"My favorite keynote speaker I've ever heard. (And I've heard a lot!)"

AI is the closest thing we’ve built to Archimedes’ infinite lever—a tool so powerful it can move mountains of work with barely a push. For professionals, that’s intoxicating and dangerous in equal measure. When the model writes the first draft, the architecture, the spec, and you simply review and approve, whose work is it? And what happens to your team’s craft when the struggle that builds expertise gets automated away?

Todd introduces the VERVE framework for using AI as an ally without surrendering agency, drawing a sharp line between “support work” you should offload and “soul work” you must fiercely protect. Ideal for team summits, divisional meetings, and product leadership offsites.

Key takeaways:

• The crucial distinction between support work and soul work—and why confusing them makes your team replaceable
• How over-reliance on AI quietly atrophies problem-finding skills and normalizes mediocrity
• A practical test for deciding when to reach for AI and when to resist
• Five principles for amplifying output while preserving the judgment that makes your work irreplaceable

Leading brilliant clinicians, scientists, and specialists requires a different approach than managing a general workforce—these are experts who know more than you do in their domain. Based on Herding Tigers, this keynote equips healthcare and pharma leaders to protect their teams’ focus, earn the trust of high-performers, and lead expert talent toward shared goals.

Based on Todd’s best-selling book, Herding Tigers.

Healthcare runs on people performing at a high level under sustained pressure—and burnout is the predictable result. Based on The Accidental Creative, this keynote delivers five practices of sustainable rhythm that help clinical, research, and administrative teams manage their energy, defeat the “assassins” of focus, and keep showing up sharp without sacrificing themselves to the work.

Key takeaways:

• Five practices for sustaining peak performance under chronic pressure
• How to manage energy and avoid the burnout endemic to healthcare
• Defeating the hidden drains on focus and clarity
• Building rhythms that protect both performance and wellbeing

Based on Todd’s best-selling book, The Accidental Creative.

Healthcare and pharma demand courageous decisions—on patient care, on research direction, on organizational change—often with incomplete information and real consequences. Based on The Brave Habit, this keynote shows leaders and teams how to build the daily habit of decisive, courageous action, confront uncertainty head-on, and foster a culture where people speak up and lead from every seat.

Key takeaways: the two factors behind habitual bravery, how to make sound decisions under uncertainty, and how to build a culture of courage across the organization.

Based on Todd’s latest book, The Brave Habit.

Innovation in a regulated, risk-averse environment is hard—teams plateau, default to “the way we’ve always done it,” and lose their drive. Based on Die Empty, this keynote names the seven patterns that stall progress and gives teams the tools to challenge assumptions and reignite the drive to solve hard problems.

Based on Todd’s best-selling book, Die Empty.