Ron Friedman, Ph.D.
- Award-winning social psychologist
- Bestselling author of The Best Place to Work, and Decoding Greatness
- Frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and CNN
- Trained over 100,000 leaders on the science of creating high-performing teams
In Person-Fee 🛈
Fee Range
$30,000 - $50,000
Virtual Fee:
$20,000 - $30,000
Travels From
New York
Keynote Speaker Ron Friedman, Ph.D. on the Science of High-Performing Teams
Ron Friedman Speaker Biography
Ron Friedman, Ph.D., is an award-winning social psychologist who specializes in human motivation.
Ron has served on the faculty of the University of Rochester, Nazareth College, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and has consulted for some of the world’s most successful organizations.
Popular accounts of his research have appeared on NPR and in major newspapers, including The New York Times, Financial Times, the Globe and Mail, Washington Post, The Guardian, as well as magazines such as Men’s Health, Entrepreneur, and Success.
He is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Forbes, and CNN.
His first book, The Best Place to Work, was named an Inc. Magazine Best Business Book of the Year. Library Journal called it a “must-read,” and it was described as “stunning,” “eye-opening,” and “a contemporary classic” by New York Times bestselling authors Daniel Pink, Adam Grant, and Marshall Goldsmith. Over 60,000 copies of The Best Place to Work have been sold, and it’s been translated into seven languages.
His most recent book, Decoding Greatness was a national bestseller and was selected by Amazon's editors as one of the year's best non-fiction books.
The Secrets of High-Performing Teams
What do leaders of highly successful teams do differently?
From a research perspective, the answer is simple. Decades of peer-reviewed studies have found a reliable path for improving employee productivity, satisfaction, and loyalty—while shrinking stress, burnout, and turnover.
The solution is not a higher salary, fewer hours, or even a better relationship with a manager. The secret is fueling your team’s psychological needs for mastery, connection, and autonomy—the three factors at the heart of job satisfaction and work performance. So, how do you do it? That’s exactly what this unforgettable keynote reveals.
You’ll discover…
- How the best leaders foster collaboration, from the moment a new member joins their team.
- How to cultivate trust in a way that leads to more transparency and intelligent risk-taking.
- How to motivate your team to take ownership over important projects.
- How to ensure that every member of your team feels like they are growing.
- How to get your team feeling energized, engaged, and passionate about doing great work.
By the end of this talk, you’ll have a powerful, science-backed framework of what the best leaders do differently, as well as an arsenal of practical strategies that you can apply every day.
What the World’s Best Workplaces Do Differently
In his highly-acclaimed book, The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace, award-winning psychologist Ron Friedman surveyed the world’s most successful organizations, identifying key practices that position them to thrive.
In this engaging keynote, we reveal the highlights, offering a surprising look at the emerging science of workplace excellence.
You’ll discover
- What the best jobs have in common with a video game.
- Why turning colleagues into close friends elevates your performance at work.
- How to boost your energy level without drinking more coffee.
- The one workplace reward that feels better than a raise.
- Why Dreamworks pays employees to decorate their desks, the Boston Consulting Group penalizes analysts who don’t go on vacation, and Radio Flyer provides mileage reimbursement for employees who ride their bikes.
By the end of this presentation, not only will you and your team think differently about your workplace, you’re bound to come away with a variety of actionable insights that you can immediately put to use.
Motivating Excellence: The Science of Fostering Passion, Loyalty, and Top Performance
How do you motivate others to produce their best work?
For generations, leaders have received conflicting advice. But now, thanks to groundbreaking new research, we have clear, data-driven insights into the factors that generate employee engagement and sustain performance over the long term.
In this compelling and persuasive presentation, you’ll learn the surprising truth about what motivates excellence (hint: it’s not money or titles) and discover practical steps you can immediately apply to elevate your team’s performance.
You’ll discover
- The scientific secret to elevating your team’s performance without burning them out.
- Why lavish bonuses, glowing performance reviews, and employee-of-the-month awards don’t elevate performance—and what does.
- How to make any job feel more rewarding.
- How the best leaders motivate top performance.
- Why great workplaces reward failure.
The Hidden Path to Greatness: The Fastest Way to Become World-Class in Your Field
How do creative geniuses come up with brilliant ideas?
In his bestselling book, Decoding Greatness, Dr. Friedman exposes a secret strategy that’s vaulted artists, inventors, and business titans to the top of their profession.
In this captivating keynote, he presents the highlights and reveals how anyone can use the same approach to supercharge their creativity, develop novel ideas and products, and succeed faster.
Using stunning examples of top performers from Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to Andy Warhol and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Friedman explains:
- Why everything we’ve been taught about creativity is wrong.
- The truth about how game-changing innovators come up with original ideas.
- Why every creative thinker needs a private museum.
- How to spot hidden patterns inside winning products and marketing campaigns.
