Engagement & Innovation Expert
and Motivational Humorist
Scott Friedman, Certified Speaking Professional and former President of the National Speakers Association (NSA), speaks over 60 times a year on employee innovation & engagement, customer experience, productivity and how to create a happier, healthier workplace.
Books
In addition to being the CCO—Chief Celebration Officer—at Friedman & Associates, Scott has written Celebrate! Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations, A Celebration a Day! 365 Ways to a Happier, Healthier Workplace, Happily Ever Laughter—How to Engage Any Audience and Using Humor For A Change. He is also the co-author of four additional books.
Motivational Speaker
Scott now spends 35% of his time speaking throughout Asia and the gulf region. Given Scott’s 25+ years of speaking experience in Asia, he offers each client a global and culturally sensitive perspective. His varied global experiences have brought him success in many industries including hospitality, meetings, real estate, insurance, financial services, banking, technology, healthcare, education and government. Scott’s strength is assessing the culture of the organization, industry and region and creating a customized program relevant to the needs of each client.
Global Speaking Fellow
As a Global Speaking Fellow, one of only thirty-three in the world, (designated by the Global Speakers Federation), Scott continues to have a strong presence both domestically and internationally.
Philanthropy
Apart from speaking, Scott is very involved in philanthropic projects. Scott co-founded Together We Can Change the World (TWCCTW.org), a 501c3 foundation focused on anti-trafficking, social business, clean water and the health and education of less fortunate girls and women. Currently they have over 20 projects in six SE Asian countries.
Celebrate! Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations
Imagine a workplace where productivity is at an all-time high, where employees look forward to the work day, where people are matched to their strengths and are recognized accordingly, where you can “recalculate” mistakes and turn them into opportunities. This can be YOUR workplace, your people, and your reality! With lighthearted humor and refreshing honesty, Scott offers techniques for turning grievances into gratitude, dismay into play, and failure into lessons learned, all ripe for celebration. Scott weaves pertinent research with ready-to-use examples showcasing the power of the “Celebration Mindset” in action. He shares how turning on and applying the “GPS”- Gratitude, Play and Surprise- will guide you toward your greatest potential in your organization and your life. Learn how to transform your workplace for the better, from the top to the bottom line. “Celebrate!” offers practical, effective tools to help you better engage and honor your employees, your clients, and your accomplishments. With new strategies for improving your organization’s brand, Celebrate! will help you create a culture of authenticity and innovation, where productivity, performance and profit potential soar.
The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It
In these globally competitive times, resourcefulness and innovation are essential to survival. This fast-paced, humorous call to action will show you how to become a victor—rather than a victim—of change. Boost your self-awareness as you learn to be driven not by circumstances and emotion, but by your values and purpose. Scott’s easy-to-use techniques will help you foster results-oriented creativity and team spirit. An ideal kick-off or closing, “The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It” always leaves participants feeling energized and inspired to create a better future for themselves and their organizations.
Connecting with Customers
Customer expectations have dramatically changed over the years. Today, satisfying the needs of your customers by providing fast, efficient service is no longer enough. The most successful companies move beyond customer satisfaction and engage customers in a memorable experience that is consistent with their brand promise. Every employee must live service and take pride in a culture that honors and rewards both employees and customers. This entertaining and insightful program is full of tools and techniques that will help you to engage your customers and build perceived value. Learn to build long-term loyalty as Scott reveals the secrets to connecting with customers and employees.
SELL-E-BRATE! Winning the Hearts and Business of Tomorrow’s Customers
This useful and entertaining program explores how to use celebration, humor and value-adding creativity to give your sales team a competitive advantage. These important tools, along with the “Sell-e-brate Mindset”, will help generate new clients and keep your existing customer base consistently engaged and satisfied. By creating a culture of celebration and honoring your employees and customers, you will create happy, eager prospects ready to buy. Learn ways to differentiate yourself and build perceived value that highlights what you do best. Let your “GPS”—Gratitude, Play and Surprise—guide you to better connections with customers, leading to the discovery of hidden objections. As you learn techniques used by the world’s most admired organizations, you will discover that he or she who celebrates, sells!
Happily Ever Laughter - How to Engage the Audience of Today
To truly engage the distracted audience member of today, you must not only educate and enlighten but entertain as well. Humor may be your most useful tool for it breaks preoccupation, develops rapport, increases retention, and connects with your listeners. In this interactive, skillshop, participants will learn how to play off any audience–be it a meeting of five or an auditorium of 5000. From developing original material to uncovering an organization’s “humor hot buttons,” this program will cover the basics and beyond for becoming a more charismatic, humorous effective presenter. Learn to tell funny stories that appeal to a culturally diverse audience. From “half-the-words” to “what if” to the ‘power of the pause’ you will learn story-telling techniques that will make your stories come alive! Have you ever wondered what to do when things don’t go as expected? Planned spontaneity can help you gracefully recover from just about any challenging situation. As you begin to bring more and more humor into your presentations you will reap the rewards of an entertained and engaged audience.
Employee Innovation for Disruptive Times
What does it take to stay relevant and competitive in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing global marketplace? A culture of innovation! In fact, the #1 killer of employee innovation is a culture that doesn’t support it. Employees are more mobile, versatile and appreciate their personal freedom more than any time in the history of work. The needs and demands of today’s workforce make the task of employee engagement more complicated. When self-expression is welcomed, when employees feel free to be authentic when employees are empowered to take risks, when creativity is rewarded… innovation flourishes. A connected culture leads employees to brainstorm, create and thrive. Learn to build a culture that engages employees, creates connection and lets employees know what they do matters. Your reward will be more productive, creative and happy employees.
All Scott Friedman Books
A Celebration a Day!: 365 Ways to a Happier, Healthier Workplace
Purchase Book"I loved your talk at the recent HR Summit in Dubai and found it most unusual and innovative in its approach. I hope to incorporate the ideas that you communicate so effectively to our community."
- | People First Consultancy
“I love your new Celebrate program! It’s the perfect blend of entertainment and usable ideas! I’m already plotting my next surprise.”
- | American Chamber of Commerce, Malaysia
“As usual, Scott, you did a fantastic job! Your evaluation score and all the positive comments say it all! Your upbeat message was a great start to the day. I will definitely sing your praises to my education directors around the country.”
- | Texas Credit Union League
“I want to compliment you on your performance. You are a very smart guy. When you and I spoke, I had no idea how you were going to use the stuff we discussed. The result was that you were able to talk about our industry as if you intimately knew it. That impressed me.”
- | First Rate Property Management