Keynote
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 work—and what does.
How to make any job feel more rewarding.
How the best leaders motivate top performance.
Why great workplaces reward failure.
By the end of this keynote, you and your leaders will walk away with a thorough understanding of the latest science, along with practical strategies you can apply to elevate performance.
What Audiences Are Saying
“I was blown away by the quality. Dr. Friedman was very prepared, natural, and engaging. I’ve already heard discussion throughout our building about bringing him back for a workshop or another speaking engagement.”
-Trey Whitaker, Mass Mutual
-Luann Heinin, National Business Group on Health
“Dr. Friedman’s insightful, little-known, practical strategies captivated our audience. A joy to work with, he went above and beyond to customize his presentation to our group. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’d have him back in a heartbeat.”
-Pete Seljevold, Blue Cross Blue Shield
“It’s not easy being the speaker for an after-dinner format such as you experienced last week at the Chamber Annual event. But you were superb. Your content was gripping—some of it wonderfully confirming to people. But many of the study findings were stunning, and compelling to many. Ideas and examples you shared were quite illustrative and motivating. Additionally, your presentation style was authentic and by that I mean not the overly polished tendencies of those “on the circuit.” You were different. We could feel it. You had great research findings and a sincere cause in revealing them to us.”
-Marsha Lindsay, CEO, Lindsay Foresight and Stratagem
“Dr. Friedman helped make our offsite a truly memorable event. He didn’t just deliver great content—he invested hours getting to know us and customized his presentation to our group.”
-Brian Doyal, CoHead of Global Investment Banking, Robert W. Baird & Co
“Dr. Friedman is the single best speaker we’ve ever had at an annual event. For context: we have a tough audience—smart, analytical, and busy. Ron kept nearly 1,000 executives engaged and entertained every minute of the way. More than that, his insights have already sparked a wave of transformations throughout companies in our area. Months later, I’m still receiving compliments about our event. I could not recommend him more highly.”
-Zach Brandon, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
“Ron was absolutely fabulous. Our attendees were blown away.”
-IBM Smarter Workforce Institute
“Ron Friedman spoke at our Great Places to Work breakfast and many people later told me that he was the highlight of the event for them. He offered clear, concise advice on how to make a workplace better, and many of the event’s attendees said they were going back to the office with ideas they wanted to implement.”
-Sherri Dalphonse, Washingtonian
“Your presentation was fantastic – even better than I hoped for. And, as I hoped it would, it led to a lively discussion afterwards. Thanks for being so easy to work with and so kind to my team.”
-Wendy Cassity, Nuance
