Author, "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less"
Greg McKeown: Biography at a Glance
- CEO of This Inc., a leadership and strategy design agency in Silicon Valley
- Best-selling author of “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”
- Conceived the “paradox of success,” the concept that success keeps people, teams and companies from breaking through to the next level
- Taught at Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Symantec, Twitter and VMware
- Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
Media
Videos
Biography
Greg McKeown’s Essentialism message surfaced from a painful life-lesson learned the day his daughter was born. Caught between the instinctive fatherly desire to stay with his wife and new baby, and the pressures of a demanding job, Greg made the choice to leave the hospital and attend a client meeting. Shortly after the appointment, Greg recognized that he had made a fool’s bargain. He had been untrue to himself, and had let the expectations and schedule of someone else prioritize his life. In trying to keep everyone happy, he had sacrificed what mattered most.
That experience gave Greg an inexhaustible obsession to answer the question, “Why is it that otherwise successful people allocate their resources in such a way that they make too little progress in too many directions?” His research led to the discovery of the “paradox of success” where people, teams, and companies are kept back from breaking through to the next level by their success. Success can lead to the undisciplined pursuit of more. To avoid this, people need to become successful at success.
Greg left his job and founded THIS, Inc. to inspire people everywhere to apply these insights. Clients include Apple, Adobe, Google, Facebook, Pixar and Twitter. He co-designed a class at Stanford called, “Designing Life, Essentially.” He was named a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum and wrote what became the New York Times bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.
Originally from London, England, Greg did his graduate work at Stanford and now lives in Silicon Valley with his wife, Anna.
Topics
High Performance & Self Management. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
We all know it’s easy to be busy without being productive in our hyperconnected reality. This keynote offers a new mindset and skillset for discerning what is essential, eliminating what is not, and removing obstacles in order to make execution as effortless as possible.
Collaboration & Team Development. Why Warm Clarity is the Key to High Performance Teams
We have all worked for leaders who are focused on results but care little about the overall growth and development of each team member: this is cold clarity. Warm clarity is different: it combines courage and compassion to create high performance teams.
Leadership & Execution. Why Some Teams Break Through to the Next Level—And Others Don’t
This keynote shares five ways teams become dysfunctional and how leading as an Essentialist is the key to combating these and, instead, creating unified teams that produce amazing results.
Strategy & Growth. Becoming Successful at Success
Becoming successful is one thing but it’s another thing altogether to become successful at success. This keynote teaches the essential mindset and skillset needed to go from being successful to very successful—the answers will surprise.
Creativity & Innovation. The Other Half of Innovation
The first half of innovation is fun and easy: it’s brainstorming, Post-It notes, exploration, iteration and ideation. The second half is rarer but it’s where the breakthrough value lies. This keynote teaches how to select only the most valuable ideas and how to execute them effortlessly.
