Jon Acuff
- New York Times Bestselling Author of Soundtracks, Finish & Do Over
- One of Inc.'s Top 100 Leadership Speakers
Travels From
Tennessee
John Acuff - "Do Over" - Ginghamsburg Contagious Conference
Jon Acuff Speaker Biography
Jon Acuff is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including his most recent, All It Takes Is a Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap Into Your Massive Potential.
Published in more than twenty languages, his work is both critically acclaimed and adored by readers. When he’s not writing, Acuff can be found on a stage, as one of INC’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers. He’s spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences, colleges and companies around the world including FedEx, Nissan, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Chick-fil-A, Nokia and Comedy Central. Known for his insights wrapped in humor, Acuff shared the stage with an American Icon when he opened up for Dolly Parton at the Ryman Auditorium.
For over 20 years he’s also helped some of the biggest brands tell their story, including The Home Depot, Bose, and Staples. His fresh perspective on life has given him the opportunity to write for Reader’s Digest, Fast Company, The Harvard Business Review and Time Magazine.
He lives outside of Nashville, TN with his wife Jenny and two teenage daughters.
Dream, Plan, Do, Review
The Simple System the Best Teams in the World Always Use
It’s a complicated world. Even picking a show to watch is a chore. Have you ever scanned Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Apple+ and Max only to say, “There’s nothing on.” On the contrary, there’s 10,000 years of content to choose from but cognitive overload stresses us out so we retreat to reruns of the Office or the Gilmore Girls. Business is no better. By the time you finish reading this sentence there will be new tools, techniques and regulations for your industry. How do successful teams and leaders make sense of all this chaos? With four simple words.
When New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff got curious about why certain teams float about the complexity and outperform everyone, he did three things:
-He commissioned a research study with PhD Mike Peasley.
-He built a private online community of 20,000+ to test what he learned.
-He worked with more than 350 companies and teams.
Over the years of research, a pattern emerged. From Lexus to Walmart, Chick-fil-A to Microsoft, successful goals always require the same four stages: Dream, Plan, Do, Review.
In the dream stage, you answer the question, “What do we want to do?” In plan, you answer, “How will we do it?” In do, you simply ask, “Are we doing it?” In review, “Did it work?”
If that’s really all it takes though, why doesn’t everybody use these stages? Well, most people do, but they get stuck. Dreamers get stuck in the dream stage. A dreamer has 1,000 ideas and 0 actions. Perfectionists get stuck in the plan stage. A perfectionist will change the world as soon as the plan is perfect. Procrastinators get stuck in the do stage. A procrastinator will always start tomorrow. Hustlers get stuck in the review stage. A hustler is addicted to do and can’t stand stopping to review to check if they’re headed in the right direction. They’re all motion, very little mission.
This is the moment in the keynote when audience members elbow each other as they quickly, painlessly identify what’s holding them back. Then, pulling from his 9 books of research and resources, Jon unleashes tactical, actionable ways to apply DPDR immediately. Laced with the humor that saw him open for Dolly Parton at the Ryman and the customization that makes him one of the most rebooked speakers on the market today.
FROM START TO FINISH: HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF DONE
According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, 92% of resolutions fail.
That’s a staggering number considering how important goals are to companies.
You actually have a greater shot of getting into Julliard in New York City to be a ballerina than hitting your next sales goal.
Or your next budget reduction.
Or your next widget production.
At every element of your work, goals matter. What if we could do some simple things to improve how often we finished what we started? What if we could complete the incomplete projects and tasks? What if we could get more done in a world of bottomless opportunities and endless distractions?
New York Times Bestselling Author Jon Acuff says you can. His new book “Finish” details easy changes you can make to your corporate culture to make sure everyone hits their goals. Some of the ideas are obvious. Some are counterintuitive. Some will surprise you, but the best part is they actually work.
How does Acuff know? Research, research and more research!
Jon suspected goal-completion was not luck or genetics. And he partnered with a university researcher to test what makes a person a CONSISTENT FINISHER instead of just a CHRONIC STARTER. The research team analyzed 900 people over a lengthy process. These are not just theories - these are principles built on analytics and research.
The good news is, you can learn to finish. It’s not a natural talent some people have and others do not. It can be taught.
Ever have an employee, team member or department almost finish something? It’s time to learn what it really takes!
Starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.
Soundtracks: How the best teams overcome overthinking to navigate change, increase productivity and win consistently.
Overthinking isn’t a personality trait. It’s the sneakiest form of fear.
It steals time, creativity, and energy. It’s the most expensive, least productive thing companies invest in without even knowing it. When New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff and Mike Peasley PhD asked more than 10,000 people if they struggled with overthinking, they were shocked to discover the results. More than 99.5% of people said, “Yes.” Overthinking prevents nearly everyone from doing their best work.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if there were simple, surprisingly fun techniques you and your team could use to transform overthinking from a super problem into a superpower? What if you could take all those repetitive thoughts, which Acuff calls soundtracks, and make them work for you, not against you with a new mindset?
What if you could create new soundtracks that help you navigate change, increase productivity and win consistently?
Great results always require great actions which always start with great thoughts. Let Acuff show you how to create them with a new keynote that will teach you to:
1. Retire the broken soundtracks that have been holding you back.
2. Replace them with new soundtracks that propel you forward.
3. Repeat the new ones so often they become as automatic as the old ones.
Retire.
Replace.
Repeat.
Can tapping into the full potential of your team really be that easy? INC Top 100 Leadership Speaker Jon Acuff, thousands of research participants and the best companies in the world say, “Yes!”
The pas several years have been catnip for overthinking, but if overthinking steals time, creativity and energy, guess what your team is about to get back? Time, creativity and energy.
It’s time to start listening to a new soundtrack with Jon Acuff.
Beyond the Pivot: The three best tools the best teams are using to build the new future.
For months, the word “pivot” was the most popular word in the virtual halls of every successful company. It spoke to the need to quickly respond to an unexpected crisis. It promised a quick solution to a challenge that would last for weeks, months or at the longest a whole quarter. But the challenge was not temporary, it stretched beyond our expectations and a new solution was needed to build the new future. The best companies looked beyond the pivot and developed three tools that will steer them on the road ahead.
Endurance
The greatest part of a crisis is that it invites us to learn lessons about ourselves, our company and our services in ways we might not have otherwise. The best teams will emerge with new skills, new opportunities and new markets, but only if they deliberately build endurance. It starts with asking the right questions such as, “How quick is your quit?” “Who are you doing this very difficult job for?” And, “What’s on the other side of this challenge?”
Flexibility
In 2019, we thought we lived in a “digital world.” In 2020, we discovered what that really meant. From transitioning warehouses full of customer service technicians to an at home work force to mastering the art of curbside service, the best teams have mastered a flexibility that makes yoga masters seem stiff. The key isn’t just developing fresh expertise but also finding creative ways to expand your existing expertise to new mediums. You must eliminate entitlement, encourage experimentation and have the, “Mindset of a tourist.”
Compassion
The small ways you serve customers today are worth a hundred times what they were six months ago. Why? Because crisis magnifies kindness. Isolation has not reduced our need for community and connection, it’s multiplied it. The best teams know that if they’ll invest in their customers, coworkers and themselves with intentional compassion they will lay a foundation that serves them for years to come.
The future is bright, but it must be built.
If you’re ready to learn practical, actionable ways you can increase the endurance, flexibility and compassion your team employs, talk with New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff. He’s spent more than 20 years helping the best companies in the world, like The Home Depot, Viacom, FedEx and Walmart thrive in uncertain times.
Let him show you what it takes to move beyond the pivot.
Do Over: Investing in the 4 Things that Every Great Business Needs to Navigate Change
The rate of change gets faster and faster each day. Technology is changing, ask the Flipcam and Blockbuster. Careers are changing, ask graphic designers who seemingly overnight had to learn how to design for a new online medium. Whole industries are changing, ask the hoteliers who suddenly find one million new competitors via the room-renting app Airbnb. Value systems are changing, ask millennials, 45% of which care more about workplace flexibility than salary.
Some companies will get stuck. When the New York Times asked, “Why didn’t Kodak create Instagram?” they were commenting on how easy it is for even successful companies to get crushed by the waves of change. Other companies will thrive amidst the turbulence.
Change is upon us and depending on how you approach it, it can be either overwhelming or an opportunity. The key is to see it for what it really is, a Do Over, a chance to reset. And if you want to navigate a Do Over, the best leaders in the world, running small businesses to massive corporations, know it takes four investments: Relationships, Skills, Character and Hustle.
The good news is, your business and your employees already have everything they need to make the best of a Do Over.
In fact, you’ve had it for years. Sound like marketing hype? It’s not.
You already have each of those four critical investments, now it’s time to amplify them and apply them in a new way.
Why? Because your business is going to experience four real seasons of change:
You will hit a Ceiling and get stuck, requiring sharp skills to free yourself.
You will experience a Bump, unexpectedly running into a difficult market, requiring strong relationships to survive.
You will make a Jump, requiring solid character to push through the chaos launching something new always stirs up.
You will get a surprise Opportunity you didn’t see coming, requiring dedicated hustle to take advantage of it.
The good news is there are only four types of change you will face as a company. The great news is that there are simple, practical ways to get the most out of each.
Change is coming for all of us.
Get ready. Get working. Get stuck-proof!
Hustle and Empathy: Two Surprising Sides of Sales
Connectivity has changed selling in some wonderful, terrible ways.
On the one hand, you have access to more people and opportunities than ever before in the history of mankind.
On the other, free music, free apps and free content are teaching consumers to expect the world for free. Buyers can also price check products with one search, make a snap second decision based on one negative review and find a thousand of your competitors on Google.
How do you adapt to the new world of sales? How do you launch fresh services, grow existing accounts and develop new relationships with future clients?
The answer is surprisingly simple - you sell with hustle and empathy.
Empathy is understanding another person’s need and acting upon that knowledge. While simple , it requires intentionality, active listening and a plan of action.
Hustle is the application of your empathy. It is an act of focus, not frenzy. And concentrated hustle fills the needs of clients in an impactful way.
Two times New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff teaches his proven approach to selling. With humor and relevant cultural insight, Jon will transform your attendees’ views of selling and a give a fresh, new view of sales performance.
July 22, 2021
Absolutely fantastic -- some of the best feedback I've received for a keynote. Funny and engaging but meaty with actionable takeaways, and customized for our audience. Total WIN!
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