Stephen Shapiro
Stephen Shapiro started his innovation work 25 years ago while leading a 20,000-person innovation practice at the consulting firm, Accenture. Since then, he has written six books on innovation, including Best Practices Are Stupid, which was named the best innovation and creativity book of 2011 by 800-CEO-READ (now Porch light). His latest book, Invisible Solutions: 25 Lenses that Reframe and Help Solve Difficult Business Problems was released March 2020 and was named one of the best business books of the year by Foreword Indies Book Awards. His Personality Poker® card game has been used in over 35 countries to create high-performing innovation teams. Stephen has presented at conferences inover 50 countries and in 2015 he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.
Most Requested Programs
Unlocking the Full Potential of Every Opportunity
How to See the Invisible
What if your organization had an effective and systematic approach to deal with any problem or opportunity?
To find better solutions, you need to first ask better questions. The questions you ask determine which solutions you’ll see and which will remain hidden.
This interactive keynote contains a very simple tool to reframe any problem multiple ways: twenty-five lenses that help you gain different perspectives. Packed with powerful stories and practical tools, this speech will enable everyone on your teams to start mastering any challenge.
THIS KEYNOTE/WORKSHOP WILL HELP THE AUDIENCE…
- Discover why we are hardwired to ask ineffective questions and how to work through those barriers
- Understand the power and importance of well-defined questions
- Reframe any problem multiple ways to help you find the optimal solution
During this customizable and interactive keynote, the audience will not just leave with new concepts; they will have powerful tools they can apply every day.
For longer sessions, teams will have a chance to apply the twenty-five lenses. Not only does this leave people with a deeper understanding, but you will also capture valuable insights that the company can use. This can be done with audiences of any size.
This enlightening experience brings to life the concept in Stephen Shapiro’s latest award-winning book, Invisible Solutions.
Personality Poker®
Creating High-Performing Innovation Teams
Stop Wasting Money on Keynotes That Fade Away
Transform Your Team’s Innovation & Collaboration in 60 Minutes With Personality Poker®
Bring in the World’s Most Interactive Experience That Transforms How Teams Collaborate and Innovate.
Looking for a high-energy, engaging keynote that delivers real impact?
Personality Poker isn’t just another business talk—it’s a game-changer. Combining the thrill of a poker game with deep insights into team dynamics, this interactive session will have your audience laughing, learning, and leaving with powerful takeaways they’ll remember for years. And here’s the best part: Every attendee walks away with their own Personality Poker cards—a lasting tool to improve collaboration long after the event ends.
Why Book the Personality Poker Speech?
- Fun & Engaging: More than just another talk, this is a hands-on experience that keeps audiences fully engaged. No passive listening—everyone plays!
- Memorable & Actionable: People don’t just hear a message; they live it. And because they leave with their own cards, the lessons stick for years.
- Proven Results: Used by hundreds of thousands of teams worldwide, Personality Poker helps organizations build high-performing teams by understanding and leveraging different work styles.
How Personality Poker Works
Each Personality Poker card has a suit, number, color, and word—with words representing different behavioral attributes like “creative,” “empathetic,” “organized,” and “analytical.”
Attendees trade cards with others, aiming to build a hand of five cards that best describe how they see themselves.
People can also gift cards to others, offering insight into how they are perceived by their peers.
Once players have their hand, they’ll uncover powerful insights, including:
- Their preferred innovation personality
- Their innovation blind spots
- The people they need to complement their hand—but are most likely to avoid
- What’s missing from their team that’s limiting innovation and success
- The culture of their organization and its impact on innovation
- How others perceive them—and why misalignment in perception can be damaging
- …and much more!
This interactive, high-energy experience makes innovation fun, insightful, and actionable—while strengthening collaboration and creativity.
Finding Clarity in Chaos
Creating Stability in World of Uncertainty, Disruption, and AI
In our fast-paced modern world, workplace burnout and confusion have become the norm. But it doesn’t need to be this way.
Stephen Shapiro’s keynote offers a powerful antidote to the dizzying spinning and relentless chaos overwhelming countless organizations (and individuals) today.
He provides practical tools to help you distinguish genuine opportunities from mere distractions, thereby creating stability in your professional and personal life.
The concept of stability is akin to a basketball player executing a pivot. While one foot moves in a circular motion, the other remains anchored to the ground. The unsung hero is the foot that doesn’t move, as it provides the solid foundation and stability needed for future shifts.
This speech champions the planted foot. By focusing on what doesn’t—and shouldn’t—change, you can build a robust foundation that supports future shifts without wasting valuable resources on bright shiny objects or fleeting fads.
The emphasis has always been on what’s next. But sometimes, we need to focus on what’s now. Where do we double down our efforts to achieve extraordinary returns today and tomorrow?
This positions you and your organization to shift from a place of power. It involves knowing where to channel your resources for the greatest impact, allowing you to offer clarity and direction to your employees. In the process, you become irreplaceable to your customers.
This presentation also delves deeply into AI strategies that help you determine where, when, and how to invest.
It’s time to stop the spinning and start winning.
Small Bets To Win Big at Innovation
The Power of Experimentation Rather than Failure
We live in challenging times. Inflation. Supply chain disruptions. Pandemics. War. Talent shortages.
Given this level of uncertainty, we need a different approach for innovation. When you can’t predict what will happen next, traditional long-term investment strategies fail.
The key to being nimble during these turbulent times is to focus on placing many small bets – rather than a few large ones.
But what bets do you place? Which bets should you kill? And when should you double down? Answering these questions is the key to success.
DURING THIS INTERACTIVE SESSION, YOU WILL DISCOVER:
- How to place better (more frequent yet smaller) bets
- How to determine which bets are not worth further investment (experimentation)
- How to avoid failure – and what to do when you do fail
- How to create a culture of experimentation – quickly and inexpensively
We also have fun with a simple gambling simulation that demonstrates how we can lower our risk with our bets. The key is getting as many insights about the future, for the lowest possible investment.
This practical session will not only give everyone the tools and mindset for creating small experiments, but also will leave them with specific actions they can take within the next seven days to make progress with their innovation efforts. The concepts are so simple to implement that companies can create an entire culture around experimentation with little effort, time, or cost. The “small bets” approach demonstrated during this session are truly a game changer for any organization of any size.
Innovate the Way You Innovate
Redefining Innovation that Drives High ROI
Well-intentioned leaders, in their attempts to boost innovation, are inadvertently destroying it. What if “thinking outside the box” actually kills innovation? What if failure is not a necessary component of innovation? It’s time to innovate the way you innovate.
During this customizable and interactive keynote, you will discover that innovation isn’t just about generating occasional new ideas; it’s about staying consistently one step ahead of the competition. This enlightening experience brings to life the concept in Stephen Shapiro’s books, Invisible Solutions and Best Practices Are Stupid.
YOU WILL DISCOVER WHY:
- You don’t want to innovate everywhere. Avoid trying to improve every aspect of your business. Instead, “innovate where you differentiate.” Focus your energy where there is the greatest potential impact.
- Asking for ideas is a bad idea. Avoid suggestion boxes or abstract questions. They create a lot of noise and wasted energy. Instead, provide well-framed challenges to increase creative output. “Don’t think outside the box, find a better box.”
- Expertise is the enemy of innovation. Breakthroughs are rarely developed by experts within your industry or area of specialization. Instead, reframe your challenge to find solutions elsewhere.
- The pragmatic approaches shared in “Innovate the Way You Innovate” have increased innovation ROI tenfold or more.
Testimonials
Stephen’s passion for innovation is infectious. His mandate to focus innovation relentlessly on well-articulated problems has caused an internal shift in mindset and approach for our innovators. Stephen delivers both in a way that is truly inspirational and actionable. - Laurie Heltsley, Director of Innovation and Strategic Projects, Procter & Gamble
Stephen brought incredible energy and highly relevant messages that made it possible for us to rethink our innovation principles and extend them to our customer-facing functions ...Stephen has a fun and highly infectious style and could be an asset to any organization trying to make innovation a reality. - Robin Torgerson, Vice President of U.S. Sales Excellence, 3M
Your interactive presentation captivated the audience and received great feedback from attendees. - Steve Craft, Deputy Director of Strategic Relations Office, NASA
The success of your presentation began long before you stepped in front of the audience. You delivered much more than a speech; you delivered lasting results. I would highly recommend you to any organizations who is serious about making innovation a reality. - Daniel Kaus, BP Lubricants
Enjoyed working with Stephen and found his knowledge of innovation, conversational style and delivery smooth and effective. He’s a great evangelist for innovation gifted at simplifying complex principles so they are easily assimilated and put into practice. - Matthew Von Ertfelda, Innovation Lead, Marriott, Insight, Strategy and Innovation Team