Keynote or Executive Strategy Day.
The Michelangelo Principle
Keynote & Executive Strategy Day
Why Bring It In:
When complexity balloons, most organizations react by adding more—more meetings, reports, and projects. Instead, like Michelangelo chipping away marble to reveal David, Strategic Reset removes the excess. It carves out the noise and inertia so your best ideas can finally stand out.
Signature Keynote (60–75 min):
A sharp, story-driven jolt that reframes the idea that “busy = progress”. Your audience leaves energized, armed with three specific things to stop doing immediately. Ideal when: you need a high-voltage opener or closer that pushes people past old habits and excuses.
Executive Strategy Day (1 day, on or off site):
A deep-dive working session with your top team. Together, we map out the top layers of strategic drag, identify what to quit or simplify, and draft a 90-day Strategic Subtraction agenda the board will applaud. Ideal when: the senior team must align quickly around fewer, better priorities during a turbulence, merger, or major reset.
Concrete outcomes and tools to sustain momentum:
Clarity Map
A clear picture of where complexity is hiding in your organization, and how to carve it out.
Subtraction Toolbox
Techniques and checks for strategic quitting (e.g. a “Valley of Death” project check and a friction audit template).
90-Day Focus List
A one-page action plan: three initiatives to double down on, three to pause, and three to eliminate immediately.
Best for audiences who:
- Are ready to stop mistaking motion for progress, at any level of the organization
- Need a jolt that reframes old habits before a conference, offsite, or team kickoff
- Believe that doing less — but doing it better — beats tackling everything with ordinary results
Best for leaders who:
- Are steering through turbulence, a post-merger integration, or a major strategic pivot that requires rapid refocus
- Feel that strategy execution is grinding under its own weight of initiatives and bureaucracy
- Need their senior team aligned quickly around fewer, better priorities
See Paul in Action
Explore the thinking behind Strategic Subtraction and watch how Paul engages, challenges, and inspires audiences worldwide.
TEDx Talk: Why the Majority Is Always Wrong
The global introduction to Strategic Subtraction. In this provocative talk, Paul explains why following the herd leads to mediocrity—and how the leaders who remove what doesn’t matter consistently outperform.
TEDx Talk: Strategic Quitting
One of the most powerful tools in Paul’s approach. This talk explores how subtraction—through quitting strategically—can unlock peak performance in business, leadership, and life.
Full Keynote: Strategic Leadership in Practice
A live keynote delivered to a senior executive audience. This session brings Paul’s ideas to life in the context of real leadership challenges—and shows how Strategic Subtraction shifts the way leaders think, decide, and execute.
Book Paul to Speak
For keynote bookings or to explore availability for your next event:
Ready to eliminate complexity and accelerate performance?
Let’s explore if Strategic Subtraction is the right fit for your leadership challenge.