Jon Acuff

Jon Acuff Speaking Topics

• 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.

• 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 year 2020 was 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.

All It Takes Is A Goal

When New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff got curious about tapping into his full potential, he launched a research study with professor Dr. Mike Peasley. They asked more than three thousand people if they felt they were living up to their full potential.

50 percent of people reported that 50 percent of their full potential is untapped. That means half of us are walking around with half-lives. No wonder Twitter is so grumpy.

Imagine if every Christmas you only opened up half your gifts. You could see the rest—a whole pile of them in the corner of the room—but you never got to open them.

Would that make for a happy Christmas, a happy house, a happy job, a happy anything?

It wouldn’t, but what if it didn’t have to be that way?

What if you could have a fulfilling career?

What if you could hit all your sales goals?

What if you could become the leader you’ve always known you were?

What if each day felt like a gift and each year progressively got better?

What if you could escape the Comfort Zone, avoid the Chaos Zone, and live in the Potential Zone?

What if you could turn Easy Goals into Middle Goals and even Guaranteed Goals?

That would be the best.

And what if, all it takes is a goal?

Find out how to turn all your opportunities into goals you and your team actually accomplish with this brand new keynote from INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership Speaker Jon Acuff.

Pivot, Don’t Panic: The Four Investments Smart Teams Rely on During Uncertainty (Virtual Presentation)

Six months ago, “change” was something we all knew we’d need to deal with someday. It was just over the horizon. It was around the corner. We knew it would come, we just didn’t know when and we didn’t know how. Then the world got flipped upside down.

Change is no longer a topic of conversation for your team, it’s the norm. The new vocabulary. The new reality. The elephant isn’t hiding in the corner of the room now. The elephant is the entire room.

Every team will face a choice. Pivot or panic? The smart ones will lean into four different investments. They’ll double down on Skills, Character, Relationships and Hustle in intentional ways that bring clarity to chaos. They’ll refocus, rebuild, and relaunch to better serve their community. They’ll emerge with new tools and a new direction. Why? Because a crisis is a classroom. It’s an invitation to innovation you might not have planned for, but definitely need.

Join New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff as he shares practical steps and inspiring insights to help your team navigate this brave new world.

We all get to make a choice. Every day our team members and our communities are counting on us to make the right one.

Pivot, don’t panic.

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.

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 service rollout.

In 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. How does he know? Research, research and more research!

Jon suspected goal-completion was not luck or genetics. So, he commissioned a study with assistant professor Mike Peasley, PhD to test what it takes to turn a chronic starter into a consistent finisher. The research team analyzed 900 people over a six-month process as they worked on goals. The study resulted in a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller titled “Finish” and principles Acuff has taught to teams such as Walmart, FedEx and Nokia.

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? Every wished you could complete more of the things you care about? It’s time to learn what it really takes!

Starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.