Topic: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible

André Borschberg

André Borschberg is a serial entrepreneur, environmentalist, and pilot fueled by a passion for doing what is deemed impossible. As CEO of Solar Impulse, Borschberg led the team that built and designed the first airplane able to fly for an unlimited duration thanks to renewable energies. He flew the airplanes alone for 5 consecutive days and nights over the Pacific Ocean. This world record reflects the common topics he speaks about like overcoming obstacles and turning them into opportunities and achievements.

Fuelled by a drive to push the boundaries of the possible in both technology and human endeavors, André Borschberg is an entrepreneur whose passion for exploration is matched only by his persistence to drive economic, environmental and spiritual growth.

Today, he is Co-founder and Chairman of H55, a spinoff from Solar Impulse, providing electric propulsion systems for aircrafts to enable the development of a clean and sustainable aviation

A leader in pioneering technologies, André enjoys sharing his experiences as a speaker and lending his point of view on topics ranging from ‘Making the Impossible, Possible’; ‘The Pivot Point from Explorer to Leader’; to ‘From Vision to Reality’; and, ‘Turning Obstacles into Opportunities’.

André contributes as a mentor and by driving initiatives as a member of the Young Presidents’ Organizations and speaks frequently at leadership forums such as the World Economic Forum. He also received a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Mons in Belgium and was decorated with the Wissam Al Alaoui distinction from the King of Morocco and the Swiss, British and French Governments’ Medal for Aeronautics.

A builder of companies at the edge of the known and the possible, André enjoys deep respect and loyalty from his teams for his strategic thinking and leadership. He’s valued for his ability to unite an enormous diversity of talent, personalities and expertise around a higher goal; for bringing out the full potential of all his collaborators; for his accountability, leadership and perspective in periods of high risk and misfortune; and for his investment in individuals to tap their deeper drives and achieve broader personal goals through the team’s shared mission.

While serving in the Air Force, André earned an engineering degree in mechanics and thermodynamics from EPFL, along with certificates in financial management and business management at HEC Lausanne. After earning a master’s degree in management from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined McKinsey, serving as a consultant for five years, before embarking on his own entrepreneurial activities. In addition to partnering in a venture capital firm for eight years, André successfully launched two start-ups, including Innovative Silicon, a technology company in the field of microprocessor memories.

Thanks to his wife Yasemin, André discovered yoga and meditation, which have been essential to his successes in exploration and entrepreneurship. These practices have helped him develop a state of being that aligns the mind with the body, and have played a critical role in his preparation for stressful and physically taxing situations, such as piloting Solar Impulse.

As he mentors students and coaches managers, André encourages them to think about the implications of their ideas on both an operational and higher level. Good ideas can benefit both business and humanity. André has pursued this approach through his philanthropic work in food assistance and AIDS treatment while providing the means required to enable educative and environmental actions for the most needy.

Married to Yasemin and father of three children, André Borschberg lives in Switzerland, in a house built with environmentally friendly technologies and materials.

Colin James

It is rare to find one person who can MC a conference brilliantly, deliver a standing ovation standard keynote as well as run a deeply engaging workshop to embed skills, all on the same day. He can also consult with clients on event design to create profoundly memorable, world-class conferences.

Colin is one of those people that has spent his life exploring cultures, religions, philosophies and human psychology, which has seen him travel far and wide and have adventures others only read about. He has a background in broadcasting and marketing but it is his unique corporate style and content that sets him apart.

He is one of those speakers who creates two experiences: ‘where did the time go?’ pointing to the fact he holds the full attention of every room he presents to and ‘we don’t want him to stop’ reflecting the depth and value he brings to every event he delivers.

Colin tailors all of his keynotes and workshops to the client and conference outcomes. Here is a sample of the work that he can deliver:

Colin James TOPICS

Lizard Management Strategies

The number one cause of workplace disruption, conflict, disengagement and low productivity is stress and anxiety. The ability to manage stress and handle anxiety is a skill. Now here is the fact that confronts many: the workplace does not cause stress and anxiety. How can we say this? Because, in any workplace, not everyone is stressed or anxious. Different people in the same context respond differently and, to keep it simple, respond either productively or negatively. What’s the difference?

Productive people who manage challenging environments well, who have what looks like natural confidence, who flourish in perceived adversity have well developed Lizard Management Strategies.

This is a deeply powerful idea that Colin James has been developing for 20 years. It leaves everyone who hears this keynote or completes this workshop able to handle stress and anxiety immediately in their lives – professionally and personally. This can be a catalyst for both a cultural shift and for personal effectiveness to skyrocket. LMS is a game changer.

Knowing what the Lizard is, and how it can managed, lives long in the minds of everyone hearing this powerful and life changing method. This session can be a keynote, a workshop or a combination. What you will learn;

  • How to eliminate individual and group anxiety
  • How to gain natural, effortless confidence in all contexts
  • How to never sabotage yourself again

Followership

Good leaders create good followers and good followers create good leaders. Sounds kind of obvious right? Leadership is theoretically easy. That's why there are tens of thousands of books on the subject. Of course it's more complex than reading a book or article.

What constitutes excellent leadership?

Does the answer lie in focusing on "Followership"? Followership challenges both Leaders in organizations (how to be a better leader) and employees (how to be a better 'follower').

Colin James has been studying, exploring and researching the nature of Leadership and Followership for 3 decades. He draws upon a host of stories, references, humour and his unique graphic presentation ability to hold audiences fully engaged and enthralled. Above all it’s practical.

This session can be a keynote, a workshop or a combination. This is what you will learn:

What makes an excellent follower?

  • The 3 key reasons Followers follow and the 3 reasons they will stop
  • How to build authentic leaders that compel followership
  • How this knowledge can transform people and cultures

 

"I Can't Believe It!"

Making the ‘impossible’ possible

"I can’t do that!" "I have never been able to [fill in the blank]" "I wish I had the talent to [fill in the blank]"

This session is a deeply powerful demonstration of the reality that what holds people back in their lives are limiting beliefs. Colin James shows participants how to draw a fully rendered, artist quality portrait in ONE HOUR. A life long belief such as "I can’t draw to save my life" is turned on its head in ONE HOUR. This is a startling experience that is a life changer for many.

This session gives participants a tangible and real-life experience for challenging and redefining their belief system. The whole session is 90 minutes of extraordinary learning.

The ultimate lesson from this session is this "If a life long limiting belief can be changed in one hour what else do I (and we) need to question that could bring the changes I (and we) want in our lives (and organisations)?" This session can be a keynote, a workshop or a combination.

What you will learn:

  • How to release the grip of limiting beliefs
  • How to access your natural inner talents – even the ones you thought you never had
  • What possibilities in your life you may have never considered before
  • How badly we have been programmed and how to change it.

Managing the Change Game

"We are going through a lot of change right now"

"The restructure is being announced" "We are going to roll out the new strategy and there are a lot of changes"… you have heard these sort of words a thousand times. Change for many invokes fear, anxiety and the like. Why? How can we make change an easier and less complicated palaver? A session by Colin James in high demand is Managing the Change Game Brilliantly.

You would think that with ALL the change everyone has been experiencing in their lives of late we would simply get better at managing change better. So why aren’t we? Structural and organisational change often fails to understand and appreciate the psychology of change. Most adults hate change. Period.

In this session Colin James unpacks the psychological change cycle and, once understood, lets people and teams manage the whole process far more effectively.

This session can be a keynote, a workshop or a combination and has helped 1000’s understand the secret to making change easier.

What you will learn;

  • How to manage change with style and grace
  • How to support and manage a team through a change process superbly
  • What has stopped you achieving your goals in the past and how to ensure this does not happen again.

The Engagement Myth

Who out there struggles with staff turnover?

Everyone? Thought so. The promise of a gold watch if you stick around is no longer enough for todays workforce – they need to be ‘engaged’ at all levels in order to develop true company loyalty.

And you as a business want this, you need this! An ‘engaged’ employee will be more productive, less likely to leave and provide higher value in all contexts. Fact. Endless research backs it up. Google it.

But how? The answer isn’t what you think.

In this attention grabbing keynote Colin James will:

  • Bust through the myths and get to the crux of what really drives staff loyalty.
  • The 4 archetypes – how employees ‘play’ and how you can use this in your teams today!
  • How to manage this new breed of worker brilliantly