Book a keynote speaker on change management: Why corporations hire a PhD-holding sacred-cow-butcher
There are two types of keynote speakers that can be booked for a change management topic.
One type has run a marathon in the desert, has a book title with the word "mindset" in it, and tells your board that with enough passion you can achieve anything. Applause, selfie, invoice, end of story.
The other type has spent five years talking to change agents on four continents and the British secret service, written a doctoral thesis on the slaughter of sacred cows – and tells your staff straight to their faces which ritual has survived in your company for twenty years only because nobody dares to ask why.
I am type two. My name is Dr. Stephan Meyer. I am known as "Doctor Change".
Change = transformation = reducing sacred cows
Why do corporations even book a keynote speaker for change management?
Anyone working in human resources, event agencies, or as an executive assistant needs Speaker on the topic of change management Anyone searching has usually already experienced two things: a failed internal communications campaign and an Excel spreadsheet with speaker fees that all sound suspiciously similar.
The problem is rarely the budget. Corporations like the ones I've worked with for over 30 years – Volkswagen, Audi, Daimler, PwC, Allianz, Novartis, Sanofi, Evonik, E.ON – have budgets. The problem is the confusion of Motivation with changeMotivation feels good and lasts until Monday morning. Change hurts, but lasts longer than a weekend.
That's why smart clients don't book a motivational speaker. They book a Keynote Speaker for Change Management, which has a scientific basis, not a collection of anecdotes.
What actually makes a keynote speaker credible for corporations?
If you're a speakers' agency or event organizer with a large budget and you book someone for a board retreat, kick-off meeting, or annual conference, three things matter – and "has a snappy Instagram channel" isn't one of them:
1. A sound scientific basis. My doctoral thesis at the University of Gloucestershire is titled “Killing the Sacred Cow: Radical Organisational Change as Seen Through the Eyes of Change Agents”. From this, the following is derived: Sacred Cow Framework The result is not an interchangeable three-letter model from a weekend seminar, but distilled knowledge from real interviews with change agents who themselves have already done everything wrong that you can do wrong.
2. Practice that cannot be faked. 30 years in digital transformation – as CEO, board member, program manager, consultant, and coach. Who as Business psychologist and keynote speaker Anyone who stands before a board of directors should have sat on a board of directors themselves, otherwise the keynote will become a theory lecture for people who will have to walk into a trap again tomorrow.
3. The courage to be uncomfortable. A keynote speaker who leaves your leadership team feeling like they're doing everything right hasn't done their job. My role is to identify the sacred cows in the room—politely but relentlessly—and show them how to lead them to the slaughterhouse without a bloody mutiny.
For which occasions do companies book me as a keynote speaker
The inquiries I receive rarely come from companies simply looking for "a little motivation" for their Christmas party. They typically come from:
- Board retreats and management meetings, where an upcoming transformation needs to be addressed honestly
- Kick-off events for change or digitalization projects that should not be perceived by the workforce as "the next fad".
- Annual meetings and congresses in industries such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, finance and energy, where my many years of consulting experience at Audi, Sanofi, Allianz or E.ON provide me with an insider's perspective, not just the stage perspective.
- Internationale Events, where the keynote address is to be given in German or English
What you can and cannot expect from a keynote speaker on change management
You can expect a scientifically sound, entertaining, and brutally honest keynote that won't just tickle your audience's funny bone, but will actually make them think. You can expect me to familiarize myself with your company and your specific core values beforehand, instead of recycling a standard, off-the-shelf presentation.
they may not You don't expect me to tell you how great your company already is after the presentation. If that's what you want, book a motivational speaker. If you want to see real change in your company, book "Doctor Change."
The descent of the sacred cows from the alpine pastures – my core keynote address
My most famous lecture, "The descent of the sacred cows from the alpine pastures – a clear view of the future"This presentation is designed precisely for this moment: the point at which a company knows it needs to change, but doesn't yet know which of its cherished rituals will have to go. It's the keynote speaker you book when the third internal change initiative in a row has fizzled out and someone from the outside is needed who can afford to ask the uncomfortable question.
Book Doctor Change
If you have a Keynote Speaker for Change Management If you have an academic background, three decades of corporate and consulting experience, and are willing to call a spade a spade – then we should talk directly to each other.
All presentations, references and contact information can be found on my speaker page: https://jo.my/redner
Or you can write to me directly: office@stephanmeyer.com
If we're going to make progress, let's do it properly.
Dr. Stephan Meyer, „Doctor Change" – Keynote Speaker, Business Psychologe und Autor des Sacred Cow Frameworks.