Alan Amling

Alan Amling Speaking Topics

• Certain Uncertainty: Strategic Insights for Executive Decision-Making

  A Dynamic Keynote for Today's Volatile Business Landscape

  When uncertainty becomes the only certainty, leaders need more than survival strategies—they need frameworks for thriving. Dr. Alan Amling delivers an electrifying keynote that transforms how executives think about competition, disruption, and sustainable advantage in today's volatile marketplace.

  Why This Talk Hits Different

  This isn't another change management presentation. It's a tactical playbook for leaders facing the perfect storm of global uncertainty, digital disruption, and elevated customer expectations. From geopolitical tensions to AI transformation, from supply chain volatility to workforce challenges—this keynote addresses the real issues keeping executives awake at night.

  The Winning Formula: Mindset + Organization + People

  Winning Mindset: Move from defensive thinking to offensive strategy. Learn why "the best defense against disruption is a relentless offense" and how to spot opportunities while competitors see only threats.

  Winning Organization: Build systems that thrive on uncertainty rather than crumble under pressure. Discover how to eliminate hidden friction, push decisions to the lowest practical level, and create optionality-based advantages that competitors can't replicate.

  Winning People: Transform your workforce from risk-averse followers to confident innovators. Master the shift from "Chess Master to Gardener" leadership that unlocks organizational velocity and employee engagement.

  Battle-Tested Frameworks

  • The OODA Loop: Military-grade decision-making for business speed
  • Disruption Trap Avoidance: How incumbents can stay ahead of upstarts
  • Persistent Advantage Model: Moving beyond traditional competitive moats
  • Learning vs. Failing Fast: The crucial distinction for sustainable growth

  Real-World Impact

  Audiences walk away with five immediately actionable leadership takeaways and specific diagnostic tools to assess their organization's readiness for uncertainty. No theoretical fluff—just proven strategies from someone who's navigated Fortune 500 boardrooms and academic research labs.

  Perfect For

  • Executive leadership summits
  • Industry association conferences
  • Strategic planning retreats
  • Board governance events
  • Leadership development programs

  The Promise: Your audience won't just learn to survive uncertainty—they'll discover how to weaponize it for competitive advantage.

  "The pace of organizational velocity is primarily a choice, not a circumstance." - This core insight transforms how leaders approach every challenge they face.

• Playing to Win: The Organizational Velocity Accelerator Workshop

  An Interactive Experience That Transforms How Organizations Move at the Speed of Change

  In an era where corporate lifespans have plummeted from 61 years to under 20, speed isn't just an advantage—it's survival. Dr. Alan Amling's high-energy workshop transforms the abstract concept of "organizational velocity" into concrete strategies that participants can implement immediately. This isn't another theoretical session; it's a tactical bootcamp for leaders who need to turbocharge their organizations to stay ahead of the curve.

  The Reality Check: Why Speed Matters Now

  The Extinction Crisis: 75% of current S&P 500 companies are projected to disappear by 2027. In construction and distribution, survival rates drop to 40% within a decade. The question isn't whether change will come—it's whether your organization can move fast enough to thrive in it.

  The Expectation Revolution: Today's customers don't just want better—they expect the "last best experience they had anywhere" to become the minimum standard everywhere. Organizations that can't match this velocity of expectation will be left behind.

  Uncertainty as Opportunity: Global economic uncertainty has reached historic highs, but smart leaders recognize that uncertainty isn't the enemy—it's the environment where competitive advantages are won and lost.

  The Workshop Experience: From Insight to Action

  Interactive Breakout #1 - What Does Winning Look Like?: Participants define success for both their biggest threat and greatest opportunity, creating SMART goals that can be explained and executed. This isn't visioning—it's tactical goal-setting that drives Monday morning action.

  The OODA Loop Mastery: Learn the military-grade decision-making framework that enables rapid response: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Discover why "the greatest source of your future success is the data that hasn't been created yet" and how to create it.

  Interactive Breakout #2 - Creating New Value: Teams identify specific options they can create in their business—from supplier diversification to employee upskilling to new technology adoption. Walk away with a menu of pivot possibilities tailored to your industry.

  Core Frameworks That Drive Results

  From Competitive Moats to Persistent Advantage: Traditional competitive advantages are obsolete. Learn how to build optionality-based advantages that competitors can't replicate, turning uncertainty from threat into weapon.

  Organizational Friction Elimination: Identify and eliminate both obvious and hidden sources of friction—from conflicting goals to spending authority bottlenecks that slow decision-making.

  Chess Master to Gardener Leadership: Transform from controlling every move to nurturing an environment where rapid adaptation thrives. Master the shift from "knowing all the answers" to "asking the right questions."

  The Trust Foundation Reality Check

  Most organizations think they have trust—most are wrong. Discover diagnostic tools to assess your team's real trust level and practical steps to build the psychological safety necessary for organizational velocity.

  Why This Workshop Format Works

  Unlike traditional keynotes, this workshop combines strategic insights with hands-on application. Participants don't just hear about organizational velocity—they practice it through structured breakouts, peer collaboration, and personalized action planning.

  Perfect For

  • Industry association workshops
  • Leadership development programs
  • Strategic planning retreats
  • Executive team offsites
  • Trade organization conferences
  • Management training seminars

  The Promise: Participants leave with specific, actionable strategies they can implement Monday morning, plus diagnostic tools to continuously improve their organization's velocity.

  "Moving at the speed of change is a choice, not a circumstance." - The core insight that transforms how leaders approach every challenge their organizations face.

• Supply Chain Realignment: Navigating the New World Order

  A Strategic Roadmap for Supply Chain Leaders in an Era of Disruption

  The global supply chain playbook is being rewritten in real time. From trade policy whiplash to AI transformation, from environmental mandates to workforce shortages, supply chain leaders face a perfect storm of disruption that demands new strategies. Dr. Alan Amling delivers a comprehensive yet actionable keynote that transforms how executives think about network design, technology adoption, and competitive positioning in this new landscape.

  The Forces Reshaping Global Commerce

  Economic Policy Revolution: Understand the intended and unintended consequences of America's shift toward industrial policy, tariff uncertainty, and the structural changes driving reshoring initiatives. Learn why traditional global optimization models are failing and what replaces them.

  The AI Promise and Peril: Cut through the hype to understand where AI, automation, and robotics deliver real value versus where they create new vulnerabilities. Discover the critical difference between pilot programs and scalable solutions that transform operations.

  Climate Reality Meets Business Pragmatism: Navigate the growing tension between environmental sustainability mandates and immediate business pressures, especially as U.S. policy pulls back while global expectations intensify.

  Network Transformation in Action

  From Efficiency to Resilience: Learn how successful companies are redesigning networks for optionality rather than optimization, building "plus-one" supplier strategies, and creating flexible capacity models that can pivot in under 48 hours.

  The Workforce Challenge: Address the critical skills gap threatening reshoring initiatives, from advanced manufacturing capabilities to supply chain leadership competencies. Understand why workforce strategy must be integrated into capital strategy from day one.

  Technology That Actually Works: Move beyond digital transformation buzzwords to understand which technologies are crossing the pilot chasm and delivering measurable ROI—from digital twins to autonomous mobile robots to predictive analytics.

  Immediate Action Framework

  Walk away with specific, implementable strategies including:

  • The 10-Item CEO Punch List: Board-level moves that flip logistics from cost center to competitive advantage
  • 180-Day Game Plan: Priority actions for supply chain leaders to implement before year-end
  • Tariff Playbook: Pre-approved contingency plans that enable sub-48-hour pivots
  • Workforce Readiness Assessment: Five-step diagnostic to identify and close critical skill gaps

  Why This Keynote Resonates Now

  This presentation addresses the most pressing challenge facing supply chain executives: how to build resilient, future-ready networks while managing immediate operational pressures. It combines macro-economic insights with tactical implementation guidance that leaders can use immediately.

  Speaker Expertise

  Dr. Alan Amling brings unique perspective as both CEO of Thrive and Advance, LLC, and Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee Supply Chain Institute. His research on reshoring workforce challenges and executive advisory work provides rare insight into both strategic and operational realities facing today's supply chain leaders.

  Perfect For

  • Supply chain and logistics conferences
  • Manufacturing industry events
  • Executive strategy summits
  • Trade association meetings
  • Corporate leadership retreats

  The Bottom Line: This isn't another presentation about supply chain disruption—it's a strategic playbook for leaders who need to build tomorrow's networks while running today's operations.

  "The next 18 months will separate operators from spectators." - The defining challenge for every supply chain leader navigating this new world order.

• When Pigs Fly: The Future of Logistics in Our On-Demand Economy

  An Update of the Visionary 2015 TED Talk That Reimagines Manufacturing and Transportation

  What happens when the impossible becomes inevitable? Dr. Alan Amling delivers a captivating TED talk that challenges everything we think we know about how things get made and moved. Drawing from 23 years in supply chain innovation, he reveals why we're on the brink of the most fundamental shift in manufacturing and transportation since the Internet transformed commerce.

  The Paradigm Shift: From Density-Dependent to Density-Free The Old Rules Are Breaking: For centuries, manufacturing and logistics have operated on the "density rule"—the more you make or move together, the cheaper it gets. But what happens when that fundamental assumption no longer applies?

  The On-Demand Reality: Today's consumers don't want generic products that are "close to what they want"—they want exactly what they want, when they want it, at a price they can afford. This collision between rising expectations and old-school systems is creating unprecedented opportunity for innovation.

  Manufacturing Revolution: New materials, new processes, new technologies, and an unwinding of global manufacturing networks have converged, challenging even the most advanced organizations. In this chaos lie the seeds of opportunity for leaders with the grit to step out of their comfort zones and forge a new path.

  Transportation Transformed

  Beyond Traditional Logistics: While logistics networks were built on consolidating millions of packages through massive hub-and-spoke systems, emerging technologies are rewriting the rules:

  • Solar-powered drones delivering single shipments to remote locations
  • Crowd-sourcing models leveraging people already traveling in the right direction
  • Hyperloop-inspired "teller tube" networks that could transport packages at 3-10x passenger speeds

  Real-World Impact Story

  Picture this scenario: It's 9 AM and you need an MRI at 4 PM, but the machine breaks down. In today's world, critical parts sit in warehouses globally "just in case." In the density-free future, that part gets 3D printed locally in hours.

  Why This Vision Matters Now

  This isn't just futuristic speculation—it's about preparing for inevitable consumer expectation evolution. Just as eCommerce transformed retail despite starting as a tiny fraction of sales, density-free manufacturing and transportation will reshape entire industries for companies bold enough to embrace the change.

  Speaker Authority

  Dr. Alan Amling brings unique credibility as CEO of Thrive and Advance, LLC, and Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee Supply Chain Institute. His 23-year career spans the evolution from traditional logistics to cutting-edge innovation, providing rare insight into both current realities and future possibilities.

  Perfect For

  • Innovation and technology conferences
  • Manufacturing industry events
  • Logistics and supply chain summits
  • Future of work symposiums
  • Entrepreneurship and startup gatherings
  • Sustainability forums

  The Bottom Line: This updated TED talk doesn't just predict the future—it provides a roadmap for leaders ready to capitalize on the most significant shift in how things get made and moved since the Industrial Revolution.

  "When rules change, what was thought to be impossible becomes possible. This is when pigs really do fly. My advice: don't be the only naysayer on the ground when everyone else takes flight."

• Dr. Alan Amling - Keynote & Workshop Selection Guide

  Matching the Right Presentation to Your Audience

  Overview

  Dr. Alan Amling offers four distinct presentations; each tailored to different audience needs and conference objectives. This guide helps you select the optimal presentation format and content focus for maximum impact at your event.

  • Option 1: Certain Uncertainty - Strategic Insights for Executive Decision-Making

  Format: Dynamic Keynote (45-60 minutes)

  Best For:

  • Executive Leadership Summits - C-suite audiences facing strategic uncertainty
  • Board Governance Events - Directors needing decision-making frameworks
  • Cross-Industry Conferences - General business leadership audiences
  • Strategic Planning Retreats - Senior teams developing long-term strategy

  Audience Profile:

  • Level: C-suite executives, senior VPs, board members
  • Industries: Cross-industry appeal (finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, etc.)
  • Size: 100-2,000+ attendees
  • Pain Points: Global uncertainty, digital disruption, competitive threats

  Key Value Proposition:

  Transform uncertainty from threat into a competitive weapon through battle-tested frameworks, including the OODA Loop, persistent advantage models, and organizational velocity principles.

  Unique Elements:

  • Military-grade decision-making frameworks adapted for business
  • Focus on mindset, organization, and people transformation
  • Immediately actionable diagnostic tools

  • Cross-industry case studies and applications

  • Option 2: Supply Chain Realignment - Navigating the New World Order

  Format: Strategic Roadmap Keynote (45-75 minutes)

  Best For:

  • Supply Chain & Logistics Conferences - CSCMP, APICS, industry-specific events
  • Manufacturing Industry Events - Reshoring, automation, workforce challenges
  • Trade Association Meetings - Import/export, international commerce
  • Corporate Leadership Retreats - Companies with complex supply networks

  Audience Profile:

  • Level: Supply chain VPs, operations directors, procurement leaders, plant managers
  • Industries: Manufacturing, distribution, retail, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods
  • Size: 50-1,500 attendees
  • Pain Points: Tariff uncertainty, reshoring challenges, workforce shortages, AI adoption

  Key Value Proposition:

  Navigate the fundamental realignment of global commerce with specific, implementable strategies for network redesign, technology adoption, and workforce development.

  Unique Elements:

  • Deep dive into economic policy impacts and unintended consequences
  • Specific focus on reshoring workforce challenges (backed by UT research)
  • 10-Item CEO Punch List and 180-Day Game Plan for immediate action

  • Balance of macro-economic insights with tactical implementation guidance

  • Option 3: When Pigs Fly - The Future of Logistics in Our On-Demand Economy

  Format: Visionary TED-Style Talk (20-45 minutes)

  Best For:

  • Innovation & Technology Conferences - Future-focused, disruptive thinking
  • Entrepreneurship & Startup Events - Visionary content for innovators
  • Future of Work Symposiums - Long-term industry transformation
  • Sustainability Forums - Environmental impact of logistics evolution

  Audience Profile:

  • Level: Innovation leaders, entrepreneurs, technology executives, futurists
  • Industries: Technology, logistics, manufacturing, venture capital, startups
  • Size: 200-5,000+ attendees (TED-format scales well)
  • Pain Points: Disruption threats, technological transformation, sustainability pressures

  Key Value Proposition:

  Challenge fundamental assumptions about manufacturing and transportation through the "density-free world" concept, preparing leaders for the most significant industry shift since the Industrial Revolution.

  Unique Elements:

  • Provocative "When Pigs Fly" narrative framework
  • Focus on paradigm-shifting technologies (3D printing, hyperloop concepts)
  • Compelling real-world scenarios (MRI machine example)

  • Strong sustainability and environmental angle

  • Option 4: Playing to Win - The Organizational Velocity Accelerator

  Format: Interactive Workshop (2-4 hours)

  Best For:

  • Leadership Development Programs - Skill-building focus with hands-on application
  • Strategic Planning Retreats - Teams working on specific challenges
  • Executive Team Offsites - Senior leadership alignment and capability building
  • Management Training Seminars - Professional development emphasis

  Audience Profile:

  • Level: Mid to senior management, department heads, high-potential leaders
  • Industries: Cross-industry (adaptable frameworks)
  • Size: 25-100 participants (optimal for breakout activities)
  • Pain Points: Organizational speed, change management, competitive response

  Key Value Proposition:

  Transform abstract concepts into concrete strategies through interactive breakouts, peer collaboration, and personalized action planning that participants implement Monday morning.

  Unique Elements:

  • Two Structured Breakouts: Goal-setting and option-creation exercises
  • Peer Learning: Collaborative problem-solving with industry colleagues
  • Diagnostic Tools: Real-time assessment instruments for organizational readiness
  • Immediate Implementation: Monday morning action commitments