Jon Acuff

Overthinking isn’t a personality trait. It’s the sneakiest form of fear.

It steals time, creativity, and energy. It’s the most expensive, least productive thing companies invest in without even knowing it. When New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff and Mike Peasley PhD asked more than 10,000 people if they struggled with overthinking, they were shocked to discover the results. More than 99.5% of people said, “Yes.” Overthinking prevents nearly everyone from doing their best work.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if there were simple, surprisingly fun techniques you and your team could use to transform overthinking from a super problem into a superpower? What if you could take all those repetitive thoughts, which Acuff calls soundtracks, and make them work for you, not against you with a new mindset?

What if you could create new soundtracks that help you navigate change, increase productivity and win consistently?

Great results always require great actions which always start with great thoughts. Let Acuff show you how to create them with a new keynote that will teach you to:

• Retire the broken soundtracks that have been holding you back.
• Replace them with new soundtracks that propel you forward.
• Repeat the new ones so often they become as automatic as the old ones.

Retire.

Replace.

Repeat.

Can tapping into the full potential of your team really be that easy? INC Top 100 Leadership Speaker Jon Acuff, thousands of research participants and the best companies in the world say, “Yes!”

The year 2020 was catnip for overthinking, but if overthinking steals time, creativity and energy, guess what your team is about to get back? Time, creativity and energy.

It’s time to start listening to a new soundtrack with Jon Acuff.

How to think about change in a world that refuses to stay still.

By the time you finish reading this sentence, AI will be different. There will be a new platform you can barely pronounce. All the rules will be newly written and promptly broken. Organizations will be losing or making millions and everyone will be struggling to match the frenetic pace of change.

The good news is that there's a tool more powerful than any AI platform on the planet. One that impacts your career, your team, your culture, and your bottom line. One that's been there all along.

It's called mindset.

And building a winning one is simpler than you think.

New York Times Bestselling author Jon Acuff has spent years researching what holds individuals and organizations back from doing their best work. When he and researcher Mike Peasley, PhD surveyed more than 10,000 people, they discovered that more than 99.5% struggled with the same thing: overthinking. And right now, there's one thing everyone is overthinking — AI.

In this high-energy, research-backed keynote, Acuff shows leaders and teams how to stop letting fear disguise itself as patience, perfectionism, or practicality, and start building the kind of mindset that thrives in any season of change.

Using his breakthrough Soundtracks framework— the repetitive thoughts that quietly run your company's culture — Jon will help your team:

• Retire the 5 most common broken soundtracks about AI that are quietly stalling your progress.
• Replace them with new soundtracks that generate curiosity instead of chaos.
• Repeat them until they become the new default.

You can't wait AI out. You can't ignore it. You can’t perfectly predict where it will go next year or even next week.

But you can build a mindset that's ready for it, and everything that comes after it.

According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, 92% of resolutions fail. That’s a staggering number considering how important goals are to companies. You actually have a greater shot of getting into Julliard in New York City to be a ballerina than hitting your next sales goal.

Or your next budget reduction.

Or your next service rollout.

In every element of your work, goals matter. What if we could do some simple things to improve how often we finished what we started? What if we could complete the incomplete projects and tasks? What if we could get more done in a world of bottomless opportunities and endless distractions?

New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff says you can. How does he know? Research, research and more research!

Jon suspected goal-completion was not luck or genetics. So, he commissioned a study with assistant professor Mike Peasley, PhD to test what it takes to turn a chronic starter into a consistent finisher. The research team analyzed 900 people over a six-month process as they worked on goals. The study resulted in a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller titled “Finish” and principles Acuff has taught to teams such as Walmart, FedEx and Nokia.

The good news is, you can learn to finish. It’s not a natural talent some people have and others do not. It can be taught.

Ever have an employee, team member or department almost finish something? Every wished you could complete more of the things you care about? It’s time to learn what it really takes!

Starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.

The rate of change gets faster and faster each day. Technology is changing, ask the Flipcam and Blockbuster. Careers are changing, ask graphic designers who seemingly overnight had to learn how to design for a new online medium. Whole industries are changing, ask the hoteliers who suddenly find one million new competitors via the room-renting app Airbnb. Value systems are changing, ask millennials, 45% of which care more about workplace flexibility than salary.

Some companies will get stuck. When the New York Times asked, “Why didn’t Kodak create Instagram?” they were commenting on how easy it is for even successful companies to get crushed by the waves of change. Other companies will thrive amidst the turbulence.

Change is upon us and depending on how you approach it, it can be either overwhelming or an opportunity. The key is to see it for what it really is, a Do Over, a chance to reset. And if you want to navigate a Do Over, the best leaders in the world, running small businesses to massive corporations, know it takes four investments: Relationships, Skills, Character and Hustle.

The good news is, your business and your employees already have everything they need to make the best of a Do Over.

In fact, you’ve had it for years.

Sound like marketing hype? It’s not.

You already have each of those four critical investments, now it’s time to amplify them and apply them in a new way.

Why? Because your business is going to experience four real seasons of change:

You will hit a Ceiling and get stuck, requiring sharp skills to free yourself.

You will experience a Bump, unexpectedly running into a difficult market, requiring strong relationships to survive.

You will make a Jump, requiring solid character to push through the chaos launching something new always stirs up.

You will get a surprise Opportunity you didn’t see coming, requiring dedicated hustle to take advantage of it.

The good news is there are only four types of change you will face as a company. The great news is that there are simple, practical ways to get the most out of each.

Change is coming for all of us.

Get ready.

Get working.

Get stuck-proof!