Marc Lesser’s Leadership Keynote Presentations
teach teams and leaders how to:

BUILD

authentic communication
and engagement

CULTIVATE

emotional intelligence
among individuals and
teams

ENHANCE

productivity and
creative thinking

Marc Lesser integrates the vision, drive, and focus of a seasoned CEO with the wisdom, integrity, and spontaneity of a Zen teacher. As a business leader, executive coach, storyteller, and visionary, his power, presence, and ability to deeply touch the lives of his audience comes from founding and leading several companies, a 30-year daily meditation practice, and from living in (and managing) a Zen monastery.

Marc was co-founder and CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute and on the team that developed the “Search Inside Yourself” program within Google. He has led multi-day trainings at Google, SAP, Disney, Genentech, and Fortune 500 companies throughout the world.

He was also the founder and CEO for 15 years of Brush Dance, a successful, highly acclaimed publishing company with world-wide distribution.

Marc has an MBA degree from New York University and is the author of 4 books, including Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader: Lessons from Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen, and Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less.

All of us are leaders in one way or another.
Marc Lesser applies the power of mindfulness and
compassion to guiding and bringing the best out of others.

– Rick Hanson, Ph.D.,

author of Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness

For leaders of organizations large or small, Marc Lesser offers a wise and practical approach for fostering a healthy, dignified workplace and inspiring the very best in others.

— Michael Carroll,

author of The Mindful Leader and Fearless at Work

A lifetime of experience in both business and spiritual practice environments has afforded Marc Lesser a deft way of explaining how and why living with more heart promotes effective leadership.

— Norman Fischer, Zen priest,

poet, author of The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path

Marc’s deep wisdom, practical knowledge, and love for mindfulness applied in profound and yet practical ways shines through.

— Peter Bostelmann,

Director, SAP Global Mindfulness Practice

Marc brings ancient Zen wisdom into our modern day boardroom. The practices he introduces provide a clear pathway towards bringing more of our best human selves into our day to day leadership.

— Rasmus Hougaard,

Founder and CEO of Potential Project and author of The Mind of the Leader

Marc has built an everyday bridge to mindfulness for all leaders who want to be more aware in their daily lives.

— Scott Kriens,

co-founder, 1440 Multiversity

Marc Lesser offers a wonderful explanation of what mindfulness practice is, covering the skills to cultivate compassion and empathy, clarity and self-awareness, and a deeper connection to one’s neighbor.

— Sharon Salzberg,

author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

The Presentations

Presentations include:

 

  • Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader

    What would your work and your life look like if you knew how to stay focused yet flexible, if you got more of the right things done, and if you were helping to create a more peaceful world at the same time? Learn the 7 simple yet profound practices that shift awareness, enhance communication, build trust, eliminate fear and self-doubt, and cut down on unnecessary workplace drama.

  • Accomplishing More By Doing Less

    Learn how to find composure in the midst of activity. The ideas and practices addressed in this talk offer a radical yet simple approach to transforming a work environment and lifestyle based on endless to-do lists into a more meaningful approach that is truly more productive in every sense.

  • Thriving In Uncertainty; Skillfully Managing Change

    Transform the way that you understand and experience change. Develop greater self-awareness, calm, and resilience, shifting habits and patterns of reacting in negative and unhelpful ways. Learn to not be driven by fear, or by grasping at success or pushing away the unknown.

  • Leadership Presence: Inspiring and Empowering Others

    Leadership can be challenging, especially in today’s fast-paced, globalized world. Leaders with a strong capacity for self-awareness and emotional intelligence, as well as a willingness to be courageous, vulnerable, and inspire others in a genuine way, have a distinct advantage.

Marc Lesser is a dynamic and engaging speaker. He integrates hands-on practical insights, with powerful and humorous stories, offering a perspective of depth, compassion, and embodied success. Marc brings a refreshing, surprising, and quietly astonishing new light to the assumptions of business, challenging us to change the rules and enliven our work using empirically-based practices and observations so that we may see ourselves, our work, and our lives through more expansive, appreciative eyes.