Category: Top Articles

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BigSpeak works with the leaders of brands who have changed not only the way we do business but the way we live. From Amazon to Google to Starbucks, our brand-leading keynote speakers have shaped businesses that are changing the world. Learn directly from the men and women leading the most innovative global brands by booking a BigSpeak keynote speaker for your next event.

Check out the brands changing lives and the leaders behind them. 

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The content writers at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau are Experts on the Experts. They hold doctoral, masters, and bachelors’ degrees in business, writing, literature, and education. Their business thought pieces are published regularly in leading business publications. Working in close association with the top business, entrepreneur, and motivational speakers, BigSpeak content writers are at the forefront of industry trends and research.

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How do you reach the next level in today’s business world? In the updated edition of From Impossible to Inevitable, keynote speaker and sales expert Aaron Ross shows companies what they need to grow faster and sustain their hypergrowth. The key, Ross says, is for companies to find and exploit their niche to help consumers.

There’s too much noise in today’s business world, Ross says. There’s too much choice for consumers to sort through and too much information for companies to keep up with. While many argue consumers are better informed and with more choices than ever before, Ross says that’s not the case. In reality, consumers are more confused than ever. Company employees aren’t much better. Workers are overwhelmed with all the information they must keep up with.

Ross says one of the solutions is for companies to better focus on defining their ideal customer. They need to find out how their customers think and then speak their language, reaching out to them by video to cut through the clutter.

If you wish to learn more about how your company can grow faster, check out the revised edition of From Impossible to Inevitable. It’s well worth the read for companies wishing to handle their hypergrowth.

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Have you ever traveled to a faraway place expecting to become someone entirely new only to realize when you return home you’re still the same person? Books, movies, and television are filled with stories of men and women traveling the world to find themselves. The secret, most people discover, is you don’t have to travel the world to find yourself and become happy. You just have to pay attention to what’s around you.

Motivational keynote speaker and host of Bridge The Gap Chris Bashinelli learned this lesson in his early 20s. He traveled to Tanzania to help make the lives of the locals better, only to learn they didn’t need his help. People in Tanzania had wonderful lives. It was Chris who needed to change the way he saw things.

After coming back, Chris realized we can all live better if we learn to embody the three principles of being a global citizen.

1) Be present in your life

Many times, we spend our time focused on the future. We think: I’ll be happy when I…get my dream job, promotion, married, have children, retire.

We spend all our time focused on a future goal and forget to focus on the here and now. Chris learned that joy resides in being present in our lives, in the moment we are in now. Goals give us direction but they should not take us away from focusing on the present and those around us.

2) Connect authentically with others

In business, we are taught to network to get ahead and promote our careers. Books, podcasts, and videos teach us how to make connections. The only problem with this type of connection is it often self-serving; often, it does the opposite of what we intend. It distances us from people.

To be more joyful, you need to authentically connect with others. Chris suggests you ask questions, listen with an open mind, and always have someone else’s best interests at heart. When you do this, you will find common ground with all people. You will make friends everywhere.

3) Find a mission greater than yourself

Part of being a global citizen is recognizing we are all connected. Advancing your own interests will make you happy for a spell, but advancing the interests of others will make the world around you a happier place.

Chris believes we need to stop listening to the noise of people telling us what we should do and who we should be. Instead, listen to your own voice and do whatever it is YOU want to do. Find that passion and connect it to a greater mission. You don’t have to cure cancer or join the Peace Corps to be part of a grand mission. You could be a singer who brings joy to the world through his music or an entrepreneur who donates her profits back to helping the environment.

When you learn to embody these three principles of being a global citizen, you will find that by bringing joy to other people’s lives, you have brought joy to your own.

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Kyle Crocco is the Content Marketing Coordinator at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, and the lead singer of Duh Professors. He regularly publishes business book reviews and thought articles on Medium, Business 2 Community, and Born 2 Invest.

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Your industry is always evolving. If you’re not disrupting someone else’s business, then someone is trying to disrupt yours. Disruptive innovation hasn’t just changed the markets for entertainment (Shazam and Apple) but also for information (Google) and communication (Skype). If you’re dealing with disruption or changes to your business landscape, you’ll want to hear from experts who have had first-hand experience handling it.

These disruption and change management keynote speakers have disrupted markets or guided companies who have been disrupted by teaching their change management skills. If you need a top keynote speaker, check out our list of the top ten disruption and change management speakers.

Mitch Lowe

As a C-Suite executive for Netflix, Redbox, and MoviePass, Mitch Lowe has a knack for disrupting the entertainment industry. Learn from his experience.

Kevin Surace

Kevin Surace can teach you about disruptive innovation from his own business ventures. He created the first smartphone and virtual assistant, soundproof drywall (QuietRock), and building materials with lower carbon footprints, such as EcoRock and ultra-energy-efficient windows.

Nancy Giordano

As a strategic futurist, Nancy Giordano helps companies navigate change in dynamic and complex environments.

Jonas Kjellberg

Jonas Kjellberg helped disrupt the communications industry as a co-creator of Skype and now helps companies understand digital transformations.

Lisa Bodell

If you need a change in your organization, Lisa Bodell is a globally recognized expert on leading change and the author of the bestsellers, Kill The Company and Why Simple Wins.

Frits Van Paasschen

Frits Van Paasschen has helmed many industries from Nike to Coors to Starwood Hotels and shares his insights on disruption from his book The Disruptors’ Feast.

Steve Donahue

A popular and entertaining speaker with audiences, Steve Donahue teaches audiences how to use narrative as a way to thrive on disruption, inspire innovation, and create new opportunities.

Peter Sheahan

Peter Sheahan uses fascinating case studies to help companies find opportunity in disruption and reverse the downward spiral of commoditization.

Josh Linkner

As a bestselling author on innovation, Josh Linkner uses real-world examples, funny stories, and practical takeaways to teach audiences how to thrive in a world of change.

Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry

Approaching disruption and change from the view of emotional intelligence, JP Pawliw-Fry shows how successful change efforts in your company start by understanding your people.

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The content writers at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau are Experts on the Experts. They hold doctoral, masters, and bachelors’ degrees in business, writing, literature, and education. Their business thought pieces are published regularly in leading business publications. Working in close association with the top business, entrepreneur, and motivational speakers, BigSpeak content writers are at the forefront of industry trends and research.

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James Clear’s business book Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones has made the New York Times bestsellers list for the eighth consecutive month. Clear’s business-advice book is only growing in reach, ranking #3 in the month of May.

Since its launch, the book has held a top spot on the bestsellers business book list and repeatedly appeared on the NYT bestsellers Advice/How-To list. In the first 3 months of publication, it sold  over 300,000 copies.

Atomic Habits is making waves in the business community with advice in improving productivity by changing the systems we use. Clear has studied the science of habit-forming (and breaking) and applies practical theories to changing the way we view, form, and break habits. He uses research and personal stories to help his audience understand and implement the science of small habits.

Everyone knows that change comes in small steps, but Clear gives you strategies to avoid failure and temporary gains, and instead make sustainable, lasting changes. His book is geared towards becoming more efficient in business, but the tools and lessons can apply to everyday life as well.

Clear shares his continual learning and insights on the topic through his blog and company The Habits Academy, as well as his keynote speaking. He brings his expertise to businesses and organizations, speaking on making motivation last, leading in an uncertain world, executing your goals, and making small changes that lead to big results.

His book is accompanied on the New York Times Bestselling Business Books list by inspiring and intriguing reads like Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead, Abby Wambach’s Wolfpack, John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, and Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s Extreme Ownership.

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Jessica Welch is the Content Marketing Associate at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Anthropology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her business thought articles often appear on Business 2 Community, Born 2 Invest, and YF Entrepreneurs.

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There was a moment when Joey Coleman was on tour with the University of Notre Dame Glee Club where the importance of customer experience became crystal clear. His choir was on the start of a European tour, Coleman was first tenor, and the group’s first gig was booked in a huge, magical cathedral in Rome, Italy. Everything was great except for the audience—there were only seven people who came to the performance.

At this moment, the choir could have gone through the motions, treated it as a “practice” concert, and moved on to the next city. Instead, a senior member of the group gathered the singers around for a quick pre-performance talk. He said even though there were only seven people in the audience, these people would never get a chance to see the University of Notre Dame Glee Club perform again. This would be the only impression the choir would make and what did they want these people to tell others about the Notre Dame Glee Club?

The choir went on stage and performed a standing-ovation worthy performance.

Concentrate on the human experience.

Ever since that moment, Joey Coleman has been learning about the importance of human experience as part of the customer journey. As a criminal defense lawyer working in Iowa, Coleman knew the human experience was important. How people felt could mean the difference between his client going home free or spending a life behind bars.

Though the law presumes the innocence of an accused, most jurors come to court thinking a person on trial must be guilty of something. Coleman learned how to help the jury think differently about his client, to feel differently about his client, and to act differently towards his client. He treated the jury as his customers, giving them a personal experience. He did everything from designing exhibits to building dioramas of crime scenes to standing in front of juries using his persuasive skills.

Since his days as a trial lawyer, Coleman has continued to learn about the human experience in vastly different fields. He learned how to please audiences as a member of the Grammy-nominated Washington Men’s Camerata choir. As a legal advisor in the White House during the Clinton administration, he helped shape people’s view of what the Office of the President should represent. Then he moved on to help companies create brand identities to connect with their consumers as Chief Experience Composer for his company Design Symphony.

Never lose a customer again.

Now Coleman has distilled his years of experience into a must-read book and keynote experience called Never Lose a Customer Again.

Coleman’s Wall Street Journal bestselling book covers the 8 phases of the customer journey from the first interaction to making them a loyal fan. In his keynote experiences and book, Coleman covers each step of what a company can do to improve the customer experience, showing companies how to connect to customers on a personal level.

Getting personal has helped companies dramatically reduced churn and attrition rates among customers. The typical business Coleman works with sees an increase in profits of 25-100% and an increase in customer referrals of more than 30%

The biggest unintended effect from focusing on customer experience has been improved employee morale and engagement. Now that employees are spending time engaging with customers on a personal level, employees have been reconnected with the reason they go to work: their customer.

If you’re interested in reconnecting with your customer base and improving the customer journey, contact BigSpeak Speakers Bureau today to learn more about Joey Coleman or to book his keynote experience.

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Kyle Crocco is the Content Marketing Coordinator at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, and the lead singer of Duh Professors. He regularly publishes business book reviews and thought articles on Medium, Business 2 Community, and Born 2 Invest.

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You take a seat in the audience. The lights go down. The speaker bounds out on stage to a burst of applause. The presentation is smooth, polished, funny—but something is off. You’re not laughing and the material feels stale. This is a big name, New York Times bestselling author.  Yet, somehow, you’re not feeling it.

Then it hits you. You’ve seen this exact presentation before on YouTube. The only difference between this keynote and the speech the speaker gave at the last conference you attended is the company name and logo in the Powerpoint deck. If you feel had, imagine how the rest of the audience feels. Wonder what those “smile sheets” will reveal in the post-session surveys?

Don’t panic. There’s a cure for keynote déjà vu: moderated sessions.

This format is great for showcasing big-name celebrities. While your typical celebrity gives a great performance on film—after 14 takes, great lighting, and a bunch of editing—they usually don’t knock it out of the park with a keynote. Part of it is their performance and part of it is your expectations of perfection. BUT…imagine, if you will, a magic potion that makes it all better.

The fireside chat

I have to admit when I first started in the speaker industry, I wasn’t a big fan of the moderated session (also known as the fireside chat). I thought, why do you want to sit in on someone else’s conversation when you can see a speaker bang out three points you need to know to “shift paradigms for a pivotal game changer” (gag!).

But after seeing hundreds of keynotes, I now understand moderated sessions not only liven up a conference, but they can also be more powerful than the classic three-point presentations. Unlike your standard keynote, moderated sessions are customizable, smooth, conversational, and intimate, no matter how large the crowd.

Intimate setting

Take your typical keynote: In the middle of the stage sits a lectern and a huge screen. During the talk, the speaker either stands behind the lectern or paces back and forth across the stage, clicker in hand, gesturing to the screen. There is a clear separation between the role of speaker and audience and, usually, no interaction.

Moderated sessions, on the other hand, have a cozy feel. Instead of a lectern, there are two comfortable chairs facing each other as if the speaker and the moderator were in a living room together. The intimate feel puts the audience at ease, makes the speakers relaxed, and produces a much deeper and personal experience.

Role of the moderator

Another big difference of moderated sessions is the control the moderator has. The moderator can be someone from inside the organization or another expert in the field, as long as he or she has insight into the industry and the speaker.

Having the right moderator changes the dynamic. The best moderator is someone energetic, funny, and quick with the wit. It’s their job to control the pace of the session, to give enough time for answers, and steer the conversation in whatever direction best engages the audience to keep everyone involved. They are a friend, storyteller, and emcee rolled in one.

The key is in the questions

The biggest difference in terms of the audience experience are the questions. In your standard keynote, you get great ideas packed into a short time frame. Questions, if any, come at the Q&A and are usually rushed as the speaker has other obligations.

A moderated session, on the other hand, allows the questioner to unpack those ideas and go much deeper than they would in your standard canned speech. These questions yield details and stories relevant to the audience. The conversational nature also allows for surprise insights or an exclusive story not delivered in a standard session.

The moderator can ask very specific questions about current events, the industry, the company and even how it relates to the exact attendees sitting in the audience. Audiences come away feeling they have learned something relevant and unique.

If you’re interested in moderated sessions, BigSpeak works closely with our speakers to create insightful questions and to coach speakers on giving smooth, conversational answers that will delight and entertain an audience more than the standard keynote.

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Ken Sterling is the executive vice president at BigSpeak?, the leading keynote and business speakers bureau. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California and an MBA from Babson College. Sterling teaches entrepreneurship, marketing, and strategy at UC Santa Barbara. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and hypergrowth sales and marketing expert.

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Co-founder and the first CEO of Netflix Marc Randolph has been more myth than man in the speaking world lately. Everybody wants to hear how Randolph created the industry-changing company Netflix, but between writing his book and advising numerous startups as an angel investor his calendar has been full…until now.

His book THAT WILL NEVER WORK: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea, is almost here to bring inspiration to your company. When you book Marc to speak at an event before September, he will include a pre-order of his book.

This inside look at the creation of Netflix and its journey from a skeptical startup to a one-of-a-kind company is essential reading for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers trying to do more with their ideas. You will get a look into the realities of Silicon Valley’s “era of irrational exuberance” in the early 90s and be inspired by Randolph’s perseverance.

Ideas don’t get started in an instant. Luckily, you can nurture your idea with the guidance of a seasoned Silicon Valley veteran. Book Marc today and get a jump on all the other entrepreneurs with “the next big idea.”

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Jessica Welch is the Content Marketing Associate at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Anthropology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her business thought articles often appear on Business 2 Community, Born 2 Invest, and YF Entrepreneurs.

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Peter Guber is the man behind the scenes. You’ve heard of Sony Entertainment, Mandalay Entertainment, the L.A. Dodgers, and the three-time NBA Championship team the Golden State Warriors. Guber has helped shape each of these companies and teams into the massive successes and household names we know them to be. But you’d never know it, because he’s more focused on his next big venture rather than the lime-light. He likes to give back and stay under the radar, lecturing for UCLA students he sees as our future.

After building up some of the largest production companies and winning numerous Oscars, Guber knows a thing or two about the power of storytelling and how to harness it for your business.

Guber’s 4 Rules

1. Have a generous goal.

We all know every good story needs a goal, whether it’s the story of why someone should buy your product, the origin story of your startup, or the book or movie you’re writing. But Guber explains to get people to invest themselves in your story, the goal must be generous, giving more than it plans on taking.

You need to show your audience why they should care and what their “victory” is before you can sell them on anything.

2. Be transparent.

People know when you’re being authentic and when you’re trying to sell to them. If you have a goal, be open with your audience about it. If your goal is generous, it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable to be transparent because your goal will benefit them as well.

3. Be interested not interesting.

Focus on what you’ve heard from your audience instead of what you want to tell them. Everyone wants to be cared for and listened to, so make sure your audience feels their best interests are at the root of your story. When you do this, you’ll find you have to focus less on trying to entertain and forcing a connection.

4. Be interactive.

Make sure your audience feels they’re a part of your story. When you include them in the storytelling, you make it easier for them to take ownership of your narrative and create loyalty to your brand.

When your company is one big story and your consumer becomes an audience, you have the opportunity to draw them in. Use Guber’s four rules to make your audience believe in you and your brand.

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Jessica Welch is the Content Marketing Associate at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Anthropology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her business thought articles often appear on Business 2 Community, Born 2 Invest, and YF Entrepreneurs.

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***This article is full of spoilers, so figure out your priorities, catch up and get back to us***

Did you scream into a pillow last Sunday when Cersei wasn’t burned alive by dragon fire, but instead died somewhat peacefully in the arms of her lover-brother? Did you have a huge WTF moment whenDaenerys ignored the bells of surrender and instead replaced them with the cries of the innocents she vowed to protect? Do you feel like, at this point, you could’ve written a better final season of GoT?

We feel the same. So much so that we consulted former Pixar storyteller Matthew Luhn to figure out what exactly GoT got wrong. After years of helping create stories for Pixar that touched our hearts, like Toy Story, Up, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and more, Luhn has storytelling down to a science. According to his tips for creating engaging and meaningful stories, we’ve pinpoint exactly how the writers of season 8 tragically messed up.

 

Forced character transformation

This last season has been rushed. The writers need to wrap things up and that means putting one hero on top. Up until last week there were two–Daenerys and Jon Snow–so one had to go. They did this by making Dany go crazy and fall to the villainy she had been fighting against all along.

But Dany has seen hardship before. She lost her husband and unborn child in Season 1, but instead of total mental collapse (like we are currently seeing) this drove her to further her cause as the “breaker of chains.”

In Season 8, we’ve seen Dany become extremely isolated through the death of her closest friends, Jorah and Missandei; the betrayal of her closest advisor, Lord Varys; and the truth bomb of that her love, Jon Snow, is now a rival for the throne.

However, this isn’t the first time she’s risen from nothing. She’s been completely alone before in Season 2 when her clan abandoned her after her husband’s death, but she birthed some dragons and created an army to spread peace. Throughout the entire show Dany thrives from conflict. She grows stronger and more driven from it—but always with her final goal of equality at heart. How has our greatest hope for peace, our “breaker of chains,” suddenly developed into the “Mad Queen” in a matter of a couple of episodes?

The character arc has been rushed to the point where it doesn’t feel believable. We’ve spent the last ten years watching Daenerys transform into the queen we believed was best fit to dethrone the inherently evil Lannisters. How are we expected to believe she loses all sense of purpose and all sanity because of the death of her friend and dragon? Remember when she lost her husband and unborn child? It a little hard to believe.

While this was the most glaring transformational faux-pas, we could say the same happened with Cersei, when she surrenders (which is almost unthinkable to begin with) and then runs; Arya, when she abruptly abandons her pursuit of revenge against the Lannisters that can be traced back to Season 1; and Jaime, when he completely turns on the character arc the writers had nurtured for ten years with his climaxing love for Brienne of Tarth, only to end up being “hateful.”

Every good story needs character transformation that mirrors real human emotions and growth to make a connection with the audience, and unfortunately, Season 8 of GoT has tarnished this.

Personal connections to the characters were severed

For the audience to care about the plot, they must be invested in the characters. We’ve obsessed over the show for almost a decade now because of this investment. With the forced transformation, we lose all connection to the characters. Everything we thought we knew about them and what defined them down to their cores was lost in the writers’ speedy attempts to finish off the series.

We don’t feel a connection to Dany because we don’t believe in her transformation. We also had high aspirations for Jamie, as we watched him transform into a noble man, only to see him turn his back on it all to crawl back to his twin, the mother of his children, and his biggest flaw.

 

There’s no strong hero to root for

Are you impressed with Jon Snow’s weak-willed approach to everything he does from battle, to the throne, or even doing the “right” thing? We sure aren’t. He and Arya are clearly the heroes we are supposed to root for at this point. Jon has been so passive and weak it’s hard to stand behind him.

He allowed Dany to slaughter thousands of innocents because…he loved her? We aren’t even really sure at this point. Upon learning the love of his life is actually his aunt, his love seems to fade and, quite frankly, he seems put off. Despite revoking his love, he pledges undying devotion to her as his queen. If Jon had an ounce of emotional intelligence, we could have avoided turning King’s Landing into a massive bonfire. Sacrificing tens of thousands for one hardly sounds like a real leader.

As far as Arya goes, her slaying of the Night King definitely gave her some credibility, but the vagueness around how she managed to do it disconnects the audience from the actual feat. It leaves us feeling like we’re being lied to and asked to just trust them on the fact she’s the hero.

 

Broken promises

Part of telling a great story is seeing the theme through to the end. Two of the biggest disappointments were Cersei’s not-totally-horrific death and Jaime’s apparent character regression that we’ve already covered. We wanted to see Cersei’s eyes pop out of her head King Joffrey-style or suffer a fate similar to the Viper in Season 4 (the only scene in 71 episodes that the team agrees can be skipped while re-bingeing).

On the other hand, we needed the writers to give Jaime a death that mattered…to someone other than his horrible sister.

Another massive letdown where a theme seemed to be abandoned was the defeat of the Night King. After years of fan theories and narratives created around who the Night King may be and what his true purpose is, the story is over in one (long, dark) battle scene. It turns out he’s just some random dead guy who’s dead and gone without a single line of dialogue. Big bummer.

The audience felt shorted, like they were promised big things and GoT just couldn’t deliver. Who knows, maybe the writers can manage to somehow salvage the season this coming Sunday, but at this point it doesn’t look hopeful.

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Jessica Welch is the Content Marketing Associate at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Anthropology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her business thought articles often appear on Business 2 Community, Born 2 Invest, and YF Entrepreneurs.

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Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which challenges to the U.S. economy are the most important. There’s so much information and every pundit has an opinion. Fortunately, Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes business magazine and a trusted financial guru with decades of experience, has a good handle on what you should pay attention to.

In May, I had the chance to meet and listen to Forbes in person at a moderated talk he gave in Santa Barbara. During his friendly fireside chat with geopolitical expert Peter Zeihan, Zeihan asked Forbes to discuss the top challenges facing the U.S. economy in the near future. Forbes mentioned six challenges to the U.S and possible solutions.

1) Tariffs

Tariffs are just another word for sales taxes said Forbes. Tariffs are sales taxes on the foreign country and the American consumer. Instead of using tariffs that target an entire nation, governments should go after specific companies and industries by enforcing existing laws. Tariffs hurt both parties. As Forbes said, “Leave hurting each other to 50 Shades of Gray.”

2) Unstable currency

The Federal Reserve should keep money stable said Forbes. The Fed operates under the debunked theory that prosperity causes inflation. The Fed says the economy is “overheating.”  As Forbes said, “If your income goes up, do you feel yourself overheating?”

If you need proof of the debunked theory, just look at our current economy. Business has boomed while inflation has remained flat. The currency solution lies in keeping the money at a stable rate so the free market can work as it should.

3) Older workers

Our culture is obsessed with early achievement said Forbes. If you haven’t achieved “success” in your 20s, you’re a failure. However, we evolve at different rates. Many people become successful entrepreneurs when they are old as 30 or 40—even 50. Furthermore, older people shouldn’t retire from business. They should be resources and mentors for younger workers.

4) Higher education

The rising cost of education has turned many students into a form of indentured servants. You don’t need a degree from a fancy school to be successful said Forbes. What counts is what you get out of your education (wherever you go) and what you do with it afterward.

Furthermore, college costs do not need to increase. Purdue has successfully frozen tuition for seven years and increased its number of tenured professors. They have done this by not arbitrarily raising tuition to keep pace with Ivy League schools and partnering with Amazon, for example, for lower-priced textbooks.

5) Politics

Donald Trump’s success in politics is no fluke said Forbes. The media focused on all the outliers and crazy people at the Trump rallies, ignoring his base. What the world did not see was the American people who felt the political system had abandoned them and were looking for something better. They wanted to be heard and Trump listened. Politicians who listen to this group will have more success in the near future.

6) Healthcare crisis

Our healthcare “crisis” is not a quality crisis said Forbes. The care individuals receive is very good. The “crisis” is the costs of the system. Prices should not be increasing. In any other free market, better technology and improvement in services would bring prices down. In our closed healthcare market, improvements in technology increase costs.

The problem lies in how prices are decided. Healthcare pricing is determined by agreements made between the healthcare industry, insurers, and the government (via Medicare and Medicaid). It’s not determined by a free market.

The solution lies in the transparency of a free market. If there were more transparency in the prices and healthcare providers were allowed to work directly with consumers instead of the government, our prices would be more affordable.

This list of six challenges is by no means comprehensive or in depth. In case you want to learn more about Forbes’ take on your financial future and the challenges facing the U.S., check out his podcast “What’s Ahead.”

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Kyle Crocco is the Content Marketing Coordinator at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, and the lead singer of Duh Professors. He regularly publishes business book reviews and thought articles on Medium, Business 2 Community, and Born 2 Invest.

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Facebook and Google veteran Marissa Orr is changing the way we think about gender dynamics in the workplace. For years, women have been told to act more like men to better succeed in the workplace. Orr believes the gender gap in corporate America stems from an underlying dysfunction in the way we compete and view “winning.”

Read more about how Orr reinvented the workplace to create a more gender inclusive idea of how businesses should look.

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Jessica Welch is the Content Marketing Associate at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Anthropology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her business thought articles often appear on Business 2 Community, Born 2 Invest, and YF Entrepreneurs.