Talks & workshops.
I speak about innovation, AI, and the leadership work both require. The talks below are formats I’ve delivered recently and would deliver again. The full catalog of seven sessions lives on my Sessionize profile.
The Keynote: “Our Big Engagement Opportunity”
For executive audiences, conferences, and corporate retreats. 45 to 60 minutes plus Q&A.
Join us for an exploration of leadership and the human decisions that will determine whether AI creates a future of greater meaning or simply accelerates what’s already broken.
As we redefine the relationship between humans and machines at work, we face a pivotal opportunity to address a decades-old challenge: employee engagement. With only about 30% of today’s workforce engaged, AI gives us a rare chance to redesign work with intention rather than automation alone.
This talk equips technical and business leaders at all levels to see AI through a human lens and outlines actionable steps towards reshaping workplaces where technology amplifies people, not replaces them. The future of work is not being decided by Silicon Valley. While they provide capabilities, the outcomes are still ours to decide.
- Understand the difference between capability and adoption through the lens of the Hype Cycle
- Explain how employee engagement is shaped by the design of work in an AI-enabled workplace.
- Identify leadership practices that create safety, learning, and growth during AI-driven transformational change.
- Select practical next steps to ensure AI amplifies people rather than replaces their value.
The Workshop: “From Ideas to Action: A Hands-On Innovation Workshop”
For innovation teams, product teams, and leadership offsites. 4-hour interactive workshop.
Every innovation starts with a person and an idea—but most early ideas won’t ultimately succeed. How do you quickly assess, refine, and validate an idea so it either gains traction or fails fast so you can move on to the next one?
In this interactive, fast-paced workshop, you’ll bring your own idea for a startup, product, or feature and work through a series of activities to:
- Expand your perspective and add structure to your idea.
- Explore new possibilities by generating ideas you hadn’t considered.
- Assess desirability, feasibility, and viability to refine your concept.
- Identify concrete steps to bring your idea closer to reality.
- Tap into the collective intelligence of the room to accelerate your progress.
Whether you’re tech lead shaping a new feature, a senior developer with a side project, or a manager fostering innovation in your team, this workshop will equip you with the tools and insights to move from idea to action and help others do the same.
The Leadership Talk: “Engaging and Aligning Teams for Innovation”
For C-suite teams, boards, senior leadership groups, and executive education programs. 30 to 45 minutes plus discussion.
Innovation is a wicked problem; the viable solution is often unknown until it’s in widespread use. This makes it difficult for developers, designers, scrum masters, and product owners to achieve shared understanding and determine how best to reduce risk, generate learnings, and increase the chances of an innovation becoming sustainable.
Drawing on over a decade of experiences with different teams, products, and industries, I will provide a high-level overview of how innovation initiatives differ from extending existing systems and share techniques to decompose tough problems, engage in critical thought, move faster, and increase the chances that innovators’ visions will successfully become a reality.
- Awareness of how innovation is different than extending existing systems
- Gaining context through Impacts, Outcomes, and Outputs
- Analyzing Feasibility, Desirability, and Viability
- Moving to Action with Key Questions
- When to Iterate in Models vs. Code
The Product-Team Session: “Co-Creation: The Key to Creativity, Engagement, and Impact”
For product teams and the people who build with them. 60 minutes.
Teams have evolved from documenting requirements to creating product definitions with techniques like journey mapping and user stories. Our effectiveness has increased and we’ve become user-centric. But what if the way we’re currently using these techniques is actually holding us back?
In this session, we explore how co-creation combined with these techniques and other critical thought models is what unlocks empathy, creativity, shared understanding, engagement, and more impactful solutions.
- Understanding of Decision Making and Commitment (Command, Consult, Consensus)
- Leveraging divergent and convergent thought
- How to include co-creation within your team and process
- When to discover and explore with code and when to learn through models
“Roadmapping with Critical Thought” — Nebraska.Code() 2025
Testimony to the Nebraska Legislature, February 2, 2026
Testifying in support of LB1044 on behalf of Don’t Panic Labs, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
Watch the testimony →Where I’ll be next
I welcome opportunities to share insights with your conference, leadership team, civic event, or community group. Reach out via my page at Don’t Panic Labs or LinkedIn.
Best fit for: senior leadership offsites, innovation and product team workshops, conference keynotes on AI and leadership, chamber and civic events.
Format options: keynote, workshop, panel, fireside chat.
Audience size: I have spoken to small executive teams and to conference audiences of over a hundred. Both work.