Cornerstone Speakers

Home » Our Speakers » Oren Harari

Oren Harari

One of the "best minds" in management is one of the best speakers on stage…this riveting and provocative presenter truly changes how people do business.

A professor at the University of San Francisco's Graduate School of Business, Oren Harari teaches strategic and global management. In 2001, the editors of Business Minds (published by the Financial Times of London) named him one of the 40 "best minds" in management in the world. From 1984 to 1996, he was a senior consultant and speaker with The Tom Peters Group. For the past two years, Oren has been a member of the U.S. State Department's Advisory Council on Leadership and Management. In addition to working with medium-sized and Fortune 500 companies, Oren serves as an advisor or on the Board of several start-ups in the high-tech and consumer products industries. These roles, tasks and accomplishments barely scratch the surface of Harari's resume—but there isn't space here to recount it all.

What must be highlighted, however, are his chart-topping and thought-provoking books, as well as the outstanding and customized programs that he frequently delivers as one of the country's most popular business speakers. His five most recent and highly acclaimed titles are: Break from the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy; Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell; Beep! Beep!: Competing in the Age of the Roadrunner; Leapfrogging the Competition: Five Giant Steps to Becoming a Market Leader; and Jumping the Curve: Innovation & Strategic Choice in an Age of Transition.

Equally impressive are the many topics that he asked to speak on, such as:

How to Thrive & Grow in an Unpredictable, Chaotic Marketplace
Maintaining a Unique Brand While Surrounded by "Me-Too" Competitors
How to be (or Make Decisions like) a Transformational, Results-Based and High-Integrity Leader
Inspiring Innovation and Creating Change
How to Galvanize People to Strive for and Achieve Extraordinary Goals
Creating an Innovative Corporate Culture of Turbo Speed, Fluid Agility and Sensible Risk-Taking
Developing Customer Intimacy While Building Profit Margins and Market Share
Why Innovating Operations and Your Supply Chain is as Vital as Innovating Products and Services
How to do Unconventional Mergers and Acquisitions that Create, Not Destroy, Shareholder Value
Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
How to Build Superb Corporate Governance to Spur Top Corporate Performance
Leading from the Middle—Or How to Do Cool Stuff Even When Your First Name Isn't CEO

How to Break From the Pack—and Stay Ahead of It

In today's Copycat Economy, products are being commoditized, services are being imitated, and traditional barriers to market entry are collapsing. Markets are becoming more crowded with "me-too" players and products. In this environment, it's difficult to differentiate yourself from competitors, keep profit margins and customer loyalty up, and grow market share and stock value. To sustain healthy growth and competitive advantage in today's Copycat Economy, your organization must break from the pack. Mindful of your specific program objectives, Harari will address issues such as:

The symptoms of the Copycat Economy and the causes of Commodity Hell, and how to break from the pack while competitors stay stuck in "hell"
Why many orthodox and familiar management approaches will not help you break from the pack—Beware: your company is probably doing some of them!
Leading customers and markets (not just respond to them)
Creating a culture of curiosity, passion, ongoing innovation, prudent risk, and disciplined execution
How to innovate in "dull" areas like cost reduction and operational efficiency—not just to save lots of money and time, but to enjoy quantum leaps in foresight, customer care, and agility
What it takes to be the hero who moves forward boldly, develops break-from-the-pack plans, and executes them with brilliance, flair and discipline

The New Leadership Paradigm: What it Takes to Transform Companies and People

Oren shares with clients up to 30 elegant, rigorous, "battle-tested" leadership principles which will take organizations to new heights of competitive advantage and employee commitment. Such values include:

How to "eat change for breakfast," and how to make change a competitive weapon
How to build a spirit of speed and entrepreneurship in your organization
How to execute with overwhelming force and effectiveness
How to promote a constructive clash of creative ideas
How to become 'The Chief Dis-Organizer'
How to lead with integrity and character
How to take the right kinds of risk
How to unleash your talented people without creating chaos
How to stay engaged without micro-managing and second-guessing
How to "team up with aliens" (individuals and groups outside your industry)
How to take personal responsibility for your own career growth and skill development
How to lead with the 5 C's: Courage, Creativity, Compassion, Curiosity, and Consistency

How to Create Fast, Agile, Innovative, "Road Runner" Organizations

In this program, Oren explains how to ensure your organization can thrive in today's globally networked, nanosecond marketplace. Topics include how to create an organization:

that "turns on a dime" and gets to market first
that plays offense a lot more than defense
that is so lean and mean it can focus on 'market units of one,' customized products, personalized services
that has a bold and audacious cultural "tone"
that is perpetually learning
that turns employees into owners and businesspeople
that transforms itself into a web of innovative networks and alliances
that aligns technologies, systems, cultures and people towards audacious, groundbreaking goals
that is full of hard-working people who have fun—even in the face of what some say is impossible

Jumping the Curve: A New Business Paradigm for a New Marketplace

Oren describes why organizations and markets are now in a historically significant "age of transition" and why leaders must help organizations "jump the curve," that is, make significant, discontinuous leaps in their products and business models. I discuss four critical strategic leadership imperatives:

The innovation imperative: how to practice "creative destruction."
The intelligence imperative: how to grow a "smart" organization.
The coherence imperative: how to link execution to values and ideals.
The responsibility imperative: how to guarantee that customers are your final arbiters

Testimonials

…fantastic! If you are looking to break through archaic management models, embrace change and inspire unconventional thinking within your organization, Oren Harari is the speaker for you! He is a wonderfully engaging speaker who makes you think. He is an expert on what it takes to lead in the 21st Century.
- Debra Chandler, VP Business Development, Century 21 Real Estate Corporation

Your presentation was one of the best I've seen...Your views on technology and its impact on the business world provided a stimulating and thought-provoking start to our conference.
- Stephen O'Connor, Mortgage Bankers Association of America

I'm sure you hear this often, but your presentation was just outstanding. It not only contained timeless strategic information, it was perfectly adapted for [our] audience of policy-makers and customers.
- Stan Cavendish, Verizon

Your lecture at the Princess Hotel was the most inspiring speech I ever heard. Your speech has propelled me to accelerate our e-business networking. Thank you.
- Charles E. Gleeson II, President/CEO, C. E. Gleeson Constructors, Inc.

Thank you for your incisive and 'eye-opening' presentation at the Research and Vehicle Technology Management Conference.
- Neil Ressler, VP & Chief Technical Officer, Ford Motor Company

Your presentation was super, and the feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive. Your preparation and customizing to our industry was so valuable—you certainly "WOWed" this group!"
- Sujata Paul, Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing

Dear Oren: Perfect. Most sincerely…
- Jonathan Kempner, President, National Multi-Housing Council

You scored 9.99 on a scale of 1-10. But even more important, your message was right on target.
- Gerald Fitzgerald, President & CEO, Oakwood Healthcare System

* speaker fees subject to changes without notice