Cheryl Cran

Cheryl Cran is the founder of NextMapping™/NextMapping.com and the CEO of parent company Synthesis at Work Inc.

Recognized as the #1 Future of Work influencer by Onalytica, and author of 9 books including the 2nd edition of “NextMapping – Anticipate, Navigate & Create The Future of Work” with companion workbook.

Other book titles include “The Art of Change Leadership – Driving Transformation In a Fast-Paced World” (Wiley 2015), “101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work” (2010) and 4 other books on the ultimate leadership skills needed to be future of work ready.

Cheryl’s future of work thought leadership has been featured in publications such as Huff Post, Forbes, IABC Magazine, Law Magazine, Metro New York, Entrepreneur Magazine, Readers Digest, CBS Online, NBC Online, Fox Online and more.

For over two decades Cheryl has built a reputation for delivering extraordinary value to clients that include AT&T, Bell Mobility, Omnitel, Gartner, British Telcomm, Manulife, as well as mid-sized companies and entrepreneurs in industries that include technology, health, agriculture, finance, insurance and more.

NextMapping™ was developed as a proprietary business solution brand that encompasses all of Cheryl’s work and research on the future of work and the leadership needed to navigate change in the workplace. It’s time to not just hear about the future but to use NextMapping™ to get there! Technology in the workplace must be used to prepare for the future with a focus on how technology can enhance outcomes for people.

The common theme of all of Cheryl’s life’s work is a ‘people first’ and digital second approach to create a more human future, helping companies to build the leadership capacity needed to ‘change the world through business.’

Topics with Takeaways:

The Future of Leadership

Inspiration, insights and models on how to be a future ready leader

Never before have workplaces had so much ambiguity, uncertainty and constant change. Workers are challenged with doing more with less, learning at the speed of disruption and working with diverse situations. There is a massive opportunity for leaders to create the future for themselves and their teams.

With the increase of digital transformation, there is a calling for leaders to be connected, empathetic and inspiring for their teams.

Attendees will leave this session with:

• The most recent and up to date research on the future workplace and what it means for leaders today
• Statistics and sentiment analysis on worker attitudes and what workers want today and in the future from their leaders
• Leadership models on the ‘me to we’ mindset and mapping the future of the leadership journey
• Tips and strategies on how to leverage leadership mastery to increase the attraction and retention of top talent
• Inspiring ideas that can be put into immediate action to increase employee motivation and engagement
• Practical daily actions to help leaders feel energized and to help their teams to be inspired and excited to create the future of work

The Future of Work Is Now – Are You Ready?

Trends, insights and research on the Future of Work

Employee engagement, creating future ready leaders, attracting and retaining top talent are all elements that are rapidly changing and impacting the way we work and how we need to change to meet the challenges of the future workplace today.

This keynote will provide researched global business insights, thought provoking, creative, leading edge ideas and strategies on how leaders can take immediate action to increase team buy in, adaptability and execution NOW as we head towards 2030.

Attendees will leave this session with:

• A look at the trends and technologies shaping the future workplace today
• Ideas for leaders and their teams to adapt their personality style and leadership style to the fast changing workplace“How” to successfully work with and engage the multiple generations in the workplace
• Insights into how leaders need to adapt to the ever-changing reality of worker attitudes and shifting attitudes on loyalty, job satisfaction and how work is done
• Mindset model on how to navigate fast pace of change as we head to future of work
• Research on the multiple intelligences needed to navigate the future of work
• Case studies and examples of progressive companies and leaders on the leading edge of creating innovative future ready workplaces
• Strategies on how to get everyone on board with the overall future vision, build excitement for the company’s direction and create commitment and buy-in to taking action today and for the future.

The Best Way to Create the Future is to Map It.

Map your future with creativity and agility

Many disruptions including government shifts, global disasters, mergers and acquisitions, artificial intelligence, robotics, and changing worker attitudes is causing the need for leaders to be able to map the future of work for their company and for their teams.

The type of leadership that is needed during these fast-paced times is the ability to flex in times of flux. Agility, adaptability and innovation are key attributes that will help leaders to drive the change and transformation needed to get to the future of work.

This future of work keynote provides insights into the future of work and strategies to proactively map the future as a leader. Dynamic ideas and creative approaches to help build future ready leadership that drives transformation towards the future of work.

Attendees will leave this session with:

• Insights on the impact of AI and robotics on your industry locally and globally
• A bi-modal model on how to leverage the best of what’s working now with data from future trends research
• Case studies of organizations that have successfully mapped their future by being on top of trends and future of work
• How to harness the ‘people first’ principle of future workplaces and a look at leaders who have leveraged technology to enable extraordinary value for clients and employee experience
• A ‘what needs to change’ and ‘what will never change’ checklist to help prioritize strategic actions towards future of workInspiration, ideas and a ‘map’ of the future for self/teams/business that can be put into practical application right awayNextMapping™ model and steps to create your future for self/business

Future Ready Teams – How to Create Agile, Adaptable & Innovative Teams

Agile, flexible and innovative teams are the Future of Work

This future of teams’ keynote provides dynamic insights into the future of teams and how team structure is morphing to meet the real-time disruptions and demands of fast changing world. Research shows that small teams with highly motivated and engaged individuals are able to innovate and execute very quickly. The impact on business with high performing teams is faster ideas to market, nimble solutions for client experience and ultimately competitive advantage.

Attendees will leave this session with:

• The latest research on team dynamics needed for future of work
• Statistics and data on the best future of work structure of a team, the best mix of personalities, aptitudes and more
• Strategies for team members to build a ‘me to we’ future of work attitude
• A mindset model on how to shift towards a ‘shared leadership’ team culture
• Ideas on how to cross collaborate, break down silos and innovate across the businessHow to create agile, adaptable and innovative teams
• Inspiration and plans to ‘map out’ what’s next for your teams to be future of work ready

The Future of Attracting & Keeping Top Talent

Trends, case studies, and creative ideas on recruiting and retaining talent

Fortune 500 CEO’s surveyed state that even with the age of robotics they are planning to continue to seek and hire talented people well into 2020 and beyond. The competition for attracting top talent is increasing, and as quickly as people are being hired and trained in other industries are approaching and poaching talent. In addition the increase in freelance and entrepreneur opportunities for millennials is making the talent search even more challenging.

What can companies do? What do leaders need to do to win the war for talent?

In this keynote, you will learn how to map out a strategy and plan on how to attract top talent and how to retain them for longer than average time frames.

Attendees will leave this session with:

• The latest research for your industry on future trends regarding attracting and retaining top talent
• Insights into current reality of finding and keeping good people the stats and the best practices
• Innovative ideas on finding the right people that are suited for your industry
• Creative ideas and examples from global companies winning the war for talent
• The top ten ‘attractors’ of what top talent want when looking to work for a company
• How to be a company that ‘attracts’ talent, including having transformational leaders and creating a culture that focuses on shared leadership
• The number one reason people leave an employer and how to fix itA greater understanding of why investing in recruiting alone is a no-win approach
• Creative solutions that you can put into place right away to increase your wins in attracting and keeping top talent

The Art of Change Leadership – Driving Transformation In a Fast Paced World

Increasing fast pace of change requires a culture where everyone is a change leader

Everyone in the workplace is working in times of intense technological innovation and dealing with ongoing rapid change and disruptions. The key is how to inspire and engage everyone to be ‘leaders of change’ and to dynamically increase innovation, collaboration and success for everyone in the company and for the business overall. This keynote focuses on how each individual can harness their own inner abilities to lead change and personal leadership in a positive and proactive way. This keynote is based on Cheryl’s book “The Art of Change Leadership” (Wiley 2015)

Attendees will leave this session with:

• Further insight into how is fast change is impacting the speed of work and how we as leaders need to build adaptability to the new reality
• A shifted perspective on how we as individuals can harness positive stress and leverage time in an increasingly fast-paced work environment
• A clear understanding of how each generation views change, deals with change and strategies to improve change responses and actions
• The change cycle and how to use this model to lead change for self and for others
• Insight into their own personal change behaviors and tools to leverage their individual ability to adapt more quickly to ongoing change with a positive approach
• Tools to lead change with multiple perspectives including emotional intelligence, generation intelligence and energetic intelligence
• A change leadership ‘next map’ that will outline your next steps to creating the future that you want to create