Steven Gaffney
BIO
KEYNOTES
TESTIMONIALS
VIDEOS
BOOKS
Steven Gaffney is the global authority on teaching organizations to tell the truth and communicate more effectively. As the leading expert in change, teamwork, and honest communication, Steven provides strategies for team building, organizational alignment and leading through change; and he helps organizations create a culture of honest communication because it is a better business strategy.
Steven is a Certified Speaking Professional and esteemed member of the Million Dollar Speaking Group of the National Speakers Association. He has been a regular contributor to some of the most respected national television, radio, and print media outlets; and he is the author of several books, including: Just Be Honest: Authentic Communication Strategies that Get Results and Last a Lifetime, Honesty Works!, and Honesty Sells!. His latest book, Be a Change Champion: 10 Factors for Sustaining the Boom and Avoiding the Bust of Change, is the only one of its kind, dedicated to leading and maintaining successful change. Steven is the founder, president and CEO of the Steven Gaffney Company, a leading specialist in communication tactics that help manage and maintain change. For 20 years, he has worked with executive teams in industry and government to make communication more productive and change more effective. From the U.S. Marine Corps to Best Buy, NASA, BP and American Express, Steven has helped organizations increase morale and productivity to collaborate and succeed in their goals.
People across the globe credit Steven’s seminars, books, TV, and radio appearances with making positive changes within their organizations. These effects are both immediate and lasting for both their business and personal success, and this the reason why leaders of top organizations say, “Get me Gaffney!”
Keynote Presentations
Notice vs. Imagine: The Key To Innovation, Collaboration, and Growth
People often operate and make decisions as if their opinions are fact rather than exploring the real truth. This leads to employees assuming they know the needs of their clients or colleagues, rather than taking the time to determine if these assumptions are correct. These issues become even more exacerbated when the people involved have different agendas, goals, needs, and backgrounds. This keynote session includes Steven Gaffney’s legendary application of the “Notice vs. Imagine” technique. Based on more than a decade of research, the failure to distinguish what is “noticed” (the facts of the situation) from what is “imagined” (opinions, thoughts, evaluations, and conclusions) is often one of the most harmful things for an organization’s bottom line. In this presentation, participants will be challenged to open up and engage in discussions and exercises in order to better their personal and workplace environments – to learn to distinguish between what are facts and what are opinions so they can act only on the truths of a situation rather than their perceptions.
Getting the Unsaid Said: Boost Teamwork, Increase Trust, Build Remarkable Relationships, and Get Things Done!
How much is the “unsaid” costing your organization every year? Honesty may be the best policy, but getting the “Unsaid Said” in a productive manner can resolve virtually any issue. Our cornerstone seminar “Getting to the Honest Truth” enables leaders to proactively and effectively address this issue. During this keynote address, participants will learn specific, actionable strategies and techniques to ensure the unsaid is said, and they will work on their own case study so they know exactly how to apply what they have learned.
Be a Change Champion: How to Lead Through Times of Change and Uncertainty
Research has shown that the majority of changes attempted within an organization fail. However, the rate of change in today’s business climate is moving faster than ever and has created new challenges for even the strongest leaders. It is important that leaders have a specific skill set that enables them to be adaptive, motivating and empowering to their teams in an environment where change and ambiguity are the norm. In this keynote session, based on Steven’s book Be a Change Champion:10 Factors for Sustaining the Boom and Avoiding the Bust of Change, leaders will learn critical skills for managing and leading through any change, no matter how unpredictable or uncertain the environment. The session also includes strategies for keeping up the momentum, motivation, and morale of organizational change initiatives as well as how to prevent organizational change fatigue. Change frequently reveals additional organizational problems that have been previously neglected or unresolved, making this skill set even more essential to the success of the initiative. Many people have leadership skills, but the specific ability to lead through times of change and keep up the workforce’s momentum is a specialized, distinct strength to help leaders survive and thrive in today’s business world.
Influencing With Or Without Authority: Honest Persuasion Strategies That Make Things Happen—Internally And Externally
This keynote presentation provides strategies and techniques that can be used both internally within your organization and externally with customers, vendors, and other organizations. People often think influencing and selling means manipulating people into doing things they do not want to do. Those who think this way usually lack the ability to sell ideas and influence their clients and other people within their organization. This causes ideas and opportunities to be missed and initiatives and proposals to be stalled or not well executed. This breaks down leadership, stifles teamwork, and sabotages innovation; ultimately reducing productivity and killing potential profits. Everyone needs to know how to influence and sell. Why? Because, on a daily basis, there are opportunities for virtually everyone in an organization to directly or indirectly influence the health, growth and success of your organization. Many of these opportunities in today’s fast-paced, extremely competitive environment are there one minute, and gone the next. The key is to employ the skills of your team to quickly recognize, develop, and capitalize on these opportunities.
Honesty Sells: How To Be A Better Salesperson And Increase Profits
Steven Gaffney Testimonials
“Attendees found the guidance on honest communication extremely valuable and immediately applicable to their work lives – and beyond. They loved Steven’s energy level and enthusiastic delivery. And they greatly enjoyed the brief exercises during which they got to practice the techniques Steven described. Thank you so much, Steven. Your engaging presentation was a great way to kick off our new year!”
“Steven came to me highly recommended from other areas in my organization when I first took over a failing business unit. I had great people on my leadership team, but they needed cohesion and alignment and were all pulling in different directions. From his very first session with us, Steven walked into a room of people glaring at him and won them over. We noticed immediate results- within 10 days, the hostility was removed from their relationships and some of the most difficult players were speaking to each other using Steven’s terms. People understood the value of this extremely fast, and the work took hold in the organization.”
“As a leader of over 2,200 employees in 50 locations worldwide, the results of The Steven Gaffney Company and their training has been some of the best work we’ve ever hired anyone to do! It has helped our team come together and work more effectively as a whole. Our employees are much more integrated than they were in the past, and are now able to overcome a lot of internal issues on their own.”
“Steven’s first workshop with us was fantastic, relevant, engaging, personal, and the participation level was excellent! By the end of the day, practically the entire group was energized and confident that they had a new skill they could implement immediately. I was so surprised by how impactful it was for being just one day! The best part of working with Steven was how invested he was in my company’s success. To him, it was not just a business deal but a passion to help us. He invited any of the leaders to call him for advice and I took him up on the offer many times. I have really used him as a sounding board and find our conversations truly valuable.”
“Compared to other speakers and trainers I have used in the past, Steven is not only much better overall, but his material is practical, easy to use, understandable and backed up with experiences and credibility. So many other consultants are stuck and set in their ways, but Steven worked with me to come up with custom solutions to my organization’s needs and did not just apply a general cookie cutter method.”
“I’ve attended countless seminars and training sessions in my 20 years in the corporate world and Steven’s seminar was by far, the most valuable seminar I’ve ever attended! Not only were we able to immediately walk away from the session applying what we have learned, but we continue to live by his techniques every day. After Steven’s session, productivity in our department has increased tremendously. My employees save countless hours by talking to each other instead of talking about each other. The results have been truly amazing!”