Desi Williamson

• Licensed alcohol and drug counselor at Univ. of Minnesota Medical Center
• 20 years as corporate sales and marketing executive
• Successful real estate entrepreneur and restaurant franchise owner
• Former motivational coach for NFL Minnesota Vikings
• Author of Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way and Get off Your Assets
• Member of Speaker Hall of Fame and Certified Speaking Professional
• Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Desi Williamson (Dezi Williamson)
Dare to lead: Transform Your Business & Your Life
How to develop more daring leaders and courageous cultures.

No doubt we’re living in some turbulent times and that is why we must continuously reorganize, retool and rebuild our lives and businesses from the inside out. We must understand that where there are problems there is also opportunity.  This requires daring, wholehearted leaders creating courageous cultures that allow people to thrive.

Desi Williamson brings more than forty years of business experience working with Fortune 500 companies, associations and civic organizations. He now combines that experience with Brené Brown’s twenty years of research and her work in Dare to Lead, helping organizations grow from where they are, to where they aspire to be.

Dare to Lead teaches us that courage is a skill set that is 100% observable, teachable and measurable. This skill set impacts how you show up as a leader and how well your team performs.

In this high impact keynote, Hall of Fame Speaker, Desi Williamson uses research, stories and examples to share the following concepts:

• The skills needed for having tough conversations that can create a culture of change and transformation.
• The difference between armored and daring leadership traits that either choke innovation or spark creativity.
• The skills for creating values-driven culture that allows people to flourish.
• The essential importance of trust and why is important to creating a courageous culture.
• The ability to rise up after disappointment and failure and use those experiences to create a stronger culture of accountability and resiliency.

“This being our first member luncheon of the year, we wanted to find a dynamic and motivating speaker that would entertain and captivate our audience. And Mr. Impact, you ABSOLUTELY fit that bill. Your speech was entertaining and inspiring and presented with spirit and passion. We have received nothing but positive comments from our members, so I would say that your presentation absolutely made an impact that will not soon be forgotten.”
Houston Automobile Dealers Association

“Desi’s specific message to our Minnesota Vikings team is far and away the best I’ve heard in my 30 years of coaching! He has a compelling life story which he’s able to make come to life as he builds it around team, family, values and goals. His delivery had 61 professional athletes and coaches (a tough crowd) riveted. The greatest part of his talk was relating to the group with interaction and research that he only could have known by doing an extraordinary amount of detailed homework. Desi pulled a group of young, rich guys with big egos together with a unified message of how to live their day to day lives ‘with impact.’ We will attempt to have Desi as an integral part of our future at the Minnesota Vikings for as long as we can retain his services. SIMPLY THE BEST!” 
Minnesota Vikings

"I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it was to meet you last week and to have you close our Future Connect Conference on such a high note. You did a great job and people loved your presentation! I hope we have the opportunity to work together again. And based on the people clamoring around you afterwards, I expect you'll be getting some repeat business in the supermarket industry! Desi, again it was just a pleasure to work with you and I hope to see you when I'm in Minneapolis, AND to work with you again sometime! I'd be happy to serve as a reference should you need it."
Food Marketing Institute

“Thank you for delivering a spectacular Closing Keynote presentation at the Houston HR Leadership Summit. The responses have been overwhelmingly great! Your ability to engage the audience and keep their attention for the entire time speaks louder than words. I kept my eye on the audience – they were spell-bound with smiles on their faces. Your personality, passion, humor, lessons and coaching was certainly refreshing during these times in which we’re all experiencing. Your message integrated seamlessly with the skills and the experience of the audience.”
Houston HR Leadership Summit

“From our initial meeting, I was aware of Desi’s authenticity and quickly learned his life’s passions. He shared personal and inspiring examples that were real and tangible, and he took the time to learn as much as he could about our business and presentation goals. Whenever he had questions or suggestions prior to the Summit event, he didn’t hesitate to reach out and contact us. Desi’s delivery at the Leadership Summit was exceptional and nothing short of entertaining. He utilized props, video clips, humor, music and pictures to engage the audience in his powerful performance. His stories and learned lessons were practical ideas and things that the audience could relate to. Desi demonstrated how to inspire greatness within oneself and with others and also shared how to positively manage change. I highly recommend Desi and believe he exhibits many of the qualities that are essential to delivering powerful presentations.”
Wells Fargo & Company