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Workshop and Interactive Training Topics


2025-26 INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP THEMES

  1. RISK FINGERPRINT FORENSICS

  2. GRAY RHINO PROOFING YOUR ORGANIZATION

  3. RISK AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

All topics are available in various formats, virtual or in person: 
Interactive Workshop versions (90 minutes to full-day, depending on your needs)
Board Retreat (1 hour to half-day)  
Executive Education (90 minutes to full-day)

RISK FINGERPRINT FORENSICS: A New Way to Think about Uncertainty and Change
“This was one of our BEST sessions. Michele was amazing, personable and engaging. The topic was so apt especially with the ever-changing environment around us.” –Corporate Client 

Is sitting still or making a bold move the bigger risk in business and life? Do you see opportunity where a colleague sees danger or vice versa? Do you look before you leap or just take the plunge? When you see an obvious problem, do you face it head on or do your best to ignore it? These questions shape every choice you make and every risk you take and identify you as distinctively as a fingerprint. Recognizing why you answer them the way you do can help you to make better decisions in your career and life. Understanding how those around you see and respond to risk will help you to better connect with your clients and collaborate with colleagues.

In this talk, you will learn about some of the surprising reasons —like what you had for lunch or the mix of people in the room— that affect how people see and respond to the risks around us, and put that knowledge to work for you. Recognize how risk stereotypes can trip you up. Understand the feedback loop between your personality and habits, your workplace culture, and the risks you can and cannot control. Finally, learn how to build on your strengths and when to turn to others to optimize your risk relationship. MORE DETAILS HERE

GRAY RHINO PROOFING YOUR ORGANIZATION

(Customized to Your Industry or Firm)
(Can be adapted for virtual breakout sessions, read-out, and follow-up)
Gray Rhino events are highly probable, give clear warnings and have high impact. Yet all too often, leaders fail to plan for, recognize, or respond to obvious dangers, whether personal, organizational, civic, or global. Successful organizations identify and confront Gray Rhino threats instead of letting themselves be trampled.

Michele’s provocative talk lays out a framework for recognizing Gray Rhinos and the pitfalls and opportunities at each of their five stages, from denial to action –not just to avoid highly obvious dangers, but to see opportunities where others do not. She customizes each talk to your industry or organization’s needs. In the workshop version, she applies her five-stage gray rhino analytical framework to facilitate reflections and conversations leading to actionable strategies that turn challenges into opportunities.

Recent topics have included climate change, industry disruptions, re-skilling, and personal leadership development. MORE DETAILS HERE

RISK SKILLS IN THE FUTURE OF WORK

In a world made more uncertain by the advance of new technologies, automation, and artificial intelligence, combined with sudden shocks like pandemics and extreme weather, the most essential skills involve your ability to manage risks and navigate uncertainty. How will jobs and the workplace transform -and what do you need to do to be ready? 

As technology takes over more takes and re-shapes the workplace, the most successful careers will involve the kinds of skills that humans possess but machines do not: strategy, empathy, teamwork, and creativity. Every single one of these is tied closely to how we view risk. Creativity and innovation are closely tied to how well a person tolerates uncertainty and ambiguity. Risk-reward calculations are central to forming strategies and making good decisions. We need empathy to understand how employees and team members feel about risk, and thus to make sure that their different profiles strengthen the team instead of feeding conflicts.

Businesses must adapt to disruption or perish; policy makers must provide an ecosystem to ease a difficult transition; and workers must develop new skills. As “gig economy” platforms increase the number of people working for themselves increases, definitions of career and HR risks are changing. Are companies responding in smart ways?
MORE DETAILS HERE