As a Keynote Speaker on Teamwork, Team Building Speaker and a Team Management Speaker, I realize there is a lot of confusion. To briefly point out the differences of the terms, Teamwork is a general term referring to the combined effort of a group of people. Teamwork can apply to the Navy SEALS, New York Yankees or the sales force of a pharmaceutical company. The premise of teamwork is...
As a team building motivational speaker, I stress that team building, the forging of great teams doesn’t start with T-shirts, engraved pens or imprinted water bottles. Team building starts with inspiration. It starts with people who are willing to step up and to inspire everyone around them. Management and Communication Inspiration doesn’t come from the guy with the loudest voice but from those who manage the team’s resources the...
As a workplace safety motivational speaker, I can’t tell you how many factories and worksites I’ve visited, where some 20-year-old is sitting there, smiling at me as I stress the seriousness of safety. Speaking on workplace safety is often a thankless job. The people who really need to hear the safety message need a lot of convincing because they can’t imagine the consequences. Workplace Safety is Forever I was...
My twenty-year mission as a change management speaker has led me to the conclusion that most people don’t want to embrace change management, they want to erase it. In my in-person and virtual training sessions, I note that managing change is never easy. However, organizational change is made more difficult when employees intuitively know they must accept the changes in their organization, and then refuse to expose themselves to...
As a change management motivational speaker, I have witnessed the rise and the wide-spread interest in a change management speaker. In fact, “Change Management” has become a modern-day buzzword. But can an executive leader truly manage change? I think not. I know that may sound controversial, but I have plenty of experts who agree with me. A classic article that first appeared in the prestigious Harvard Business Review in the...
A few years ago, I was asked in my role as a safety motivational speaker to speak at a major food industry tradeshow. One of the aspects of the tradeshow was that it was honoring women who had contributed to the industry. Indeed, as a keynote and break-out session speaker on safety I have met many women who have had outstanding careers in the safety prevention area. I am...
Mike Hourigan, your Negotiation Skills Speaker In my specialty as a negotiation skills speaker and negotiation expert, I have learned that the key to an effective negotiation is not to “win” but to reach a mutually beneficial compromise. To that end, when I teach negotiation skills in my keynote speeches or negotiation skills breakout sessions, class participants are frequently surprised when I stress the importance of making the other...
In my role as a virtual negotiation skills keynote speaker, whenever I present a topic as a virtual negotiation skills training speaker in the area of virtual negotiation skills or soon (I hope) in-person negotiation skills training, I am frequently asked: “Mike what is the most important negotiation skill that I need to bring with me to the meeting?” Actually, there are four negotiation skills every negotiator should possess....
As a change management speaker, expert and trainer, I know that this spring could signal some of the most major changes in organizations in decades. Post-COVID 19 changes will come fast, and if you are not careful, the competition will get out of the gate before you have a chance to respond. Plan Now for Post-COVID 19 Change Recently, I read an excellent piece on change management in the...
As a virtual and in-person change management speaker, I am often asked if the pandemic of 2020 “changed anything” or will the world go back to business as usual? It is a complex change management question. My opinion is that nothing will ever be the same. V-Shaped Recoveries & Other Myths In my virtual talks on change management to many groups, I find it fascinating the number of people...
As an online negotiation skills speaker and in-person change management speaker, I am interested in the popular phrase the “new normal”, or sometimes “the new now.” The problem is that “the new now” is a moving target and as a change management speaker, I know all too well that executives often have trouble keeping up with the change. A Millennial in Trouble Recently, I was made aware of a...
Accounting Leadership in 2021: Looking Dismal, and Time to Fix It As a leadership skills speaker for accountants, I have learned that while accountants, in general, have a high level of technical expertise, their leadership skills continue to lag. This fact may not be all that bothersome to those of you who are almost never “public facing,” but for the rest of the profession poor leadership skills for accountants...
In my specialty as a virtual negotiation skills speaker, I have had the opportunity to teach negotiation skills training on an international basis. In fact, just last week I delivered a virtual keynote on negotiation skills to an international organization where 14 nations were represented. The amazing questions I received about negotiation skills from the virtual audience were equally excellent and insightful no matter where in the world the...
As an experienced virtual keynote speaker, I often have to explain the difference between a keynote speech and a motivational or inspirational speech. These days there are all kinds of people who claim to be virtual motivational speakers, and they range from former athletes to disgraced accountants to “B-list” actors. They may be funny or serious, finger pointing or podium thumping, but they are frequently like cotton candy. They...
As a negotiation listening skills speaker, I am often asked why so many negotiations don’t show positive results. My response is that participants often talk right past the important points. Listening Skills are The Hidden Element In my talks as a negotiation skills speaker, I often ask those who are participating virtually or in-person if anyone ever taught them how to listen? I’m usually met with blank stares. It’s a...
As a virtual negotiation skills speaker, when presenting to groups I stress that many virtual negotiations are often “over” before you even have the chance to talk. In the “olden days” of about eight months ago, when we negotiated in-person, we had many visual cues, voice inflections and other intangibles to judge what the other side was thinking. Now, we have big and little squares on our computer screens....
It’s Not About the PPE, It’s About the People As a virtual safety speaker and in-person safety speaker, I stress that safety is never about wall posters or personal protective equipment, it’s about the people. In fact, safety is a negotiation. People, Not Posters When I speak on safety, either virtually or face-to-face, I like to lead audiences through an exercise. I have them create a picture in their...
No One Builds from a Locked-Down Place I am a Virtual Construction Safety Speaker and in my virtual speaking on construction safety, I emphasize that no one builds from a locked down place. As the world still struggles in lockdown or semi-lockdown, construction has not stopped, but it is changing. Is your company ready? Cleaner & Safer Construction industry writer Jenn Goodman, in an article for Construction Dive (April...
What Makes a Good Virtual Safety Speaker?
I Can’t Be on The Job with You, But I Want My Words to Keep You Safe
What makes a good virtual safety speaker? It’s a question I’m frequently asked, and a subject I think about all of the time. It’s a kind of puzzle when you think about it. Safety at the Workplace is...
Mike Hourigan, your Virtual Safety Motivational Speaker
In a Virtual World, Nothing is as Real as Safety
My roots as a virtual safety motivational speaker go all the way back to when I was working in factories and loading trucks. Though right now a lot of people are working virtually, to the men and women on the factory floors, in warehouses, construction, over-the-road, in...