� Why this presentation? - Page 1

� Presentation abstract - Page 2

� More comprehensive overview - Page 3 – 8

� Speaker Bio – Estienne de Beer - Page 9 – 11

9 Reasons Why This Presentation Will Make Your Event Unforgettable

1. Inspirational angle from nature is delightfully original.

2. Invigorating wildlife theme-weaving translates into actionable insights for the workplace.

3. Tailor-made customization to fit your event theme.

4. Not a moment of boredom and a high level of audience interaction.

5. Seventy awe-inspiring wildlife photos including creatures never seen by most audiences.

6. Mind-blowing common sense, intellectually stimulating and breathtakingly emotional.

7. World-class motivational application for any type of workplace.

8. Popular across cultures with lots of clean humor.

9. Launching pad for networking, collaboration and diversity at any event.

Two video trailers to help you make up your mind

https://youtu.be/_Ce6vVoUAn0 (2 min) or https://youtu.be/YhayasEMr8s (5 min)

Inspirational leadership in the workplace is a healthy blend between people and business skills applied in such

a way to ensure success and wellness even in tough times. Those who embrace this approach will come out as

the champions. Organizations can learn from the meerkat’s awe-inspiring leadership ability to outsmart clever

rivals in an antagonistic environment.

Never more apt in these times where business competition has dramatically increased and the war for talent

and retention has become more intensified, inspirational leadership is more needed than ever. So, shape up

the leadership – meerkat style!

About this 1 hour motivational presentation…

For an hour, Estienne de Beer unlocks leadership applications with a great sense of urgency and abounding

humor. Organizational awareness is unleashed with exceptionally inspiring wildlife photographs of these

mammals’ masterminds. It incorporates attacking birds of prey and nocturnal burrowing creatures never seen

before by many people. This presentation packs loads more of the “leadership best practices” in the meerkat

“marketplace” and how they overcome their ever changing challenges. It will inspire your next conference,

executive meeting or corporate event to strive for more people-driven leadership and intelligent change. This

wildlife story is one of remarkable persistence, working together in a cooperative team, and a tried and tested

ability to lead, despite individual position in a “market” where lack of leadership results in death.

The most renown of the "Shy 5" animals, the meerkat's sustainable ability to lead effectively is based on five

explicit world-class leadership behaviors. These same "Shy 5" behavioral patterns are either positively evident,

or detrimentally lacking, in the organizations of today when it gets to distinguished leadership on all levels.

1. Leadership takes good old fashioned hard work

Leadership can simply not exist as a mere theoretical concept. It has to come alive through getting people to

follow because they want to and not because they are forced to.

Individuals who have a willing understanding of these dynamics are immediately better equipped to adopt

practical strategies to inspire others. They must take a strong measure of personal accountability for

embracing both people and results and this takes hard work. With the odds against them daily, meerkats forge

their territory in a 4 square miles sandy environment surrounded by jagged jaws and razor-sharp claws;

“bureaucracy”; “professional jealousy” and all degrees of disruption – making our corporate challenges

insubstantial compared to their day-by-day difficulties.

A typical day for meerkats is to hunt for food all day long in the blazing sun. In one morning a single meerkat

excavates up to 380 holes and can catch up to 25 items of prey in an hour – this in a volatile “market” with the

current state continuously being disrupted by nature. Despite these herculean efforts they don’t become so

focused on their “critical success factors” that “work-life balance” gets neglected. They do their best and then

they take a rest. By pacing themselves and resting after hours, their performance is always on the cutting edge.

2. Leadership takes rigorous personal development

A crucial leadership question should be asked. If leaders are not in touch with themselves, how can they be in

touch with the people they working with? Leaders can't be behaviorally sound if they are not conceptually

sound. Meerkats operate in a living learning organization and there is an endless cycle of coaching, feedback

and mentoring. They share the “key learnings” and tips and tricks of their industry with one another every day.

Through keen organizational alertness, meerkats watch and learn from every sight, sound and smell.

They even have a three month “induction course” for their “young professionals”, the pups and leadership

succession planning starts right away.

A strong case can be made that it is better to develop leaders ’inside out’ rather than ‘outside in’. Leaders

should get in touch with themselves before they attempt to lead others. The meerkat benchmark can inspire

an audience to see leadership as a common set of principals regardless of position or function in the

organization. Through the ongoing pursuit of learning and development, meerkats increase performance

dramatically. Pups learn the importance of leadership right from the start. They get innovative on the job

training which is hands-on (or rather claws-on) and this translates into unrelenting execution.

3. Leadership takes unshakable courage

Tough dilemmas facing today's workforce requires a variety of leadership skills. Meerkats face a side-by-side

battle for their “business” resources in a hostile marketplace. Their leadership forecast is always the same –

too little resources, lethal competition and forced transformation. They get attacked from the air, on the

ground and even under the ground. As a result of “industry” conditions which is fraught with poison, pitfalls

and parasites, the meerkats have to display daily leadership competency and can change direction, burrows or

territories in a heart’ beat.

Courage and versatility stimulates practical and innovative ways to handle some of the most challenging

responsibilities and Catch 22’s. Meerkats are little wild-life wizards when it gets to building a “sustainable

business” and they measure their leadership capability and “business” rivalry in the form of hawks, eagles,

owls, jackal, puff-adders, Cape Cobras, and so forth. They always have their “key performance indicators” in

place to break through organizational and “industry” gridlock which include “war dancing”, mock-attacks,

snake-mobbing and the use of highly trained security / safety guards to alert against unforeseen change. Their

streamlined operations serve as a great leadership example to emulate for people at work.

Authentic leaders choose the hard right over the easy wrong. Based on their seasoned “market analysis”,

meerkats will decide whether to attack or to retreat underground into a series of tactically excavated “bolt

holes”. The ability to change and steep learning curves save their lives. By carefully observing their world-class

leadership behaviors it is clear that the secret of their courage is not that they never get anxious. It is rather

their incredible guts to move through uncertainty and trying times when the only alternative to effective

leadership is death.

4. Leadership involves relentless teamwork

Energizing and empowering the team or group is the foremost duty of a leader. Leaders are responsible for

achieving results through the efforts of others. Lack of collaboration can make or break any project, no matter

how small and no matter what kind of market. Meerkats work industriously together under strong leadership

and towards the same objectives in order to thrive and survive. Cooperation is one thing, but keeping together

in turbulent times without losing sight of the mission is the result of superior teamwork and ultimate

leadership.

Where there is effective leadership, there is clear role clarification. Meerkats expect each team member to

accept personal responsibility for the team’s “critical success factors” and to support the momentum towards

success. If the bugs bite, it is time to change to a new burrow. They diligently share the same “vision”, but each

individual drives its own productivity. The quicker they change to a territory with more foraging potential, the

faster they can sleep with full bellies. The more they dig, the more they eat. Those in the field multiply their

effort by dividing their duties and they receive “HR” support through babysitters who watch after the well-

being of their “young professionals”, the pups during the day.

Meerkats kick trouble-makers out of the group. They don’t have any difficulty in determining “exit strategies”

and terminating “employees”. From a retention and collaboration point of view, grooming is part of

relationship building, effective communication and preventing a paradise for parasites – key components in

any healthy leadership environment. When a team mate gets injured they will stay with this individual.

Meerkats work together in alliances and joint ventures. Similar to top business leaders who embrace and value

diversity, these little mammals operate across boundaries, silos and divisions. They help one another and

selected co-workers like insect-eating birds – talk about harnessing diversity and inspirational leadership!

The greatest leadership principle in the world is surely getting results through people. Meerkats bridge all

divides through relentless teamwork. As a group, they are interdependent and are constantly sharing

information and barking out a series of alarm calls to establish success and ensure wellness amidst the minute-

by-minute risk management. They share opportunities and reinforce effective cooperation. Too many

“leaders” go to work without any consideration of the desired outcome or impact on people, unlike meerkats

who even consider ground squirrels and dung beetles in their strategies for demanding times. Meerkats’

constant communication and networking exposes them to new ideas and keep them keep current on what is

going on around them.

5. Leading from the front

Inspirational leadership paints a positive picture of the future describing how things would be when the tough

times are over. Meerkats always have a leader in front who provides the spark to help the team move forward

in the desired direction. This matriarch is in charge because of her practical experience. Follower’s trust and

leadership credibility is the logical outflow. As a result of this, the business applications for inspirational

leadership and super teamwork are endless. The leader gets everyone fired up, determines the course of

action and makes decisions to protect the future wellness of the group.

If they cannot break through to a juicy scorpion or gecko, they will tackle a cyanide-laced millipede. Due to the

fact that meerkats put such a high value on experience and success, the lessons for business are quite clear.

Leadership is not so much about a position as appose to having influence, building relationships and inspiring

others. Exemplary behavior and attitudes stimulate leadership on all levels and that can be true right from

cleaning floors to meetings in the boardroom. Inspirational leaders leave a legacy.

In the unpredictability and complexity of the modern workplace, there is a definite shift in leadership

proficiencies from technical to people skills. Leadership is ultimately about influence and inspiration – you

don’t have to be the boss to lead people. Meerkats provide top-notch training, knowledge sharing and the

ongoing transfer of skills during endless cycles of change and the resulting uncertainty. They form a tight-knit

team that has what it takes to ensure sustained personal performance, motivation and care for one another.

Through time management and common sense they deal with challenges under the seasoned little claws of

their matriarch. They teach us that everybody has something to contribute towards inspirational leadership,

the bigger team building effort and change management in tough times.

"Our ‘Speaker of the Year’ Estienne de Beer delivers world-class content with humour,

style and passion and his ethics and professionalism are both unimpeachable.

We are very honoured to work with him."

- Bronwyn Hesketh, Bureau Principal, Speakers Inc - Africa's Largest Speaker's Bureau