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About
Kaihan Krippendorff has committed to helping organizations and individuals thrive in today’s era of fast-paced disruptive technological change. Kaihan is known for his ability to turn difficult concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that drive meaningful outcomes and actions. He is an internationally recognized thought-leader, battle-tested consultant, and sought-after keynote speaker (in-person and virtual) on the topics of strategy, growth, and transformation.He began his career with McKinsey & Company before founding the growth strategy and innovation consulting firm Outthinker. His growth strategies and innovations have generated over $2.5B in revenue for many of the world’s most recognizable companies including Boeing, Citibank, CVS Health, L’Oréal, Microsoft, and Verizon.Named to the Thinkers50 list of the 30 management thinkers most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led, Kaihan is a best-selling author of five books, most recently the Edison Award-nominated, Driving Innovation From Within: A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs.Kaihan is the founder of the Outthinker Strategy Network, an exclusive network of Chief Strategy Officers from large organizations with over $1B in revenue. A trusted advisor to these Fortune 500 Strategy Executives, Kaihan is known for facilitating powerful conversations that create strategic clarity and yield actionable and impactful ideas for this diverse cross-industry group.Amidst his dizzying schedule of keynote speeches, consulting projects, ongoing research, and writing, Kaihan still finds time to teach at business schools throughout the US and internationally (including NYU and FIU), contribute regularly to Fast Company and other major business media outlets, host the Outthinkers Podcast and play an active role on the advisory boards of a growing roster of national and international companies.He earned an MBA at Columbia Business School and London Business School, a Bachelor of Science in finance from Wharton Business School, and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and he holds a Doctorate of Science in economics.
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Video Clips
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Topics
DRIVING INNOVATION FROM WITHIN: HARNESS THE POWER OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET, DRIVE GROWTH, JUMPSTART TRANSFORMATION, AND BECOME THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FUTURE
“Innovation” brings to our mind the maverick entrepreneur who quits their job, at unimaginable odds, to build a business on their own. But this entrepreneurial story is a myth. As a successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, and CEO, Kaihan Krippendorff argues that intrapreneurs – employees who incubate new businesses within corporations – have had a far greater impact on the world. Nearly all of the most transformative innovations over the past three decades, from e-mail and the Internet to DNA sequencing and MRI scans, were introduced by employees who did not quit their jobs but instead took the challenge of innovating from within.Drawing on five years of in-depth research of hundreds of successful innovators and Intrapreneurial Intensity, as well as insights from thought leaders, C-suite leaders, business unit leaders, and front-line employees, Kaihan shares exclusive insights from his next book, The Employee Innovator: Driving Innovation from Within (Columbia University Press, 2019). Kaihan unveils the most common innovation barriers and shares specific tools, frameworks, and techniques used by successful innovators to manage and unlock the value of employees’ ideas to drive corporate innovation levels and deliver bottom-line results. Audience members will leave feeling inspired and empowered with the actionable next steps for testing and scaling ideas that generate value and growth.In this inspiring keynote you will learn:- What Intrapreneurial Intensity (II) is and how it impacts growth rates and shareholder value
- How to use the IN-OVATE Framework
- Simple tools, frameworks, and techniques to navigate organizational barriers to increase II and deploy new and disruptive ideas that generate value in your company
- How to shift your organizational mindset and culture to challenge the outdated status-quo
- How to increase engagement and empower employees to “be the change” and drive innovation inside of your company
- How to extract the value of internal ideas to drive organic growth
- How to break free from traditional thinking and operations to embrace transformative new possibilities
- How to build a wave of support for growth, innovation, and creativity by reinforcing the idea that innovation is possible, attainable, and ultimately actionable
OUTTHINK THE COMPETITION: EXCELLING IN A DIGITAL, AGILE, PURPOSE-DRIVEN FUTURE
As a successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, and CEO, Kaihan Krippendorff has worked with and studied thousands of companies and the different approaches they take to drive growth, foster innovation and set themselves apart from the competition. How is it that some companies can continually pivot their strategy, transform, and pursue new growth ideas? The answer is they have a repeatable process and common language that can be learned and taught. Based on his most recent book, Outthink the Competition, Kaihan delivers a systematic process and set of proven business strategy tools he has used with more than 300 clients in almost every industry to create innovative strategies and growth ideas that have generated more than $2.5B in revenue. Blending first-hand stories of inspiring business and social innovators, from Elon Musk to Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Kaihan’s presentation teaches the audience a tested method for developing actionable growth ideas that unlock growth, increase the competitiveness of their business and arm them with the tools needed to excel in today’s digital, agile, and purpose-driven world. In this inspiring keynote you will learn:- How to use The Outthinker Process® to generate powerful ideas that can drive bottom-line results across all levels of the business
- How to find a “Fourth Option”: the option beyond the obvious choices, the option others will not see or respond to
- The Outthinker playbook: five strategic narratives you want to master now
- A simple approach to avoid killing off “crazy” ideas and instead turn them into winning moves
- How to extract the value of internal ideas to drive organic growth
- How to build a culture of Outthinking that celebrates fresh strategic and innovative ideas and thinking
- How to empower and inspire your employees so that they are ready to take action to develop, test, and scale innovative growth ideas
UNLEASHING AGILE: ACTIVATE THE POWER OF AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET TO DRIVE GROWTH
In a world marked by accelerated change and innovation, mental agility has proven to be a critical driver of success in sports, warfare, business, career, and life. Yet few agree on what exactly “mental agility” is or know how to develop it. Companies that fail to move on quickly enough from their linear organization will not succeed. In this presentation, successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, and CEO Kaihan Krippendorff shares insights from his work with top-level corporate entrepreneurs and the study of more than 200 successful innovators into what sets them apart from the rest of the competitive pack. Kaihan will share the key practices that distinguish those with high mental agility and arm the audience with tools and frameworks they can immediately apply to their own work. Audience members will learn to:- Connect the unconnected – pulling together seemingly unrelated pieces of information to rapidly form a mental image of the situation or opportunity.
- Uncover unexpected causes – drilling down into the system to see the cause others overlook.
- Shift your frameshifting your frame on the problem to reveal solutions others dismiss.
- Question the impossible – understanding why we fall into mental “traps” of false beliefs that prevent us from seeing what is possible and, more importantly, how to dig out of the trap that is keeping you from seizing the solution.
- Attendees will leave with a boost of confidence, tools, and energy to increase the velocity and agility level of their organization daily.
BE THE DISRUPTOR, NOT THE DISRUPTED
We are experiencing a historic acceleration in the pace of change in our world. Artificial intelligence, digitization, robotics, 3D printing, social shifts, and the rise of purpose-driven enterprises are reconfiguring how every conceivable industry operates.These changes divide us into two camps: the “Disruptors” and the “Disrupted”.Successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, and CEO Kaihan Krippendorff have spent over a decade studying the patterns of disruption. What makes some companies thrive and what makes others fall behind? What gives some the power to shape the future and makes others struggle to keep up? Kaihan has applied his cutting-edge findings to create more than $2.5B in new value and help hundreds of businesses lean into change and thrive in tomorrow’s fast-paced, digital, purpose-driven world. In this talk, Kaihan breaks down the underlying patterns of disruption and with compelling stories of successes, failures, and yet-unknown innovations teach practical tools to help you take action and become a Disruptor. Learnings and outcomes include:- The emerging trends – from AI to digitization – that are driving us into an era of disruption and how these will likely shape the future
- How to use The Outthinker Process® to generate powerful ideas that can drive bottom-line results across all levels of the business
- The strategic patterns and best practices that the world’s most strategic and innovative companies use to thrive during the ongoing shift of global business structures and thinking
- A systematic process you can use to overcome the “innovator’s dilemma” and create breakthrough growth ideas that will disrupt your market without disrupting your organization
- How to empower and inspire employees so that they’re ready to take action to develop, test, and scale innovative growth ideas
THE PURPOSE PATH: BUILDING A MISSION-ORIENTED ORGANIZATION THAT HARNESSES THE POWER OF CSR AND A DO-GOOD STRATEGY
Historically, we were taught corporations existed for one purpose: to maximize shareholder value. But companies are waking up to the realization that such a focus destroys shareholder value over the long term because it creates resistance to your growth.Successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, and CEO Kaihan Krippendorff draw on years of proprietary research to show that today’s most successful companies more often speak of the strategic power of appealing to all stakeholders. If you design a strategy that benefits shareholders by also benefiting employees, the community, the country, and the environment, you have designed the ultimate strategy. When everyone wants you to win, you remove all competition. This idea goes beyond social responsibility. It points us toward removing the idea that doing good and making a profit are inconsistent. You do not have to choose.By pulling together inspiring stories from organizations ranging from lesser-known jewels like Best Doctors, BrightFarms, and Holstee to leading socially directed corporations like IKEA, Mastercard, and Target, Kaihan will inspire and motivate the audience to rethink their role and how they interact with stakeholders, not just shareholders. The audience will learn:- The three primary goals of a “be good” socially minded strategy
- Simple yet effective tools and frameworks to apply and create your own “Do Good” strategy that complements your current organizational strengths and strategy
- The next evolution of corporate social responsibility and how to embrace the shift toward a future where CSR is the norm
- How to empower and inspire employees so that they’re ready to take action to develop ideas, strategies, products, and programs that everyone benefits from
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Testimonials
4 people have recommended this speaker
“Powerful messages and energizing examples that resonate. Incredible process. Can’t wait until next time.”
“Kaihan was on-point and relevant. His message is current for any organization wanting to grow. He did a great job of creating a working environment during his talk in which he outlined specific steps and a process to think differently. I had immediate take-aways.”
“Kaihan really understood the key messages we were trying to get across to our Senior Leadership team. He incorporated those key messages around strategy and innovation into his speech, which was energizing, practical and impactful.”
“Kaihan Krippendorff underscores the strategic power of being able to see, intelligently select, and pursue new options that your competition overlooks. This ability is the starting spark of all great growth stories and it is a critical skill for leaders to master if they want continue out-innovating the competition.”
“Kaihan really understood the key messages we were trying to get across to our Senior Leadership team. He incorporated those key messages around strategy and innovation into his speech, which was energizing, practical and impactful.”