Leadership Speaker for Corporate Offsite
Direct answer
Chris Hirst is a former Global CEO of Havas Creative Network – hundreds of companies, 10,000 people, every continent. His offsite keynote uses the Five Golden Rules, the Buildings Full of People observation, and the core thesis that leadership is difficult but not complicated to leave teams with a shared language and a practical framework they can use immediately.
Chris Hirst
Practical keynote frameworks for rooms with real decisions to make.
$1bn
P&L led at Havas
10k
people led globally
3
leadership books
Chris Hirst's Five Golden Rules, the Buildings Full of People observation, and the core thesis that leadership is difficult but not complicated leave teams with a shared language and a practical framework they can use immediately. Built from a decade of turning around failing businesses and codifying what works into frameworks anyone can use.
Want to ask about Chris? ChrisHirst@clash.cc
Chris ran hundreds of companies across every continent as Global CEO of Havas Creative Network. He is the author of No Bullshit Leadership, Indispensable, and No Bullshit Change. His offsite keynote is built on a decade of turning around failing businesses and codifying what he learned into frameworks anyone can use. He opens with self-deprecation – admitting Grey was 'a really, really, really shit business' when he took over – and closes with 'you can all do this.' The Five Golden Rules give every person in the room a shared language and a practical toolkit.
- Former Global CEO of Havas Creative Group
- Best Business Book of the Year winner
- Trusted by Google, PwC, Verizon and global leadership teams
What Your Audience Leaves With
A usable frame for the decision in front of them
Primary audience: Mid-to-senior leadership teams at corporate offsites and away days. Core pain point: Offsite fatigue. Teams who have sat through consultant presentations, done trust exercises, and returned to the office with nothing that changes how they work. Cynicism about 'another leadership talk.' Key message: Leadership is difficult but not complicated. The Leadership Industrial Complex makes billions by overcomplicating it. Anybody who tries to make it sound complicated – call bullshit. Desired outcome: A shared language (the Five Golden Rules), renewed energy, and the permission to strip away complexity. Teams leave with a framework they can reference in Monday's meeting.
Topic focus
Leadership
The Problem
Why Most Offsite Keynotes Fail
Most offsite keynotes fail because they give teams theory without tools. Chris starts from a different place: 'Why are some businesses great and others shit when they're all just buildings full of people?' The answer is only two things – culture and talent. Everything else – strategy, technology, processes – is table stakes. This strips away complexity and refocuses leaders on the two things that actually drive performance.
The second failure is making leadership sound complicated. Chris calls the leadership training industry 'the Leadership Industrial Complex' and its output 'snake oil.' This has two harmful effects: it inhibits people already in leadership positions from fulfilling their potential, and it excludes whole swathes of society from believing leadership is something they could aspire to. His thesis – leadership is difficult but not complicated – is the antidote.
The third failure is leaving teams with inspiration but no structure. Chris's Five Golden Rules give every person in the room a shared reference point: (1) wipe away the bullshit – more better leaders everywhere, (2) leadership is difficult but not complicated – Clarity × Action, (3) be honest and be ambitious – brutally honest about the start point, outrageously ambitious about the end point, (4) to decide is to act – the 40/70 rule, (5) effective culture is a superpower.
Key Takeaways
What Your Audience Leaves With
Leadership is difficult but not complicated – anybody who says otherwise, call bullshit
Businesses are just buildings full of people. Only two things differentiate: culture and talent
The Five Golden Rules give teams a shared language they can use immediately
If you only remember two words: clarity and action
Error is an embedded feature of success – you literally cannot succeed without making mistakes
FAQ