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Inspiration

Are you Engaged Or Supporting at Work? by Waldo Waldman

13 November 2018
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: Employees, Inspiration, Leadership, Teamwork

Situational awareness (SA) means having a 360 degree picture of your environment and can increase your ability to adapt to change and improve your chances of success.

The key to building SA is teamwork, and a critical component of teamwork is understanding one’s roles and responsibilities in every engagement. In combat, the way fighter pilots delineate roles and responsibilities is by having an engaged fighter and a supporting fighter.

The engaged fighter’s job is to take out (i.e. engage) the threat, while the supporting fighter’s job is to support that fighter by building SA, advising on other threats, and even taking over if necessary. The key to this collaborative relationship is staying focused on your responsibilities and staying disciplined in your role. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen!

As you explore your business environment, understanding who’s engaged and who’s supporting can make a huge difference when it comes to successful execution.

About Waldo Waldman

Known as “The Wingman,” Lt Col (ret) Waldo Waldman is a combat decorated fighter pilot, executive coach, Hall of Fame Speaker, and the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Never Fly Solo. He helps organizations build collaborative cultures of trust, courage, motivational strategies and commitment in order to adapt to change, break performance barriers, and overcome adversity.

 

To Learn more about Waldo contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866 727-7555 or [email protected]

10 Speakers That Were Trending in October 2018

4 November 2018
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: General, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Teamwork

Every month, Clients call, email, and even text us asking about different Speakers they are considering for upcoming events.  They ask questions, view videos, read testimonials and in some cases request a call with a Speaker, something we are delighted to arrange. Based on all that activity, here are the 10 Speakers clients were talking about in October 2018..

Michelle Ray – Change, Communication and Leadership Speaker

Born in Australia and now residing in Vancouver, Canada,  leadership  expert, Michelle Ray is an award-winning speaker and founder of the Lead Yourself First Institute. Michelle began her career in the media industry with one of Australia’s leading broadcasting networks. She worked her way up the management ladder and was responsible for the sales revenues of 25 radio and television affiliate stations.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Michelle-Ray

Adrian Gostick – Bestselling Leadership Author & Organizational Culture Expert

How do today’s best leaders accelerate business results? By engaging their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his challenging, information-packed talks, #1 bestselling  leadership  author Adrian Gostick provides real solutions on managing change, organizational culture, driving innovation, and leading high-performance teams.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Adrian-Gostick

Janet Lapp – Expert on Change and Employee Motivation

What would happen if everyone in the organization saw the positives and not the problems in change? This question inspired Dr. Janet Lapp and her team to conduct decades of research enacting these types of changes in the workplace, with amazingly positive results. Janet shares the evidence-based results derived from years of experience in both her books and stage performances. She has a professor’s ability to translate complex theory into usable answers, and a humorist’s knack for getting ideas across in an entertaining way.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Dr.-Janet-Lapp

Stuart Knight – Award Winning Entrepreneur, Critically Acclaimed Author, and Hit Producer

Stuart Knight has written, produced and starred in live presentations that have been seen by over one million people and each year speaks internationally helping some of the world’s biggest companies reach new levels of success. When he is not on the road speaking, you may have seen or heard him on some of Canada’s biggest TV and Radio stations where he is often asked for his expert opinion on high level communication.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Stuart-Knight

Greg McKeown – Social Innovator, Peak Performance Speaker & Author

Greg McKeown has dedicated his career to discovering why some people break through to the next level—and others don’t. The definitive treatment of this issue is addressed in McKeown’s latest project: the instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller,  Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Greg–McKeown

Polly LaBarre – Bestselling Author, Co-Founder of Management Lab,  Founding Writer of Fast Company

For more than 20 years, Polly LaBarre has used her writing, business consulting, and speaking to help organizations unleash and organize human potential in ever more powerful ways. Polly has devoted her career to helping leaderslearn to lead differently. The disruptive  business environment today demands it, and the best leaders and companies today have found out-of-the-box ways to invent the future by shedding bureaucracy and engaging their people in completely new ways.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Polly-LaBarre

Dr. George Friedman – Speaker and Author on the Future of Geopolitics

George Friedman is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and bestselling author. As Founder and Chairman of Geopolitical Futures, a new online publication dedicated to forecasting the course of global events, Friedman combines his passion for writing and publishing for his readers world wide who follow international affairs.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Dr.-George-Friedman

Natalie Stavas – Harvard Doctor, Athlete, International Humanitarian, Motivational Speaker

Dr. Natalie Stavas shares inspiring real-life stories based on her experiences as a physician at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is also described as a healer, educator and Boston community leader, and received the 2012 Change Maker award from The Boston Foundation.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Natalie-Stavas

Josh Linkner – Speaker on Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership

Josh Linkner – who started his career as a jazz guitarist – personifies creativity, entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation.  He has been the founder and CEO of four tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Josh-Linkner

Commander/Dr. Mary Kelly – Author, International Speaker, and Leadership Economist

Dr. Mary Kelly with a PhD in economics, is an internationally-known economist and expert specializing in the fields of leadership, productivity, communication, she focuses on strategy and tactics that improve productivity and profit growth. Commander Mary Kelly served 25 years in the US Navy as an intelligence and logistics officer, mostly in Asia. She was an HR Director, a chief of police, and she was part of the team that ran Pearl Harbor.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Dr.-Mary-Kelly

To Learn more about these speakers contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]

Leadership = Solving Problems by Ty Bennett

4 November 2018
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: Inspiration, Leadership, Teamwork

A few weeks ago we realized that we lost the one and only key to one of our four-wheelers at our cabin.

I rolled it up the trailer and took it to the local ATV shop and asked them to put in a new ignition so that we could have a new key. They had to order in the part and so it would take a couple of days.

They called three days later saying that it was done but I wasn’t heading back to our cabin for another week. When I arrived to pick it up they realized that they hadn’t put in the new ignition, the part was just sitting there. They said they could put it in quickly but when they went to put it in they realized it was the wrong ignition.

If they would have put it in a week earlier like they were supposed to they would have realized the mistake and been able to fix it before I came to pick it up.

The problem was that I had a group of people coming to my cabin the next day for a retreat and I needed the four-wheeler. They were at a loss on what to do. They had created a problem and I was not happy about it. We needed to solve it.

After a couple of minutes at a loss of what to do, I suggested they take the ignition out of one of their other machines they had for sale and then replace that with the correct part when it came in. They weren’t sure if they could do that and so I asked to talk with the manager. I explained the situation and so solution I proposed and he agreed. 10 minutes later I took my four-wheeler with the new ignition back to the cabin.

This type of situation happens in business all of the time. It could be problem’s with customers, sales, morale or a myriad of other problems that arise everyday. Leaders are problem solvers. They don’t get caught up in the problems. They identify the problems. They control their emotions and they focus on finding solutions.

Are you a problem solver?

Leadership = Problem Solving

About Ty Bennett:

Ty Bennett has impacted more than one million people from 50 countries who have learned from his insights on Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Communication. When Ty was 21 years old he started a business with his brother Scott, which they built to over $20 million in annual revenue while still in their twenties. He was recently featured in Utah Business Top 40 Under 40.

To Learn more about Ty contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866 727-7555 or [email protected]

Decisions: How To Manage Grey Space by Ross Shafer

4 November 2018
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: Employees, General, Inspiration, Motivation

Your life will be judged by the thousands of decisions you have made. Some decisions will be as easy. Some will be hard. Others live in what is called GREY SPACE. Come back in five seconds and I’ll explain how to manage the GREY SPACE. RLC . Ross Shafer here and I want to talk to you about GREY SPACE…those times when ambiguity causes your decision making to freeze up. Grey Space can make you see a problem both ways; which makes you pause. You stall. You postpone because you think you need more evidence. And if your company and coworkers are depending upon YOU to make a choice, WAITING is a bad option. And, compiling more and more data isn’t always helpful either.

It merely makes the Indecision of Grey Space last longer. So how can you unblock yourself? First you have to be realistic about WHO YOU ARE. If you are new at this particular kind of decision and don’t have a lot of experience, relying on data is safe. You’re like an airline pilot who trusts the instruments in bad weather. However, if you have a lot of experience and you’re still frozen to decide, you are probably trying to reconcile the data – with your instincts. Consider this: Author Malcolm Gladwell, in his book BLINK, describes how data can’t tell the whole story. Gladwell says, according to a lot of Big Data, Millennials are highly mistrustful. They don’t trust companies or politicians or food labels – yet that data doesn’t explain why they will happily get into an UBER vehicle with a total stranger…or rent their home through AirBNB to someone who could be a serial killer.

The data and the behaviors don’t match but that gives you a lcear decision path. The fact that UBER and AIRBNB are successful is the answer. If you can’t decide, look at what is selling. What sells – and what doesn’t sell is always the best indicator. Watch Shark Tank. Inventors come to the Sharks with Data like, “Wooden Bowls are a $200 million dollar industry and I have the finest bowls; hand-carved from Peruvian Ironwood. “It’s $1,000.” A shark says, “How many have you sold?” “Four” “I don’t care how big the industry is, I can’t invest $200,000 in making Thousand-dollar bowls that don’t sell.

People want a $12-dollar bowl from Wal-mart.” Don’t get me wrong. I love data. But when you are trapped in the Grey Space because you’re still trying to convince yourself you need more evidence, STOP! More data isn’t the answer. The best decisions are made from a recipe that contains data, instinct, and most importantly…results. If you want to eliminate the Grey Space in your brain, the best decisions will be based upon actual behavior and actual sales.

Ross Shafer is an Emmy award winning network talk show host and comedy writer who has turned that same talent toward the corporate marketplace. He has written and produced 14 Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Leadership, and Sales. Ross has also authored several business books, which include Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, and Are You Relevant?. His most recent book is Grab More Market Share: How to Wrangle Business Away from Lazy Competitors.

To Learn more about Ross contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866 727-7555 or [email protected]

5 Great Books Every Innovator Should Read

27 August 2018
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: creativity, General, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership, Management

Innovation used to be down the hall, the third door on the right, that’s where you found the Innovation department. But great Leaders today know that creating a culture of Innovation across an organization is the most a powerful way to generate new ideas, ideas that will change the game. But how do you encourage people to innovate, take risks, publicly fail and keep trying. The 5 books below are filled with ideas, insights and practical tips that you can use to encourage a Culture of Innovation.

Scott Anthony – Innovation Strategist

Scott Anthony is a senior partner at Innosight, a strategy and consulting firm. He has led Innosight’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region as well as its venture capital activities (Innosight Ventures). In his more than a decade with Innosight, Scott has advised senior leaders in companies such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Singtel, Kraft, General Electric, LG, the Ayala Group, and Cisco Systems on topics of growth and innovation.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Scott-Anthony

 

Daniel Burrus – Technology and Innovation Futurist

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He has delivered over 2,800 keynote speeches worldwide, and is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Daniel-Burrus

 

Josh Linkner – Speaker on Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership

Josh Linkner – who started his career as a jazz guitarist – personifies creativity, entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation.  He has been the founder and CEO of four tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He is the author of two New York Times Bestsellers: Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He is also the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners, investing in and mentoring over 100 startups.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Josh-Linkner

 

Diana Kander – Entrepreneur, Author, and Speaker on Innovation

Diana Kander’s family escaped from the Soviet Union when she was 8-years-old. By the time she was an American citizen, she had perfected her skills as a capitalist – selling flea market goods to grade school classmates at a markup. Today, Diana is a successful entrepreneur, having founded and sold a number of ventures, a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri and a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the largest non-profit in the world dedicated to entrepreneurship and education.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Diana-Kander

Nicholas J. Webb – Futurist, Expert on Innovation

Nicholas Webb is a number one best-selling author and is one of the most popular Innovation, Healthcare, Future-trends, and Customer Experience Speakers in the world. Unlike most Innovation Speakers who have never actually invented anything and have no real-world expertise in the area of Enterprise Innovation, Nicholas is a multi award-winning inventor of technologies ranging from one of the world’s smallest medical implants to a very successful line of educational and fitness products.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Nicholas-J.-Webb

 

To Learn more about these speakers contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]

Top 5 Inspirational Speakers

6 September 2017
Sweeney Agency
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Categories: Employees, General, Inspiration, Teamwork

Inspiration may mean different things to different people, but we can all use some to take our game to the next level. In the 15 years, we have spent researching and booking speakers, we have found that the most powerful inspirational Speakers share a common thread. The message and a story they deliver lasts long after they have they left the stage. Below are 5 of our most memorable Speakers on Inspiration.

Walter Bond

Walter Bond is Mr. Accountability because of his ability to inspire, engage and entertain audiences with his stories that will touch every emotion. He has catapulted as one of the world’s most preeminent thought leaders on personal and corporate accountability with a presentation style that is in a class all by itself.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/video.php?i=699

Nataly Kogan

Nataly Kogan is a former VC and the founder of Happier, a global technology and learning platform helping individuals and organizations to to realize full potential by adopting scientifically-proven practices that improve their well-being.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/video.php?i=1045

 

Eric Saperston

Eric Saperston is a critically acclaimed film director and producer, successful author, as well as an award-winning speaker and storyteller. He has been a featured guest on The Today Show, CNN, CNN Headline News, PBS and has been interviewed and published in The New York Times, Washington Post, and National Geographic.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/video.php?i=993

Leroy Chiao

A pioneer in the frontier of commercial space sector, former astronaut and International Space Station commander Leroy Chiao captivates audience with his amazing stories on space exploration and brings unparalleled insights on leadership, innovation and technology trends.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/video.php?i=955

 

Jim Abbott

Born without a right hand, Jim Abbott is a former MLB pitcher who led Team USA to a Gold Medal in the 1988 Olympics. He was an All-America hurler at Michigan and won the Sullivan Award in 1987.

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/video.php?i=1026 

 

To Learn more about these speakers contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]

 

 

 

10 Highest Rated Speakers on Achieving Peak Performance

18 April 2017
Blog Admin
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Categories: Employees, General, Inspiration, Motivation, Teamwork

Clients from every industry regularly ask us for Speakers who can inspire their teams to achieve peak performances.  Based on our research and client feedback, here are our highest rated speakers on peak performance.

Tom Flick – All-Pro Authority on Leadership, Leading Change and Increasing Performance

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Tom-Flick

Jenny Evans – Stress Resiliency Expert, Speaker & Author

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Jenny-Evans

Walter Bond – Mr. Accountability and Former NBA Athlete

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Walter-Bond

Brent Gleeson – Navy Seal Combat Veteran & Motivational Leadership Speaker

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Brent-Gleeson

Rick Searfoss – Astronaut and Speaker on Leadership and Teamwork

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Rick-Searfoss

Dan Waldschmidt – Runner & Best-selling Author and Speaker on Peak Performance and Sales

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Dan-Waldschmidt

Scott Welle – Speaker & Author on Peak Performance

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Scott-Welle

Mel Robbins – Award-Winning CNN Commentator, Co-Founder of Inspire52, and Motivational Speaker

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Mel-Robbins

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour – First African American Female Combat Pilot and Motivational Speaker

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Vernice-Armour

Stacy Allison – Author, Mountaineer and Speaker on Risk, Teamwork and Leadership

Profile & Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Stacy-Allison

 

 

 

 

10 Highest Rated New Speakers

9 March 2017
Blog Admin
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Categories: Communication, General, Inspiration, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Teamwork

We are constantly on the lookout for new Speakers and have reviewed over 12,000 in the 15 years we have been in business. Before we add any new Speaker to our site we review their references, check out their backgrounds, and make sure they have what it takes to deliver outstanding presentations for our clients. Here are our highest rated new Speakers of 2017:

  • Bill Taylor Co-founder of Fast Company Magazine, Best-selling Author and Speaker on Business Strategy & Growth 
  • Brent Gleeson Navy Seal Combat Veteran & Motivational Leadership Speaker 
  • Chad Hymas World-Class Wheelchair Athlete & Speaker on Overcoming Adversity
  • Nataly Kogan Happiness Expert, Venture Capitalist & Successful Tech Entrepreneur
  • Dr. Daniel Kraft Stanford and Harvard Trained Physician-scientist, Inventor and Entrepreneur
  • Kyle Maynard Mountaineer, Award-winning Extreme Athlete & Best-selling Author
  • Dambisa Moyo Global Economist & Distinguished Scholar
  • Erica Orange Leading Futurist & Speaker on Global Trends
  • Neil Pasricha Bestselling Author & Speaker on Leadership Development
  • Dr. Julie Williamson Thought Leader on Business Strategy & Growth

 

12 Highest Rated Women Speakers

22 February 2017
Blog Admin
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Categories: Communication, Employees, General, Inspiration, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Teamwork

The results are in! Each month, companies come to us asking for Women Speaker ideas on a variety of topics to help inspire, educate, and inform their audiences. We do the research and deliver specific Speaker suggestions that our clients can choose from. Based on their response, here are 12 of our highest rated Women Speakers:

Sally Hogshead on How Fascinating Companies Win the Moment

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Sally-Hogshead

Robyn Benincasa on Building World Class Teams

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Robyn-Benincasa

Reva Goujon on Geopolitical forecasting, short and long-term

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Reva-Goujon

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour on Breakthrough Mentality

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Vernice-Armour

Liz Wiseman on How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

Video:https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Liz-Wiseman

Polly LaBarre on Creating Innovative, and Inspiring Organizations

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Polly-LaBarre

Denise Lee Yohn on 7 Keys to Building a Great Brand

Video:https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Denise-Lee-Yohn

Mel Robbins on How Women Lead

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Mel-Robbins

Haiyan Wang on Getting China and India Right

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Haiyan-Wang

Dr. Janet Lapp on Leading Through Change

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Dr.-Janet-Lapp

Carol Kinsey Goman on The Power of Collaborative Leadership

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Carol-Kinsey-Goman

Marilyn Tam on Women in the Workplace and Marketplace

Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Marilyn-Tam

10 Highest Rated Inspirational Speakers for Business

8 February 2017
Blog Admin
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Categories: Employees, Inspiration, Leadership, Management

Clients regularly ask us for Speakers that will inspire their audiences with stories of courage, bravery and over-coming adversity. Based on feedback and reviews from our clients here are the 10 highest rated Inspiring Speakers:

Commander Mike Abrashoff on It’s Your Ship

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Mike-Abrashoff

Yossi Ghinsberg on The Power to Survive

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Yossi-Ghinsberg

Marilyn Tam on The Happiness Choice

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Marilyn-Tam

Captain Larry Brudnicki on Courage in a Perfect Storm

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Captain-Larry-Brudnicki

Astronaut Mike Mullane on Countdown to Liftoff

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Mike-Mullane

Olympian Vince Poscente on Life in the Fast Lane

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Vince-Poscente

Mountaineer Stacy Allison on Reaching New Heights

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Stacy-Allison

Chad Hymas on Success and The Bird Next Door

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Chad-Hymas

Fighter Pilot Vernice Armour on Zero to Breakthrough

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Vernice-Armour

Firefighter Robyn Benincasa on How Winners Win

https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/Robyn-Benincasa