An absence of decision making is an absence of leadership.
From car bombings to meeting Yasser Arafat and making it to the summit of Mount Everest, Mark 'Squiz' Squirrell has experienced more than many can dream about. When he headed to the East Timor Crisis in 1999 he was setting out on the adventure of a lifetime. It was a journey that would see him navigate some of the globe's most brutal war zones to deliver emergency aid and conquer the world's tallest mountain.
Squiz uses real-life anecdotes and presents real-time scenarios that demand lateral thinking to deliver relevant and practical tips for those working in today's complex and fluid global market. The real-time conundrums are presented via authentic video, Virtual Reality goggles and photos that have the audience embroiled in the critical decision-making that leads to his eventual success.
In addition to this, Squiz has taken the concept of being motivated at work to an all-new level. He was inspired by his organisation, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the impoverished people that it feeds, to climb to the top of the world and help raise awareness of the global hunger crisis. After a gruelling six-week ordeal, Squiz raised the WFP flag on the summit of Mount Everest. The inspiring and thrilling recount across glaciers and up exposed cliffs reveal the motivation, habits and adversity skills that facilitated his success.
Current work
Now based out of Melbourne, Squiz provides keynotes, workshops and team-building activities to develop workplace performance. Unique footage played through Virtual Reality goggles guarantees that your staff will have a life-like, high impact and unforgettable experience!
Previous experience
Green Beret: Squiz was awarded the coveted “Green Beret” whilst serving with the Australian Commandos. His tenure with the military provided him with the skills and courage to succeed in the face of adversity and turmoil. It was the perfect grounding for a career as an International Aid Worker.
Negotiations: Squiz escorted food convoys through the Gaza Strip, negotiated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamel Eelam (Tamil Tigers) and brokered deals with Somali Clansmen to ensure the safe delivery of United Nations food aid. In doing so, he has mastered the challenges of performing under pressure, communicating effectively and building relationships.
Education: Squiz has a Bachelor of Business (HRM) and has published a memoir titled From Arafat to Everest. In 2019 Squiz was recognised in the Australia Day Honours List with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for “service to the international community through humanitarian aid”. He continues to deploy on short-term assignments to emergency zones, such as the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa and the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.
Talking Points
Extreme Leadership
This session focuses on the importance of making informed and early decisions in order to take control of high pressure and fluid circumstances. There are also tips and ideas that frontline and strategic leaders can take back to the workplace to build the teams they lead and motivate them to reach new heights.Extreme Leadership
Key Takeaways:
- Decision making under pressure
- The importance of the team
- Building relationships in advance of a crisis
Strategic Thinking
This session reveals how Squiz was motivated to step outside of his "Job Description" to climb Everest in order to raise awareness of global hunger. By doing so he was helping his organisation, the United Nations World Food Programme, achieve one of its strategic goals; to obtain global awareness on behalf of those that endure hunger and poverty.Strategic Thinking
Key Takeaways:
- The importance of shifting from tactical/operational goals to strategic focus
- Inspiring your team to think big and tackle big goals with confidence
- Creating the right mindset for adversity
Virtual Reality Experience
Experience first-hand the challenges and rewards of working in war zones and climbing Everest with this unique visual stimulation. Your team will literally be taken on a humanitarian mission into the Gaza Strip to experience first-hand an authentic, high-pressure situation that demands excellence in decision making, teamwork and leadership. They will also experience the joys of climbing to the summit of Mount Everest, inspiring them to go to new heights.Virtual Reality Experience
Key Takeaways:
- Decision making under pressure
- Maximising the strength of your team and wider network
- Inspiration to strive hard to achieve big goals
Building Resilience
This session reveals the proven strategies that enable success when dealing with adversity, high pressure and complex work environments. It will motivate your team to dive in when things begin to get challenging and allow your organisation to succeed when others are pulling back. Building Resilience
Key Takeaways:
- Challenge/Change/Difficulty are opportunities to be exploited
- Early and informed decisions allow you take charge of the crisis
- No one ever loses as long as the experience is framed as a learning experience
Safety and Risk Management
Squiz has managed the safety of personnel and operations in some of the world's most high risk and fluid work environments, the battlefield! The mindset and mitigation strategies that he has employed have given him the confidence to go back into these environments over decades and face up to the inevitable obstacles found on Mt Everest. This storyline provides a perfect example of how high-risk environments can be successfully navigated.Safety and Risk Management
Key Takeaways:
- Maintaining a focus on safety and risk management for individuals and/or leaders
- Managing fatigue and complacency
- The importance of the team, communication and clear thinking in crisis
Video
Mark Squirrell Keynote Speaker at Saxton Speakers Bureau
Mark "Squiz" Squirrell is a keynote speaker at Saxton Speakers Bureau. Squiz uses experiences from the Australian Special Forces, Humanitarian Aid Work and climb on Everest to enhance workplace performance through Keynotes, Workshops and Team BuildingExtreme Performance Workshop
The Extreme Performance Workshop will take the audience on a journey to discover what it takes to become a member of the Australian Special Forces, work across the globe as humanitarian Aid Worker and summit Mt Everest.Virtual Reality promo
This video is about Virtual Reality Training for corporatesSquiz was fantastic! A really strong, engaging presentation and Q&A that was truly inspirational and landed the key messages for the team to take away really succinctly. He delivered very st ... keep reading PZ Cussons
Squiz's energy and humour kept the audience fully engaged as he took us on a journey through his experiences in humanitarian aid, combat zones, and mountaineering. His talent for weaving leadership and teamwork lessons into his incredible stories was very well done. The team absolutely loved it!
Oh my goodness! He was amazing. You were absolutely right.he was inspiring, funny and truly had the audience captivated! I actually have one of our franchisees in Melbourne thinking about booking him for another event!
The executive team at Indigo was very energized by your presentation to the group. Hearing your stories about working as a team in times of adversity, allowed us to draw some terrific parallels to how we can work closely together as a cohesive unit under difficult circumstances.
All delegates at the Forum were impressed with his story and the relevance to what we as an industry are trying to achieve. Squiz's story and the way he presented it uplifted all of us to new heights.
....it was a pleasure to have you take us all on a journey to some places far removed from our daily work lives, but none the less relevant. The scenario exercise in particular provided our staff with a great opportunity to problem solve using some basic tools that operate at a very human level, something I know the team valued and made for great discussion the next day as we continued to work with these principles
