Adrian Gostick

Adrian Gostick is the author of several bestselling books on corporate culture, including the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Carrot Principle. He also wrote the bestsellers The Integrity Advantage and The 24-Carrot Manager. His research on employee engagement has been called a “must read for modern-day managers” by Larry King of CNN, “fascinating,” by Fortune magazine and “admirable and startling” by the Wall Street Journal.

Adrian’s books have been translated into 20 languages and are sold in more than 50 countries around the world. As a leadership expert, he has appeared on numerous national television programs including NBC’s Today Show and has been quoted in dozens of business publications and magazines.

Adrian is Vice President of the Carrot Culture division, the consulting and training arm of the O.C. Tanner Recognition Company. Adrian earned a master’s degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University, where he is a guest lecturer on organizational culture.

KEYNOTES

The Carrot Principle: Engaging Employees through Recognition

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Carrot Principle has become the preeminent source on employee engagement and recognition.

Based on his runaway bestseller, The Carrot Principle workshop or keynote reveals the ground-breaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. This breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.

Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, KPMG and The Pepsi Bottling Group, the bestselling author shows how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results. Gostick shows how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks and in doing so achieve higher:

• Productivity
• Engagement
• Retention
• Customer Satisfaction

This exceptional presentation introduces the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, drawn from real-life cases, of ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.

The Levity Effect: Creating a Great Workplace

If you think work is no laughing matter, the joke’s on you. The Levity Effect uses serious science to reveal the remarkable power of fun and humor in building a productive, engaged and loyal workforce… and more successful communication.
Consider this: Light-hearted leaders earn more on average than their more dour peers; fun workplaces breed more loyal employees and happier customers; and business people who are considered humorous are vastly more likely to get their messages across—in sales presentations, customer meetings or employee gatherings.

The benefits of the levity effect are built on extensive research and case studies from some of the world’s most successful organizations. Bestselling author Adrian Gostick provides powerful examples of leaders from Boeing, Nike, KPMG, Yamaha, Enterprise, Zappos and dozens of others, all of which prove that lightening up leads to real business results. The Levity Effect also presents extensive research into the subject—including compelling data from the Great Place to Work® Institute’s 1 million-member database—that cuts against the grain of traditional business thinking to reveal that great companies consistently earn significantly higher marks for fun.

With compelling research and light-hearted insight, The Levity Effect turns business on its head to prove that a fun and engaging workplace leads to focused employees, satisfied customers and more effective communication.

The Integrity Advantage: Building Trust and Enhancing Performance

In a thought-provoking address, bestselling author Adrian Gostick shows why effective leadership is first and foremost a personal relationship, with trust and credibility as the cornerstones. The author takes attendees through real examples of real managers in action and reveals the key behaviors and characteristics that can strengthen your leaders’ capacity for developing and sustaining trust in their business lives.

Gostick will teach participants how to resolve conflicts and tensions on the basis of principles, not positions. He also shows how taking the high road will create a competitive advantage for leaders and their businesses:

• To help leaders gauge and enhance their own personal level of integrity
• To recognize and hire people of character
• To build a culture of integrity throughout your organization

Here’s the bottom line: If employees don’t believe their leaders are honest, they won’t follow them. If clients and potential clients don’t believe in the trustworthiness of the organization, they’ll buy elsewhere. Years of empirical data prove this simple point: Ethical organizations outperform unethical ones. It’s that simple.

TESTIMONIALS

“The amount of feedback/buzz for Adrian’s presentation is rare at Boeing. For the key leaders it was a home run.”
— Boeing

“Outstanding, excellent, fantastic!”
— Whirlpool

Your presentation exceeded our wildest expectations.”
— Hospira

The best speaker on the two-day agenda. Adrian’s presentation was so personalized for us. Our CEO was just blown away.”
— CACI

The undisputed thought leader in employee motivation.”
— John Mullen, Global CEO, DHL Express