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Keynote Information

DAY 1 

Creating a Culture Where Everyone Brings Their Best Thinking to Work: 5 Steps to Inclusive Leadership (Full Day)

In an age of risk and disruption, it takes ingenuity, adaptability and foresight to spot opportunities and capitalize on them, and a growing body of research confirms that thinking diversity is critical for solving complex business problems and driving business performance. But even if they’re aware of its importance, most leaders are struggling with what to do about it.

There is a common element that affects everything we do as well as the results we achieve at every step: the way people prefer to think. Once we understand how we and others think and the impact of those different thinking preferences, we can begin to access the right thinking for the job and tap into the full brainpower available to us.

Drawing on more than 30 years of brain research and current studies, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, co-author of “The Whole Brain Business Book, 2nd Edition,” will explore the connection between thinking preferences, performance and business results, showing you how to develop the agile inclusive leadership that engages diverse thinking and encourages everyone to put their best thinking to work.

In this interactive workshop, you’ll discover how to get more from your own thinking and the thinking of those around you as you practice stretching outside your mental comfort zones to improve communications, teamwork, problem solving and more. You’ll also take away a practical model and easy-to-apply tools for enhancing your thinking agility so you can manage today’s increasingly complex operational issues while keeping a visionary eye toward the future.

DAY 2

Secrets of the 21st Century Learner’s Brain: 4 Keys to Maximizing Learning Outcomes (Day 2 Keynote)

The learner’s brain is the most important “operating system” we need to consider in building smarter organizations for a complex, constantly changing world. This interactive keynote will show you how to engage the brains of a diverse, increasingly attention-strapped learner population and accelerate their development in the face of new performance and business demands. Drawing on the latest research on learner diversity, thinking and performance, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi will demonstrate proven Whole Brain® learning design and implementation methods. You’ll learn how to think beyond your own preferences and apply practical tools for developing more effective, efficient learning strategies that address today’s critical skill gaps and deliver lasting results.

Ann Herrmann-Nehdi is CEO of Herrmann International, the originators and trailblazers of Whole Brain® Thinking and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®). The company’s primary subject matter expert, she applies the principles of Whole Brain® Thinking to her varied responsibilities, including day-to-day leadership, strategic consulting, ongoing research, learning design and speaking engagements.

Ann’s personal goal is to promote a better understanding of how people, teams and organizations think and become more effective, as well as to enhance learning and communication approaches worldwide through the application and development of the Whole Brain® System.

She has worked with many hundreds of organizations around the world of all sizes and industries, helping them increase their thinking agility to improve profitability, leadership, productivity, innovation, and overall business results. An engaging and in-demand speaker, she has presented keynote addresses and leadership sessions for Fortune 100 corporations and other major global organizations. She has also delivered hundreds of domestic and international keynotes, breakout sessions, clinics and featured presentations at conferences ranging from the Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly ASTD), The Leadership Challenge Forum and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to the American Creativity Association, the Neuroleadership Summit and the Project Management Institute.

Ann is the co-author of The Whole Brain Business Book–Second Edition (McGraw-Hill) and is currently at work on her next book, a field guide for applying what we know about the brain and thinking to increase everyday agility. A thought leader in her field, she has written for and been interviewed by such media outlets as Business News Daily, Chief Executive Magazine, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, Developing Talent for Organizational Results (book chapter), HR Executive Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, The Leadership Challenge (book chapter), Management Today, T+D Magazine, Training Journal (UK) and O The Oprah Magazine. 

Ann is an AthenaOnline management expert, a Eureka Ranch board member, a member of the SmartBriefs on Workforce Advisory Board, an advisor to the American Creativity Association and Innovation Network, a founder of the Hickory Nut Gorge Community Foundation, and serves on other non-profit and for-profit boards.