Coming from a small town and with dreams of working in the tallest towers in the center of the biggest and cities in North America, keynote speaker Eric Termuende did all he could to land that dream job. From case competitions to sitting in executive club positions, and from running an $18m Student Union and being selected as a class ambassador for his graduating class, Eric’s extra-curricular achievements made him a perfect candidate to enter the world of business; until his applications were ignored and he was left out to dry.
In search of the best place to work, Eric found hundreds of workplaces that made the ‘best places to…’ list, without understanding what it was that made them great. Sure, many hospitality companies made it to the list, but that wasn’t where he wanted to work. Or was it? How was he to know?
Eric was faced with two options: concede and give up, or, solve the biggest problem he sees in the world of work today – attracting and retaining top talent for teams.
After years of surveying organizations across the country, studying data points from thousands of people and interviewing hundreds, Eric discovered that it wasn’t what people did that made them happy, it was how they felt when they were doing it. This shift, while small, was transformational when looking to better understand, and then optimize workplace culture. The idea of a ‘best’ place to work is a fallacy and his unique approach to culture is one that needs to be heard by organizations across the globe.
In this engaging and actionable keynote speech, Eric Termuende talks about the evolution of work and what we can do to create a best place to work not for everyone, but for the people that will thrive in the environment that has been optimized for the people that are there. He calls this a one-degree shift: a shift so small that we may not be able to see it, but one that has a tremendous impact on the direction of the company in the long term.
This compelling one-degree shift keynote is designed to take leaders from building teams that simply do the work, to communities that have each other’s backs and make it work. It’s distinctions like these that seem small but are designed to set a foundation that will not just allow us to succeed, but thrive as we realize that the future of work isn’t something that happens to us; it is something we create – together.
From attracting and retaining the next generation of talent (Millennials, Gen Y, Gen Z) to understanding how to best build a remote and flexible team, it isn’t the boat-rocking, team upsetting, strategic plan ditching actions that will ensure engagement, buy-in, and excitement. It is the little one-degree shifts that will ensure alignment and smooth transitions. After all, Eric has discovered two things people hate: change and the way things are.
Looking back, could Eric worked to apply for a job in hospitality? The answer is maybe. It turns out that people don’t work where they do for a logo, they work there for a feeling – a feeling of purpose, value, impact, belonging and trust. In his takeaway-loaded keynote speech, Eric shares not the big changes, but just the one-degree shifts that leaders can use to build teams that will thrive today and into the future.
