your staff, members or teams to see the opportunities in front of them, not the problems!
Workshops: Our half-day workshops let your team roll up their sleeves and begin the innovation revolution! They’ll learn the principles of adjacent innovation and actually start to uncover new opportunities they’ve never seized before. We provide the tools you need to keep the momentum going. And we insist on coming back for an update session to ensure everyone is moving forward together.
Deep Dives: For groups that really want to get it right, our intensive deep dives (pre-work, homework and three to four half-days of meeting time) helps teams master our detailed process for rethinking and reinventing their organization.
Coaching: We all know the enemies of innovation: day-to-day distractions, negative thinking, flawed communication, failure to follow up. Our specialized coaching services enable business executives to overcome criticism, backsliding and everyday inertia in order to achieve their reinvention and innovation goals. We’ll help you identify the obstacles you’re facing and discover the true course that will lead your team to success!
The 90% Rule
Opportunities grow businesses. Knowing which ones to capitalize on is what drives business success. In this presentation based on the milestone book, Ken Tencer shares turns three fundamental principles of good business – leverage, process and entrepreneurial thinking – into a pragmatic and powerful approach to business development. Years of hands-on research has shown that the greatest opportunities lie in focusing on those that you are already 90% capable of. Full of captivating company examples and practical advice, this powerful keynote shows you how to turn your opportunities into action. The 90% Rule is a practical, step-by-step action plan that lets companies tap in to their unique strengths and potential. It gives CEOs and their teams the requisite process to crystallize a growth strategy and then the tactics to implement it. Are you ready to turn your opportunities into action? Your competitors are.
