Lisa Bodell
Corporate Innovation Futurist, CEO of FutureThink
Speaking Style: Innovative, Influential, Thought Provoking, Actionable
Travels From: New York
Fee Schedule: 5
After earning her business degree from the University of Michigan, Lisa launched her career at Leo Burnett in Chicago, where she discovered a gift for uniting strategically driven ideas with forwardthinking themes. She went on to build two successful businesses before moving to New York and focusing on the simplification and innovation space with futurethink.
With time-management skills that border on an art form, Lisa currently serves as an adviser on the boards of the Institute of Direct Marketing in London; the Association of Professional Futurists; the Institute for Triple Helix Innovation; and Novartis’ Diversity and Inclusion Board in Basel, Switzerland. Among her many academic activities, Lisa is a finalist judge at Idea Crossing’s Innovation Challenge held at University of Virginia, and has taught innovation and creativity at both American University and Fordham Universities.
A respected thought-leader on simplification and innovation topics, Lisa has appeared on FOX News, and in publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, Crain’s, Business Week, The New York Times, WIRED, Investor’s Business Daily, Harvard Business Review, and The Futurist.
In her own life, she’s known for solving word scrambles, brain teasers, and logic puzzles with the speed of an Olympian. She can whip up five-course gourmet meals, though she’s yet to master a perfectly grilled burger. After traveling through more than 40 countries, Lisa has set her sights on visiting the North Pole so she can stand in every time zone—simultaneously.
KILLING COMPLEXITY: Create a Culture of Simplification & Get to the Work that Matters
There is a formula to gaining a competitive advantage, and it is simple – Speed, Agility and Focus. But complexity is holding most organizations back from creating a culture that embraces these three principles of success. Simplification is the solution, and every organization wants to know the techniques to help them eradicate complexity and get back to meaningful work that drives innovative change. Lisa inspires leaders and their teams to consider what it means to have an innovative company. It isn’t about creating a culture of cool lounge areas with ping pong tables. More than anything, your culture will be predicated on the work people do every day. If your organization is mired in meetings, emails and reports, then that is what your culture will be known for; but, wouldn’t you rather be known as the company where people are engaged in truly meaningful work every day? Lisa gives you the tools to make this a reality.
KILL THE COMPANY: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution
Winning innovators embrace change—do you? What holds you back from better innovating, every day? In too many organizations, we’re stuck in the land of status quo. We’ve forgotten how to think differently, and lack the simple tools to solve problems creatively. The very structures put in place to help organizations grow are now holding us back. This keynote is an inspirational call to arms: to start a revolution in how we think and how we work. If you want people to approach change differently, you have to help them change their approach!
- Why Simple Wins: Escape the Complexity Trap and Get to Work That Matters
- Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution
- Direct TV
- Volkswagen
- Novartis
- Accenture
- Ted
- Delta Airlines
- Merck
- Time Warner
- NYSE Euronext
- Pfizer
“Lisa has the winning combination you look for in a keynote speaker – she is insightful, engaging and energetic. She was the top-rated speaker at two Google events and inspired our audience to start an innovation revolution.” – Meredith Cherwony, Marketing Manager of Think Events at Google
“Lisa’s message is incredibly relevant and compelling. I find her work to be thought provoking, challenging and necessary given today’s complex and ever-changing business environment.” – Camille Mirshokrai, Global Managing Director at Accenture
“Lisa is one of the most outstanding presenters I have ever seen. She passionately delivers well-articulated messages that engage the audience and encourage action on the part of the listener. Something tells me that many of her insights will become essential elements of our culture.” – Duncan Niederauer, CEO at NYSE Euronext
“Lisa captivated the audience with insightful and well-articulated thoughts about technologies and trends that could transform our industry. Her examples were credible, thought provoking, and, in a very short time, she energized people to be more proactive about shaping our future business environment.” – Wendy Mayer, Vice President for Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer
“Lisa’s presentation included excellent examples and energizing exercises that brought innovation to life. She got us to look at our business with new eyes.” – Joan P. LawrenceRoss, Chief Learning Officer at AXA Equitable
“Over the years, I’ve tried many innovation ‘gurus’ to educate my leadership team. Lisa is the real thing – she’s an expert that also knows how to use both presentation and learning principles to hold an audience’s attention.” – David Owens, Director of Learning & Development at Bausch & Lomb
“Lisa made my leadership team think in new ways and helped us develop winning business ideas right in the room. My team now embraces innovation rather than fearing it.” – Mary Fennoglio, Managing Director at Citigroup Corporate Investment Bank
“Lisa’s presentations have transformed the way our leaders think of innovation. Lisa provides a mix of practical, easy to use tools and inspiration which has helped to create a new mindset around how to innovate in all parts of our company.” – Nancy Singer, R. Ph., Executive Director of Enterprise Learning at Merck
“Lisa’s presentation on innovation was my absolute favorite presentation of our 3-day offsite! I now have a totally new way of looking at innovation. I would recommend her and her team to anyone planning an event in a heartbeat.” – Kate Connell, VP at Delta Airlines