Who has been your favorite non-tech keynote or featured speaker? Is anyone actually drawn in by a famous musical act or comedian?


2.7k views2 Upvotes16 Comments

Board Member, Former CIO in Software, 10,001+ employees
A few comments:
Adam Grant gives an incredible talk about workplace dynamics (e.g. give/take). 

Will.I.Am is an incredibly intelligent musician and has a lot to offer in terms of business insights.  

Of course my all time favorite (and sadly probably the most expensive to retain) is Jim Collins (good to great, great by choice)
1
COO in Healthcare and Biotech, 5,001 - 10,000 employees
Angela Duckworth’s TED Talks based on her book, Grit. Which is influenced by Carol Dweck’a work on Growth vs Fixed Mindset.

Both are great lessons for adults as well as kids.
2
CIO in Software, 501 - 1,000 employees
What a fun topic!  Some that stand out are the astronaut Mae Jemison, the writer Michael Lewis, and Ed Catmull from Pixar talking about how to promote creativity in the workplace.
1
CIO, Senior VP in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees
I am drawn by musical acts. Any chance to step away from IT I'll take it. My favorite speakers are ones that don't tell me things I already know, but tie IT (in my case, Financial Services) in with another entertaining topic. I can see and read our current state in numerous articles and journals. Tell me what I don't know. Give me an angle I haven't thought about.
CIO in Education, 1,001 - 5,000 employees
I saw Lou Holtz and Gen. Colin Powell speak at different events. Both were great motivational speakers in their own unique ways.
1
Principal Information Security Officer in Education, 10,001+ employees
Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (and several other firsts) was a phenom in the keynote I attended and has given as well as at TED 2014.

Also, Marcus Buckingham, author of "First, Break All the Rules" is a dynamic motivational speaker.
1
Chief Information Officer in Services (non-Government), 51 - 200 employees
Gary Vaynerchuck
1
Chief Information Officer in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees
Yuval Harari is one of the most prolific minds who has the unique ability to connect the dots between history, religion and technology. 

I also like the line of thought from Simon Sinek and find his theory on start with why profound and relevant in today’s world.
1
Director, Product Delivery Operations & Program Management Office at Momentive (the makers of SurveyMonkey). Strategic Advisor in Software, 1,001 - 5,000 employees
The late and great Anthony Bourdain. Interesting story, I had the awesome opportunity to meet and have dinner with Tony. He is an amazingly humble (also hated the limelight) and empathetic person.

He even provided some insider advice that helped prevent my brother from moving "close" to the arctic circle and harsh winter weather of Harbin, China.
4
Director of Information Technology in Software, 2 - 10 employees
Mark Whitacre. He is an Ivy-League graduate and the highest-ranked executive of any Fortune 500 company to become a whistleblower in US history.  His story was made into a movie, The Informant!
3

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CTO in Software, 201 - 500 employees
Without a doubt - Technical Debt! It's a ball and chain that creates an ever increasing drag on any organization, stifles innovation, and prevents transformation.
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