Eric Termunde, keynote speaker

Eric Termuende

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Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author on Leadership, Uncertainty, and Change

Eric Termuende is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and researcher focused on one of the defining leadership challenges of our time: how to navigate uncertainty and change when the world refuses to stand still.

For over a decade, Eric has studied leadership, trust, culture, team performance, technology, and the changing nature of work. His work explores why traditional approaches to planning and leadership can break down when conditions change quickly, and what allows people, leaders, and teams to continue moving when the path ahead is unclear.

Eric challenges the idea that the best leaders are the best predictors. Instead, his research shows the importance of creating direction without pretending to have certainty, building the trust required for honest information to travel, reducing the friction that slows teams down, and making small, deliberate One-Degree Shifts that turn action into information and progress.

Eric has brought his research and ideas to hundreds of stages around the world, working with leaders and teams at organizations including Amazon, Toyota, IBM, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Nationwide, Zoom, and Nokia.

His ideas have been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc., and his first book, Rethink Work, became a bestselling resource for leaders navigating the changing world of work.

On stage, Eric combines a researcher’s curiosity with a storyteller’s instinct and a speaker’s sense of the room. Known for his energy, humor, and highly customized approach, he makes serious ideas feel immediately relevant and practical. Audiences leave with more than inspiration. They leave with a clearer way to lead, adapt, and move forward when the future is uncertain.
WHY ERIC

  • A founder-turned-speaker with original frameworks that make complex ideas simple, memorable, and actionable
  • Hundreds of stages and experience with some of the world’s most recognized organizations
  • Deep customization that makes every keynote feel built for the room
  • Research, humor, and storytelling that make serious ideas stick
  • Practical tools audiences can use before they are back at their desks

BOOK ERIC WHEN:

  • Your leaders are navigating constant change and uncertainty.
  • The strategy is changing faster than the plan.
  • Teams are experiencing change fatigue or losing confidence in what comes next.
  • AI, disruption, or industry shifts are creating more questions than answers.
  • Leaders need practical tools to move before every answer is obvious.
  • You want a keynote that is energetic and inspiring without sacrificing substance or action.

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Speaking topics

Built fo Uncertainty: Leading Teams in a World that has never Moved Faster

When the future stops being predictable, most leaders reach for the playbook they know: set the target, build the plan, and push the team toward it. But in a world changing faster than any plan can keep pace with, goals stop matching reality, teams grow tired of constant change, and leaders are left trying to create confidence in a future nobody can clearly see.

In this engaging, insight-filled, actionable presentation, workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende delivers a customized and research-backed operating system for building teams that can move through uncertainty and change. Drawing from his forthcoming book, The Certainty Crisis, Eric shows leaders how to set a direction when the destination is unclear, build the trust required for honest information to travel, and remove the friction that quietly prevents teams from adapting.

Attendees will receive a practical guide to building teams that are more adaptable, aligned, and ready for whatever comes next. They will learn from the experiences of industry leaders, icons, and trailblazers from around the world about how to create clarity without pretending to have certainty, uncover what is slowing their teams down, and use One-Degree Shifts to turn small experiments into momentum and progress.

Audience take-aways:

  • Practical strategies to create clarity and direction through uncertainty
  • Research-backed insights on building trust and adaptability during change
  • Methods for identifying and reducing friction within teams
  • An understanding of how to harness the power of One-Degree Shifts
  • Actionable steps to turn small experiments into a team-wide habit of progress

 

The Certainty Crisis: How to thrive in a world that refuses to stand still

We were taught to wait for certainty before we move: gather more data, run one more analysis, be sure. But in a world changing faster than any plan can keep up, waiting isn’t caution anymore. It’s the most expensive move we never make. The clarity we’re waiting for isn’t coming. It sits on the other side of a move we haven’t made yet.

Drawing on his forthcoming book, leadership expert Eric Termuende dismantles the myth that the best leaders are the best predictors. After years of studying what separates people who thrive in uncertainty from those who keep moving, he reveals a counterintuitive truth: action leads to clarity, not the other way around. What the best navigators hold isn’t certainty about the destination. It’s directional certainty:  a bearing that survives the surprises that destroy plans.

Eric walks audiences through the three moves at the heart of The Certainty Crisis: setting a direction worth rallying around when the destination is unknowable, becoming the next version of yourself instead of staying loyal to the one that got you here, and making the small, deliberate one-degree shifts that turn being wrong into cheap learning, so clarity compounds while everyone else is still gathering information. Attendees leave with a navigation system for the moments that matter most: the ones where the answer isn’t obvious, and waiting is no longer an option.

Audience take-aways:

  • Why waiting for certainty has quietly become a liability, and what to trade it for
  • The difference between directional certainty and destination certainty
  • A practical method for identifying and closing the Identity Gap
  • An understanding of how to harness the power of One-Degree Shifts
  • Three questions to determine whether to hold the bearing, shift a degree, or change course

 

Blueprint To The Future: Leading in a new world of work

Whether it is next week’s weather or the yet-to-be-created technology that is sure to evolve how we work, the future is truly impossible to predict. And while the trends, charts, and forecasting are interesting, we must shift from trying to anticipate what the future looks like to building resilient systems and teams that can help us navigate whatever the future may bring.

In this engaging, insight-filled, and actionable presentation, workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende delivers a customized and research-backed blueprint that has helped thousands of category-leading teams build trust, remove friction, and prepare for a future that is changing constantly, unpredictably, and faster than ever before.

Attendees will receive a practical guide to building teams that are more productive, engaged, creative, and innovative. They will learn from the experiences of industry leaders, icons, and trailblazers from around the world about the importance of building trust, removing friction, and creating a culture of experimentation.

Audience take-aways:

  • Practical strategies to boost trust, resilience, and camaraderie
  • Research-backed insights on building team agility and excitement toward impending change
  • An understanding of how to harness the power of One-Degree Shifts
  • Methods for finding and reducing friction within teams
  • Actionable steps to cultivate a culture of experimentation, risk-free

 

Unwavering: Building incredible teams for the future of work

Uncertainty is inevitable in the new world of work. In the face of ongoing change, will we see our people running for the exits, or will they be there to support and help each other? Change is happening faster than ever before, and building unwavering teams that are resilient, ultra-collaborative, and even excited about that change has never been more important. But how do we build unwavering teams? Trust, empathy, and ongoing experimentation.

Workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende has spent nearly a decade decoding exactly what creates unwavering teams: those that are resilient, rooted in belonging, and have a deep sense of safety and inclusivity. These are the types of teams that thrive through change because they know that while change may be difficult, the only thing worse is standing still. Eric has created a playbook for cultivating unwavering teams, and in this session, attendees will both learn it and be able to take it home with them.

By discovering how to enhance collaboration, developing excitement for all of the possibilities experimentation yields, and deciphering the root of trust across a team, attendees will come away from this session understanding how to become the incredible leader who inspires their teams to perform at their best and stand strong through anything the future may hold.

 

Audiences take-aways:

  • Deep knowledge about the root of collaboration and how to enhance it across the team
  • Research-backed insights around trust, psychological safety, and belonging at work
  • How to enhance excitement about change and how to involve the whole team in the process
  • The most important question to ask to get engagement and buy-in
  • Why the future is something to be excited about, not scared of

Snowflakes and Fingerprints: How to attract top talent in the future of work

Regardless of where we look, talent shortages are impacting nearly every industry, and competition is fierce. With an
entire generation on the precipice of retirement, and not enough workers ready to replace them, the situation is only going
to get fiercer. More than ever before, we need to do whatever we can to attract and retain top talent. But what is that?

After a decade of research on the world’s greatest places to work, workplace culture and leadership expert Eric Termuende
has the answer.

Like snowflakes and fingerprints, it all comes down to uniqueness. The days of job listings demanding an extensive list of
skills and attributes from potential employees are gone. Instead, we need to talk about the larger workplace experience
and the difference our organizations are making in the world. To attract the right talent in today’s environment, we must
plant our metaphorical flag in the ground and emphasize what makes us, as employers, different from the rest.

In this fun and takeaway-filled presentation, attendees will not only learn how to create their own compelling stories to
attract the right talent to their organization, but they’ll also leave with a talent attraction framework they can continue to
refine as the world of work keeps evolving.

Audience take-aways:

  • Actionable ways to create and share a unique, sticky, and impactful employee value proposition
  • Key strategies for leveraging your best recruiters, your existing team
  • An understanding of why creating a best place to work might not mean what you think it does, and what licorice, cilantro, and pineapple pizza have to do with it
  • Knowledge of where culture lives, and how to adapt your story based on the team/location you’re hiring for

 

Video clips

Speaking Reel 2026

Eric Termuende - Keynote Speaking Samples

Eric Termuende -Interview

Virtual Keynote Sample

Speaker testimonials

Eric was rated 4.8 out of 5 stars, by far the best results we saw throughout our entire meeting. He was extremely engaging and delivered a clear, relevant message that our leaders immediately began incorporating into their own mindsets and with their teams. The messaging was easy to digest, drove real impact, and energized the room

Nicole Plunkett, SVP, Kellogg's

Eric delivered the perfect message for our top 350+ leaders as we look to lead 10,000+ people through growth, change, and transformation. His keynote was customized, relevant, and actionable, and shared the tools and skills we need to confidently lead forward.

Steve Menneto, President, Off Road, Polaris Inc.

Eric delivered a high-energy, engaging, and informative keynote that left our people leaders inspired, informed, and committed to shifting one degree. Eric has a gift for deep listening, challenging the status quo, and confidently sharing his stories with humility and humour at a world-class standard

Laura Appleton, Senior Director, Arc'teryx

From the moment Eric took the stage, he shared timely, relevant information to help us build incredible teams and thrive in the future of work. He was entertaining, educational, and shared actionable insights that prompted many CEOs in the room to share that it was the best EO presentation they had ever experienced. Kudos, Eric! We were thrilled to have you and would highly recommend the great work you do.

Entrepreneurs Organization

I knew you’d have a great keynote, but seeing you in action on that stage was truly something else. I love the balance between entertaining the audience and challenging them to think differently. Your presence on stage, storytelling ability, and genuine connection to the audience were palpable and powerful. Our conference was better because of your message and delivery. I know our team is looking forward to another opportunity to work with you again.

Farm Credit Services

Thank you so much for a tremendous presentation today! It was outstanding! Hearing excellent reviews from the group here – people already citing your takeaways in their conversation and feedback. I will most certainly promote you and this presentation to other groups within Nationwide.

Nationwide

Eric, we can’t thank you enough! Your presentation was OUTSTANDING. Our attendees were deeply engaged (and entertained!) and we received so many compliments on your keynote. Thank you for bringing your amazing energy and insights to our event. We’re so happy to hear you had a good experience with us and we would love to find a way to work with you again. We’ll stay in touch!

Event Marketer

You absolutely knocked it out of the park & nothing but amazing feedback & accolades for you. I anticipate many inquiries will come your way. This was a special day for us and you made it exceptional.

Paramedic Chiefs

Eric’s talk was polished, pointed, and punchy. Our Tech CEOs overwhelmingly praised both the content and delivery of Eric’s talk. We brought him in as a thought leader on workplace culture and transformation post Covid-19, and he delivered.

VIATEC

Following a great keynote at the Northwest Credit Union Association, we brought Eric in for two keynotes with our branches. His high-energy, insightful, and timely information was perfect for us as we navigate the future of work and continue to build an incredible workplace. His message was so well-received that we’re bringing Eric back for another event later this year (2022) and look forward to all he has to offer.

LCCU Credit Union

Today’s presentation was great and I’m delighted at the response from the Team. The videos, the customization, and of course, your presence, knowledge, and energy made it a huge success! I’ve contracted and supported many Executive Leadership Summits for the agency over the years and it is not often that they say…”This is the best Summit we’ve ever had!” There’s been a lot of that type of feedback today and it is much deserved and well-earned praise.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In October 2020, in the middle of this Pandemic crisis, we had the pleasure to work with Eric for one of our episodes of our Dell Technologies Thought Leader Series. In addition to being a very fun person to work with, Eric was very generous of his time and an amazing presenter that our customers love!!!! His story was very inspiring and helped people with a different perspective during these difficult times.

Dell Technologies

Wow, just WOW. Safe to say that was the best virtual presentation we’ve done yet, and not just
for this event! The comments section definitely showcased that. Thank you very much for that incredible presentation. I will be in touch again very soon.

Senior Conference Producer, Key Media

Eric is highly knowledgeable in his field of business and, at the same time, is capable of quickly understanding the complexity of the event we were hosting. Eris is an excellent speaker with a plethora of great thoughts and ideas. His insights regarding the future of work were spot-on and the content of his keynote spurred a significant amount of conversation amongst our attendees.

Executive Director, AAA

Eric is an absolute pro. He was tasked with closing our 4-day event. He was the 13th speaker, he followed 12 incredible presentations, not an enviable position to be in. Not only did he bring something from every other presentation into his program, he also wrapped our entire event with a bow. He may have been the youngest presenters on our faculty but ended like a seasoned pro.

Founder, EPIC Conference

Eric delivered an engaging, inspiring and thought-provoking session to our audience. It was
a pleasure working with Eric – he delivered the perfect presentation. Eric is a charismatic and passionate storyteller with great insights, real-world experience and exceptional presentation
skills. It was a pleasure to work with Eric and I would highly encourage any organization to
invite Eric to present to their community!

University of Manitoba, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship

Eric delivered a high energy, engaging and informative keynote that left our people leaders inspired, informed and committed to shifting 1 degree. The task of creating a conversation about what ‘has got us here, won’t get us there’ was met 100% with modern research and examples of companies that were relevant and thought-provoking. Eric has a gift for deep listening, challenging the status quo and confidently sharing his stories with humility, humor at a world class standard.

Senior Manager, People & Culture - Arc'teryx

We had the opportunity to bring Eric in as the keynote speaker for our annual strategic planning workshop with all of our Senior Leaders. Eric did an excellent job of helping us understand and connect the links between strategy and culture with some “one-degree shifts” in our thinking about people and process. This slight change in our thinking was a great catalyst for the subsequent discussions as we built out our strategies for the coming year.

Vice President Human Resources at Toyota Material Handling

Eric wowed us with his interventions at our manager summit. For the first act, his keynote presentation on the one-degree shifts to move from TEAM to COMMUNITY was perfectly tailored to the audience. A master storyteller, he captivated the group with humor and human insight, and made the abstract HR challenges of our business seem practical and simple. And then in the 2nd act, he facilitated a small audience implementation workshop of property managers that quickly moved them from conceptual discussion to realistic concrete actions. Bravo!

Director Talent Development - North America, Caribbean, Mexico at Club Med

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