Experience counts in serious times. For four decades at Fortune, Geoff Colvin has covered the economic, political, technological, and competitive forces disrupting business and how top leaders and companies adapt and transform to win in spite of them. The big takeaway, Geoff says, is that winning companies and leaders summon the courage to act – they stop protecting the past and start inventing the future – and they confront this reality faster than the competition. As business leaders face their biggest challenge ever, Geoff Colvin is the voice of experience who shines a light – revealing a clearer path for an uncertain future. His columns and cover stories for Fortune have earned him millions of loyal fans. Many of them also hear him dispense critical business insights on the CBS Radio Network, where he reaches seven million listeners each week.
Geoff’s bestselling books include The Upside of the Downturn, Talent is Overrated, and Humans are Underrated. A keynote speaker with compelling content, Geoff Colvin is also a brilliant panel moderator and interviewer. As Fortune‘s senior editor-at-large, Geoff Colvin is now in his fourth decade at Fortune. He is one of business journalism’s sharpest and most respected commentators on leadership, management, globalization, government regulation, corporate governance, competition, the economy, the infotech revolution, human performance, and related issues.
In addition to his daily CBS Radio Network segments (he’s done over 15,000 since 1995), Geoff has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, Squawk Box, CBS This Morning, ABC’s World News Tonight, CNN, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, and dozens of other programs. He also served as anchor of Wall Street Week with Fortune on PBS.
In addition to speaking, Geoff is also a brilliant panel moderator, emcee, and interviewer whose subjects have included Madeleine Albright, Ben Bernanke, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Gates, Timothy Geithner, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Henry M. Paulson, Colin Powell, Robert Reich, Condoleezza Rice, Desmond Tutu, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Jack Welch, Janet Yellen and many others.
Geoff is a respected author whose groundbreaking international bestseller, Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World- Class Performers from Everybody Else, has been published in a dozen languages. The Upside of the Downturn: Management Strategies for Difficult Times was named “Best Management Book of the Year” by Strategy + Business magazine. Geoff’s latest book is Humans are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will. It’s based on the idea in his wildly popular Fortune article “In the Future Will There Be Any Work Left for People to Do?” It looks at the trend of advancing technology performing ever more tasks better than people perform them, and the ways humans will create value for their organizations and their careers in the changing economy. The ideas he shares have profound implications for every business and industry.
A native of Vermillion, South Dakota, Geoff Colvin is an honors graduate of Harvard with a degree in economics and has an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
The pandemic accelerated just about every trend you can think of. Nonstop change has now become the norm, and the world isn’t going back. While there is no “new normal,” the good news is we aren’t doomed to play defense. Geoff Colvin shows audiences how to embrace a world of continuous disruption while building powerful competitive advantages. This uplifting talk shows step-by-step how we can all respond faster to change and even get ahead of it as individuals, teams, and enterprises. Geoff provides actionable takeaways to help leaders face change smarter:
– What the best leaders and companies are doing right now to create the future
– Why confronting reality faster is the key to seizing new opportunities
– Biggest pandemic lessons for business
– Scenario planning: surviving bad times begins with better decisions in good times
– 3 best ways to lead during crisis and disruption
– Creativity and innovation – how to unleash it individually and organizationally
“In a word: fantastic! Geoff really was perfect for this. He kept the conversation lively. Geoff really knocked it out of the ballpark.”
“For a second year in a row, people are talking about your presentation. Thank you for joining us and teaching me a lot. I look forward to working with you again!”
“Thanks so very much for your moderating today. I felt relaxed and right at home.”
“Once again your stewardship of the business sessions opened the door for a truly interactive and valuable dialogue for everyone. Your depth of understanding of the challenges these companies are facing and the opportunities that lie ahead added tremendously to our conversations.”
“The amount of praise you received was incredible, to say the least. Many, many of our attendees expressed how moved they were with your presentation. Just a tremendous amount of praise is ALL I heard (more than any speaker we have ever had).”
“Geoff hit a home run today!!!!!!!!!!!! Outstanding…”
“Geoff, you were definitely the highlight of our conference. In reviewing our surveys today, you were overwhelmingly ranked as the favorite speaker and one they would most like to hear from again.”