If we're going to move a mountain, let’s make sure it’s the right one.
Perhaps more than any time in recent history, people need opportunities to reconnect. And not just reconnect with each other, but to reconnect with their organisations, their shared purpose, and their collective future.
As a keynote speaker, Simon Waller is privileged to create these opportunities for connection. To craft shared experiences that encourage people to look up, look out and see the world around them in new and exciting ways.
With post-graduate qualifications in futures thinking and a Master of Business Leadership, Simon was a founding member of Rio Tinto Iron Ore's scenario planning team in 2007. Since then, he has supported organisations of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations, delivered hundreds of keynotes, and spoken to thousands of CEOs and business leaders on using scenario planning and foresight techniques to prepare for the future. Simon has also authored several books, including his latest, The Scenario Planning Guide, released this year.
For Simon, futurism is not just about wowing audiences with the latest selfie drone or Wi-Fi-connected suitcase. More than anything, it’s an opportunity to engage with people through visions of the future and in doing so, empower them to make smarter decisions in the present.
Inspired by the live music acts and its ability to bring an audience together, Simon seeks to create a multi-sensory experience that the audience will never forget. Through the use of cutting-edge video and sound mixing tools used by the world’s biggest live acts and sprinkling in little moments of joy (such as home-baked, AI-designed biscuits), Simon aims to create immersive and unique experiences that are impossible to replicate in a virtual world.
Talking Points
The Art Of Future Thinking
Find Better Answers To Big Problems By Thinking Like A Futurist.The Art Of Future Thinking
If being able to see what’s coming is the ultimate competitive advantage, then cultivating future thinking skills is essential for every modern organisation. In today's world of increasing uncertainty and rapid change, futurism offers the best defense against reactive thinking, enabling organisations to prosper by anticipating challenges, discovering new opportunities and building adaptive capacity.
In this keynote, Simon Waller unveils the secrets of how futurists are trained to think beyond the present. With nearly two decades of experience as a futurist, Simon shares the proven mindsets, practical tools, and effective techniques that he and other futurists use to develop, explore, and engage others in their visions for the future.
This transformative keynote, also offered as a longer workshop, is ideal for upskilling leaders at board retreats, team offsites, or strategy days, equipping them to navigate the complexities of tomorrow by building the skills they need today.
The Science Of Decisions
How Small Changes Can Dramatically Improve Our Ability To Make Decisions In Uncertainty.The Science Of Decisions
Making decisions in complex and dynamic environments is challenging. Leaders are often required to work with incomplete information, competing needs and changing expectations. So how can people make sound decisions, prioritise the right work and avoid the trap of ‘analysis paralysis’ in the face of these challenges?
Much like good science, good decisions are underpinned by a clear and consistent process (and the bigger the stakes the better that process needs to be). In this session Simon shows how a science backed approach to decisions can improve governance, increase transparency, enable effective delegation and build trust within boards, local councils and other decision making groups.
If you want to understand how to overcome the cognitive biases that undermine good decisions, how to openly and fairly prioritise (and de-prioritise) projects and how to stop decision conversations going around in circles, then this session is a brilliant first step.
Can Technology Make Us More Human
Exploring The Paradox Of Progress.Can Technology Make Us More Human
From the first rudimentary stone tools to the might of the industrial revolution, we have consistently transcended human limitations through our ability to imagine, create and use new technologies. But these tools didn’t just redefine our work; they redefined our desires and our very identity. Now, with the emergence of AI and machine learning, this cycle continues, challenging us to once again reconsider what it means to be human.
For leaders, this has led to a critical challenge: How do we encourage the uptake of these new digital tools and at the same time support our people to succeed in the face of what feels like overwhelming change?
Simon reveals that the progress of technology, while transformative, is not entirely unpredictable. He offers a framework for understanding this ongoing narrative of human-technology interaction, and how we can actively shape its next chapter. He shows that by leveraging technology, we can invest in the uniquely human qualities that will allow us to succeed. This session offers a powerful lens through which to view our past, understand our present, and prepare for our future.
Note: For a truly unique experience ask Simon about his AI designed biscuits.
Welcome To Generation AI
How Will Generative AI Impact The Future Of Us?Welcome To Generation AI
Before we get swept away with the hype (and hyperbole) surrounding generative AI, now is the perfect time to take a pause and reflect.
Although there is clear potential for generative AI tools such as Chat GPT to transform our lives and our work, they bring with them almost as many questions as they have provided answers. This session has been developed to support decision makers and leaders navigate this tricky technology landscape through unbiased and independent insights. Simon directly confronts the key ethical and operational considerations: algorithmic biases, output efficacy, environmental impact, the need for operational shifts and the opportunities for employee upskilling. Emphasising adaptability and strategic agility, he provides actionable strategies for maximising long term value, mitigating short term risks and ensuring AI remains a human-centric tool.
All Your Possible Futures
Vivid Future Scenarios For Better Conversations In The Present.All Your Possible Futures
In a world defined by uncertainty and rapid change, getting everyone on the same page has become increasingly difficult. This workshop uses customised stories of the future to build understanding and shape a shared direction for leaders, staff, and stakeholders.
All Your Possible Futures begins with you selecting from a suite of 10-year future scenarios to explore with your audience. Covering topics such as AI agents, remote work, quantum computing, corporate responsibility, stakeholder activism, and cybersecurity. These short, vivid and memorable stories of the future have all been crafted to encourage your audience's critical thinking.
Once you’ve chosen your scenario, we then work together to design a facilitated session that fosters meaningful conversations, uncovers key motivations, and determines the actions needed to move your organisation forward.
More than just a keynote to inspire, or a workshop to teach, this interactive and immersive experience will enable understanding and shape decisions long after the session is over.
Navigating Uncertainty
Creating a Culture Navigating Uncertainty
That Prospers in Unpredictability.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his one and only Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Simon shares a gripping personal story of how a ragtag crew of amateur sailors won their division against all odds.
Through the use of dynamic visuals and interactive technology, he shares his story of the race culminating in a pivotal moment that tested the crew's leadership, resilience, and resolve. Using this as a foundation Simon shares compelling and nuanced insights into the role of teamwork and leadership for organisations navigating uncertain times. This is not a story of heroic survival, it’s a story about how average people doing common sense things can win at the game of life and work.
Blurring the boundaries between keynote and workshop, Navigating Uncertainty is a unique participant experience. Seamlessly blending powerful storytelling with actionable insights, this session will help foster a culture that embraces the unpredictable and helps your people find joy and fulfilment on their voyage together.
The Power Of Being Strategic
For A Focused And Productive Team.The Power Of Being Strategic
Do you find that your team is often scrambling to keep up? What if you could spot challenges and opportunities early, plan a course of action, and align your collective efforts in response?
Strategic awareness is an essential skill for leadership teams and boards, but it’s also valuable for anyone with decision-making responsibilities. Yet, the demands of day-to-day work mean we don’t spend enough time on strategic thinking. Without this awareness, teams can miss emerging threats and opportunities, finding themselves in a constant cycle of reaction.
The Power of Being Strategic workshop allows individuals and teams to lift their gaze, make sense of the bigger picture, and refocus their actions. It teaches the skills futurists use to make sense of the future, and then gets teams working together to identify, understand, and prioritise the trends that are impacting their work.
Whether you’re thinking 12 months ahead or mapping out the next 30 years, this workshop equips your team to break free from reactivity and build a collective, future-focused mindset.
Video
Simon has captivated ADAPT Edge event audiences this year and the experiential soundscape and method of delivery is world class. ... keep reading ADAPT
A thought-provoking keynote that I will be reflecting on for a while. Really impactful!
Inspiring and a breath of fresh air for my brain.
