Speeches by Saj-nicole Joni

Saj-nicole speaks regularly to business audiences worldwide, challenging them to extend their thinking beyond their comfort zones and to stretch their understanding of what is possible.

Saj-nicole presents audiences with hard truths that they need to work through, strategic dilemmas they need to understand, and leadership challenges that they will face. Her speeches are always interactive, thought-provoking, and hard-hitting.

Strategic Thinking

Leaders will be tested as never before in the months ahead, Saj-nicole argues in this talk, and success will demand the full engagement of a leader’s head, heart and guts. What is the role of strategic thinking in a world turned upside down? How do companies go forward in such uncertainty, and what are the opportunities that times of flux present?

The Three Hard Truths of Leadership

Sooner or later, Saj-nicole suggests, leaders will struggle with three tough questions. What will you do when you 1) lose perspective on a critical issue that you’re struggling with? 2) cause conflict among your team members in order to get something done? and 3) manipulate people that work for you because you can’t and won’t tell them the whole truth about a situation? Saj-nicole takes the audience on a thought-provoking journey during which she explores case studies that illuminate each of these hard truths that are at the center of leadership in the 21st century.

Authentic Leadership

Leadership of multinational organizations demands more from executives than ever before. The issues are more numerous, more complex, and more urgent. How can you retain your humanity, lead with integrity, and be fully present for your people when the stakes are so much higher than they have ever been? In this talk, Saj-nicole explores with the audience the dilemmas of leadership and how to work through them authentically.

The Third Opinion

The subject of Saj-nicole’s first book, The Third Opinion: How Successful Leaders Use Outside Insight to Create Superior Results, this talk looks at how leaders at all levels develop their network of advice and counsel — in order to challenge and sustain their life-long leadership potential. Developing wide perspective, seeking unfettered exploration and unvarnished truth is essential when the leadership stakes are high. Saj-nicole shows how leaders through history have sought ‘third opinions’ from outside counselors, balancing the need for inside knowledge with outside perspective. She helps audiences think about how to systematically create their own strategic insight networks, and how to enable those they mentor to do the same.

The Right Fight

Drawn from Saj-nicole’s book (Harper Collins, 2009), The Right Fight, this talk looks at what it really takes for leaders and teams to survive. The myth, deeply embedded in business thinking of the past, is that alignment is the most important goal for teams to be able to function and achieve results. But it turns out that alignment is merely the starting point of productivity. Creative tensions and well-orchestrated conflict, that is, ‘Right Fights’, are the real source of innovation, risk management, and developing leaders capable of driving sustainable results. In this groundbreaking and often surprising talk, Saj-nicole will share a practical approach to harnessing this most important resource for your organization. Audiences will effectively be able to answer the critical question — “are we fighting about the right things?”