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Build a culturepeople wantto belong to.
Keynotes and workshops on company culture and purpose, face-to-face or virtual. Better results start with an open, transparent operating culture, and purpose gives people a reason to be part of it. Dan Pontefract’s sessions give your leaders a practical way to build both.
1,000+Sessions delivered
10–200People per session
2016The Purpose Effect published
BothFace-to-face & virtual
Trusted by leaders at
The framework
Three purposes. One sweet spot.
The Purpose Effect is a three-way relationship between an individual’s personal sense of purpose in life, the organization’s purpose, and a person’s purpose in their role at work. When all three are defined and aligned, the employee, the organization, and society mutually benefit. Dan Pontefract introduced the model in his 2016 book The Purpose Effect.
When one category is lacking or ignored, the three-legged barstool starts to wobble.
01PersonalAn individual’s sense of purpose in life, how they choose to operate as a human being.
02RoleA person’s sense of purpose in the role they hold at work.
03OrganizationalThe mission and objectives, and whether the organization takes a stand to benefit society.
04Sweet spotWhen all three align, the employee, the organization, and society all benefit.
Pick your session
Culture and purpose sessions leaders ask for.
Two keynotes and two workshops. Tap any one for what it covers and the full outline to share with your team. Every session is tailored to your event theme.
01Purpose Fuels People, the keynote
Why meaningful roles and purpose-driven organizations matter.
Stating a purpose on a website is no longer enough. Based on The Purpose Effect, this keynote maps where personal, role, and organizational purpose overlap.
Leaders find the sweet spot where the three meet, compare job, career, and purpose mindsets, and see what purpose-based leadership looks like.
02Collaborative Cultures, the keynote
The secret to organizational excellence.
Better results start with an open, transparent operating culture. Drawing on Flat Army, this keynote names six obstacles that push teams into silos and competition.
Leaders leave with the Collaborative Leader Action Model, a dare-to-share attitude, and a clear view of how systems help or hinder collaboration.
03The Power of Purpose, the workshop
Personal. Role. Organizational.
Based on The Purpose Effect, this session works through three kinds of purpose: personal, role, and organizational. Team members and leaders alike assess where they stand on each, leave with a definition of their personal and team purpose, and build an action plan for the purpose mindset.
Face-to-face or virtual. See all workshops.
04Collaboration Principles and Practices, the workshop
Collaboration does not happen by accident.
Covers the Collaborative Action Model, collaborating “Up, Down and Around”, connected leadership behaviours, and setting Team Norms that hold.
Runs 3.5 hours, or two 90-minute sessions, face-to-face or virtual. See all workshops.
We’re not here to see through each other; we’re here to see each other through.
Dan PontefractHis personal declaration of purpose
Good questions
Before you book.
What is the Purpose Effect?
A three-way relationship between personal purpose, organizational purpose, and role purpose. When the three are defined, aligned, and working in partnership, the employee, the organization, and society all benefit. Dan Pontefract introduced it in The Purpose Effect (2016).
What happens when one category of purpose is missing?
The three-legged barstool wobbles. Results range from disengagement and apathy to stalled growth and, at the extreme, organizational failure.
What does the Collaborative Cultures keynote cover?
Better results start with an open, transparent operating culture. The keynote draws on Flat Army and names six obstacles that push teams into silos and competition. Leaders leave with the Collaborative Leader Action Model, a dare-to-share attitude, and a clear view of how systems help or hinder collaboration.
Which keynote suits our event?
Purpose Fuels People suits events about meaning and engagement, and Collaborative Cultures suits events about silos and collaboration. Every keynote is tailored to your event theme.
Is there a workshop to follow the keynote?
Yes. The Power of Purpose and Collaboration Principles and Practices are both available as workshops, face-to-face or virtual, and a program can be built from scratch around your team’s challenges.
Does Dan Pontefract speak in the United States?
Yes. Dan is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and delivers keynotes and workshops across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as virtually anywhere in the world. To check a date, use the contact form with your event date, audience size, and theme.
Let's build better cultures.
Share your event date, audience, and theme. That is enough to tell you which session fits, or whether we should build one from scratch.
Planning an event on AI and thinking? See the AI keynote speaker page. Or see the leadership keynote and workshop page.
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