John Amatt

An educator by training, John uses the lessons learned from his own life and death adventures in the world’s most remote places to articulate down-to-earth strategies for meeting the challenges of challenging times. He uses his amazing storytelling ability and the power of metaphor to address the themes of goals and expectations, risk and adventure, embracing fear and anxiety, the value of commitment, and many more.

In his acclaimed keynote presentations, he uses the power of metaphor and storytelling.

An abbreviated version of John Amatt’s renowned No Mountain Too High motivational keynote presentation, The Danger of Complacency is designed to highlight the risks inherent in falling into the trap of complacency in everyday life. It has been presented with success at safety events of organizations such as construction and resource development companies, engineering partnerships and municipal governments.

The Danger of Complacency highlights the fact that human beings are inherently creatures of habit, who prefer to cling to the ‘status quo’ of the past, rather than seeking out new and better ways of operating in the challenging world of the workplace. John believes that the key to success in times of economic and social change is always to ask the question … “WHY?” … not automatically accepting today’s norms but believing that better is always possible in the future.

Using dramatic stories from his lifetime of adventure, including his leadership of Canada’s first successful Mount Everest ascent, John uses the power of metaphor to illustrate that complacency is the greatest danger in life and that taking carefully considered risk is vital to progress as the workplace evolves around us. He maintains that a philosophy of “Positive Dissatisfaction” will shake us out of this complacency, always being ‘dissatisfied’ with our day-to-day performance, but in a ‘positive’ way, continuously seeking out improvement.

Change is inevitable … and increasing! Rapid and radical change is the primary challenge facing corporations and professionals today. We cannot stop this change, nor can we ignore it. But we can increase our ability to adapt, to manage change effectively, and to benefit from the numerous opportunities that change creates. In these rapidly -changing times, the metaphor of adventure is the perfect vehicle for articulating the strategy that will help us address this challenge.

By definition, adventure involves dealing with the uncertain, the unpredictable and the unknown, just as change involves moving towards a future in which there are no guarantees. To succeed in the uncertain world of the 1990’s and the 21st century, we must learn to embrace change, and to become visionary and adventurous in dealing with the economic, social, and political environments in which we must all operate. Straight to the Top and Beyond will motivate your staff to embrace new opportunities in a changing world, to open up their minds to new realities, and to develop the “Adventure Attitude”™ strategies that will be the key to success in the future.

John Amatt’s most popular presentation, the highly innovative and inspirational ‘Climbing Your Own Everest’ explores the metaphor of striving to reach the top of the world. Illustrated by magnificent colour photography from his successful expedition which climbed Everest, and supplemented by music, sound effects, and taped radio conversations, this presentation investigates the qualities we must all bring to bear in climbing to the top in the difficult and unpredictable economic environments of the 1990’s.

By drawing the analogy between the challenge of climbing to the top of the world and the equal challenge of “Climbing Your Own Everest” in a personal and professional sense, this presentation lends special focus to the challenges facing us all in the future. Speaker support for this presentation is available in wide screen, nine projector format, as well as single screen, two projector dissolve.

Designed as an in-house program, this thought-provoking seminar has also been effectively integrated into annual meetings or conventions.

Areas of focus include: The Mountain of Challenge; The Age of Discovery; Seven C’s for Success; What it Takes to Get to the Top; Living the Adventure; Global Leadership; and Journey Towards the Next Millennium.

Meeting the Challenge of Change will motivate your staff to embrace new opportunities in a changing world, to open their minds to new realities, and to develop the “Adventure Attitude “strategies that will be the key to success in the future.