Will Samson
What I speak about ...
I was a success … until I wasn’t. I was a sought-after change management specialist, guiding large organizations through significant transitions. I earned a PhD and helped shape the minds of students who are now in the market making a difference of their own. Then it all fell apart. And I had to practice what I had always preached … we can’t succeed alone, but together we can thrive. I’d love to provide you with practical ideas to inspire community solutions to big problems.
Click on the microphone to the left to see clips from previous speeches.
About
Will Samson
Will Samson works with C-Suite executives, college students and community activists. As VP of Strategic Growth and Change at Inzet, a coaching and consulting firm in the Washington, DC area, his goal is to guide people and organizations toward a new way of understanding the world … a world in need of interdependence and community action. Will earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of Kentucky. His research on community has been published by Oxford University Press. But so much more than an academic, his activism has given Will a perspective and a passion for healing and growing the world with real world solutions. And his personal struggles give Will a connection to audiences searching for authenticity and vulnerability.
Talks
You Can’t
Succeed Alone
You Can’t Succeed Alone
You can’t succeed alone, but you can thrive together. I had to learn this lesson the hard way when my life fell apart. I was able to rebuild and grow by practicing what I had preached, which is that we succeed by creating networks of opportunity for each other. I demonstrated that we can thrive together, but we fail alone. In this talk I discussed my journey back toward wholeness, and I provide important lessons and real world solutions for the deep problems that plague us and our communities.
Click on the image above to see a version of this talk.
3 Business Transformations
Transforming for the World That Is
In my consulting and coaching I guide companies and organizations that are trying to understand how to navigate today’s complex market environment. What’s the biggest barrier to their success? They continue to equip themselves with analog products and ideas in a digital and networked world. In this talk I help you understand three major transitions your organization needs to make:
- From leadership to “contributorship,”
- From traditional management to design thinking and
- From pure profit to a sense of purpose that springs from balance between people, profits and social impact.
Click on the image above to see a version of this talk.
Design Your Life for the Unexpected
Design Your Life for the Unexpected
As a professor and teacher, I interact with students regularly. And the biggest concern I hear is about uncertainty: As we come out of a global pandemic, and as we deal with major cultural shifts, how can we design a life for a future that is increasingly uncertain? In this talk, I cover three ideas:
- Why the 5 people closest to you will determine almost every aspect of your life (so choose carefully);
- Why you should take that course in underwater basket weaving (hint: it will be your superpower); and
- Why attitudes are skills (and why they are so hard to learn).
