Jeff Ponders II

Business. Performance. Powered by Jazz.

Nancy's Note:

“His delivery is a smooth as a saxaphone, as invigorating as a choir, as enlightening as a crystal clear note. When he speaks, Jeff brings a symphonic experience to his audiences unlike no other, infusing his principles for strategic performance, creativity and innovation. Be prepared to be transformed!"

PROFILE Jeff Ponders

Jeff Ponders II

Business. Performance. Powered by Jazz.

Nancy’s Note
“His delivery is a smooth as a saxaphone, as invigorating as a choir, as enlightening as a crystal clear note. When he speaks, Jeff brings a symphonic experience to his audiences unlike no other, infusing his principles for strategic performance, creativity and innovation. Be prepared to be transformed!”
PROFILE Jeff Ponders

Jeff Ponders II

Business. Performance. Powered by Jazz.

Nancy’s Note
“His delivery is a smooth as a saxaphone, as invigorating as a choir, as enlightening as a crystal clear note. When he speaks, Jeff brings a symphonic experience to his audiences unlike no other, infusing his principles for strategic performance, creativity and innovation. Be prepared to be transformed!”

Expertise

Creativity, Innovation, Performance, Teamwork, Personal Development, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Overcoming Challenges

Travels From

Detroit, Michigan

Speaking Style

High Energy, Entertaining, Inspiring

About Jeff...

This two-time tech startup founder and accomplished Jazz Musician teaches how to access your inner genius to be “Better” in all areas of life and work.

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Presentation Topics

Based on Jeff Ponders’ book “Better,” Becoming Better is a transformative keynote experience chronicling the process to create a brighter future from the inside out. Jeff shares his personal story, from success to failure and back again, rooted in persevering through imposter syndrome to walking fully in authenticity.

Attendees will learn tools to not only help their constituents gain greater control over their lives, but to connect with their own individual superpowers to bring unique innovation to their teams, clients, and their communities.

Key Takeaways:

• How to break free from “how we’ve always done it”
• 3 steps to reconcile the past, persevere through present challenges, and create a brighter future.
• How to leverage passion to activate personal genius and create greater impact.

In today’s hyper-competitive business climate, professionals from all industries are forced to dig through the crates in search of insights to outshine the competition. Everyone wants to deliver winning performances, yet most professionals spend their time focused on day-to-day tasks and don’t invest in developing the skills and tools to win. Fact is, you can’t do better until you are better.

Jazz masters understand that focused practice, collaborative rehearsal, and empathetic audience engagement are the keys to personal growth, collaborative creativity, and better performance.

In this engaging keynote, Jeff Ponders will share lessons from his experiences as an entrepreneur, corporate executive, and professional jazz saxophonist to help your team develop their unique voice, enhance their skills, and outperform the competition.

Takeaways:

• The proven 3 stage process of jazz masters to deliver riveting performances.
• How to leverage your personal passions for professional success.
• How to improvise to overcome failure.
• key secrets from jazz masters to unlock better performance.

Jazz musicians never fail. Despite facing challenges every day like most professionals, they are trained to leverage the art of improvisation to turn seemingly inevitable calamity into breathtaking performances.

Pulling from his experience of more than twenty years as a professional jazz musician, Jeff will break down the secrets of jazz improv to help organizations break free from “how we’ve always done it.”

Your leaders will be empowered to meet critical challenges with creativity, confidence, and style to create memorable moments and successful, sustainable performance.

Takeaways:

• Understand improvisation as a learned, disciplined skill.
• Build the muscles and instincts to improvise.
• How to listen to identify challenges and discover new pathways to success.
• Techniques to get in rhythm and find harmony with your team and customers.

Teamwork makes the dream work. But what happens when the dream becomes a nightmare? Complex dynamics, oversized egos, and misaligned objectives amongst teams can destroy morale, productivity, and profitability.

With experience ranging from Broadway to C-suite boardrooms, this interactive session with Jeff Ponders II will help teams learn to overcome internal conflict and competition to foster greater collaboration and co-creation. Jeff shares his lessons from the bandstand to help organizations evolve from behaving like big brands to big bands.

Takeaways:

• Identify your bandleader persona.
• Building the right band for the gig.
• Transform teams from collaborators to co-creators to unlock audacious creativity.
• Learn how to listen to grow, lead, and perform better.

Books