Stephen Kiernan
Author - Speaker - Coach
Stephen has spoken to Businesses, Colleges, Elite Sports teams and Schools all across Ireland. He is an award winning storyteller who has addressed audiences as large as 1000 people.
At the core of his talks and workshops is a desire to move people emotionally because he believes it is emotion that changes behaviours not statistics or logic.
Corporate Workshops
1. The Brilliant Mondays Workshop is all about how ordinary people achieve extraordinary things. Through inspiring stories and group activities we explore the four main principles of Vision – Planning & Strategy – Resilience – Continuous Improvement - and how we as individuals or as a team can apply these principles for extraordinary results.
2. The Kaizen Zone Workshop is an extension of the Continuous Improvement principle and a nod to its importance. It promotes a culture of sustainable improvement (Individually and as a company). However, the expectation for change is never radical, but rather for small and consistent change which ironically leads to radical improvements over time
Below you will find a more detailed description of both workshops, but I would like to emphasise that inspiring stories are at the heart of each workshop.
Now is the time to reset the sail as we come out of this pandemic. Help your team to regain clarity and emerge stronger. Perhaps one of Stephen’s workshops can help your team to create a 5 year Vision
1.The Brilliant Monday's Workshop
Duration 2 Hours
The Brilliant Mondays Workshop is 2 hours long. It is designed to inspire, entertain and move the audience away from a fixed mindset towards a more empowering growth mindset.
Through the vehicle of storytelling, Stephen aims to give powerful examples that compel the audience to believe in themselves and their ability to grow and succeed if they just try.
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The workshop always follows the same structure as the book - with Stephen highlighting each of the four main principles he found his interviewees shared in common:
Vision - Planning & Strategy - Resilience - Continuous Improvement
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Each principle is brought to life by a story from the book.
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This workshop is ideal for Company Training Days, Corporate Functions, College Students, Sports and sales teams.
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Testimonials
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“We invited Stephen for our Senior LT Kick Off Meeting 2020. Stephen brought us an inspirational keynote which really fitted in well in our organization’s journey. Stephen inspired us with his great real-life stories of how people can achieve more than they ever thought they could. He encouraged us on how we can all motivate ourselves by setting small, achievable goals for ourselves. I would highly recommend Stephen as a speaker! He prepared his talk tailor-made for our organization and is a real pleasure to listen to!
Many thanks again Stephen! We’ll keep in touch!”
Carla De Schepper – (Head of HR Animalcare Group)
Hi Stephen
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"Just a note to say thank you so much for all the preparation you put into tweaking your talk to suit our two hour session today and to seamlessly link it to our business here and there, but mainly for inspiring everyone on a personal level which was the absolute goal of this afternoon. The feedback I’ve had so far has been fantastic and genuinely everyone seemed extremely buzzed up and motivated after your talk!
I’m sure I’ll hear much more over the next few days but as I don’t work Friday, I wanted to share one or two messages that came through this evening with you:"
"I thought the talk Stephen delivered was really insightful, delivered with simplicity, loved the story telling it brought the Vision, planning strategy, resilience and continuous improvement to life! It definitely motivated me to harness my energy in the right direction, eager now to put it all into practice!! Looking forward to some Brilliant Mondays."
"I got so much out of the motivation speaker Stephen. It really made me rethink why we do what we do and also that we have such amazing brands and amazing people around us. Love the Tribe name also. It is true what he said teamwork gets you places quicker than flying solo. 2020 let’s be having you."
Natasha Smyth – (Commercial Coordinator L’Oreal Division Ireland)
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"Thanks Stephen. We were all so motivated by your talk". - Kirsten Nordlof (Finance Vice President at Autodesk)
2. The Kaizen Zone Workshop
Duration - 2/3 Hours
What is Kaizen?
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Kaizen is a Japanese business philosophy that encourages slow and sustainable continuous improvement. Kaizen translates to 'change for the better'. However, the expectation for change is never radical, but rather for small and consistent change which ironically leads to radical improvements over time.
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Delivered by?
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The Kaizen Zone talk is designed and delivered by Stephen Kiernan (Author of Brilliant Mondays – How ordinary people achieve extraordinary things).
The main tool for teaching Kaizen is storytelling. Stories that demonstrate how over a long period of time a person can make huge strides forward without feeling too stressed or overwhelmed.
It’s the perfect strategy for staff members facing the emotional demands of the job. The core of the workshop is built upon four inspiring stories, followed by encouragement and instruction as to how best to apply Kaizen to their goals.
More about the Workshop
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We all want to grow and change and evolve. We’re wired for this. But the mistake we often make is trying to change too much too soon. The Kaizen Zone approach is much more practical and applicable. It encourages us to push out of our comfort zone, but not so far that we enter the dreaded panic zone and feel like running for the hills. The Japanese people used Kaizen to go from a decimated post ww2 economy to world leaders in the Automobile and Electronic industries by the late 1970’s.
What they will leave the workshop having learned?
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It’s possible to achieve extraordinary things by consistently taking the time to reflect on our actions and find small improvements.
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Examples of small questions that can reveal small improvements.
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They will hear inspiring stories that will encourage them to believe in themselves and create the desire to put this technique into action.
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A visual aid (the Kaizen zone concentric circles) which will help them to be clear on where exactly they are in terms of their performance.
The Comfort Zone : The day to day things we are familiar with and can do with relative ease. It is as the title would suggest a comfortable place to be, however, it eventually leads to stagnation, frustration and a loss of potential. But sadly, in the minds of most, the only other choice is to jump in to the panic zone (a terrifying thought). This is not an option that inspires much action.
The Panic Zone : Out of our depth and every cell of our body knows it. We naturally avoid this zone at all costs. Most people only enter the panic zone when absolutely forced to. Thankfully we have another option.
The Kaizen Zone : Just beyond the comfort zone. Requires all our focus and concentration to get right. Urges us to reflect and make small, but continuous improvements. The Kaizen zone is the sweet spot where true mastery is achieved. It leads us to sustainable and fulfilling growth. It takes us into the flow of deep work and almost all high achievers will tell stories of slowly forging their skills and reputation.
The Kaizen Zone circles is a diagram designed to give people a visual to really contextualise the idea of continuous improvement, how it would look, and how to gauge where we are. It takes the idea of continuous improvement away from being an interesting abstract notion toward a clear mental picture that we can use to help us believe in and implement continuous improvement into the most important areas of our life.
Staff members will be encouraged to spend as much time within the Kaizen zone as possible.
An extended Kaizen Zone brochure is available upon request.
3. Pep Talk
Setting the tone and pointing the crew in the right direction at the beginning of a major undertaking can be critical in defining the standards and the culture that is fostered by the group going forward. And of course - the outcome.
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Set minds at ease and hearts full of hope with a pep talk from Stephen.
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A tailored talk/workshop can be the perfect way to clarify the Vision and ensure everyone is headed in the same direction.
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This type of talk is ideal for the Beginning a New Project - A New Season - A New College Year - Training New Recruits - Helping existing staff to look at a given situation with new eyes and renewed optimism.
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Whatever your reason for a pep talk. Please feel free to give Stephen a shout to see what options are available and if a talk can be tailored for your needs.
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