Paul Krismer

Paul offers dynamic and engaging presentations ranging from 20-minute inspirational speeches to multi-day training.

Powerful Safety Cultures in the Mature Economy
You probably have a solid, well-established written safety program. Your people know what they’re supposed to do. But are they doing it? Breakdowns in safety often occur because of the persistent, yet sometimes hidden, emphasis on productivity over safety, and employee indifference to safe job procedures. These persistent problems can be resolved! It requires simple, consistent actions as part of a long-term commitment to positive safety cultures.

In this inspirational introduction to the science of positive psychology, learn about the research results that prove happiness leads to greater safety success. Come away with applicable skills that will fuel your personal engagement and create positive contagion amongst the people you influence.

The field of positive psychology research has massively expanded our understanding of human potential. We now know that happiness is key to successful outcomes in all aspects of life. And anyone can increase their level of happiness by implementing skills uncovered by scientific research. Organizations that commit to positive culture change can reap the proven benefit of reduced injury rates and less disability, both of which contribute to a better bottom line.

If your company knows “what to do”, but too often finds staff and management fail to do it, you will come away with new insights about how to powerfully engage employees and create impactful, effective corporate culture.

Participants will learn 21st Century Leadership qualities:

• How to win hearts and minds
• Alignment of vision and action
• Leading by example
• Drive attention to what matters
• Practical tools to put into action right away

Integrity: Being a Safety Superstar
Safety really can be “Job One”!

Many senior leaders, front-line supervisors, safety officers and union representatives come to their roles because they are experts in their subject matter, but safety leadership requires much more than job-specific skills. This talk de-emphasizes the job skills leaders individually know and instead asks participants who they are.
Trust is an essential component to effective organization cultures. There is no single mechanism to create trust other than to behave with integrity. Words, slogans, images and procedures can never take the place of action. Pairing his information with clips from Hollywood films, Paul shows how people naturally adjust their actions and cooperate with others when they are in cultures of high integrity.

In this presentation, men and women who influence the behaviour of staff will learn a mindset that shifts them from overseers of business processes to genuine role models—seeing the big picture, articulating the direction, and embracing their team in a collaborative and committed mission. Transformative organizational change occurs when everyone walks the talk, operating with emotional intelligence and profound personal integrity.

Paul’s inspirational speech on integrity creates a lump in the throat as people question how they show up at work. People are confronted with the powerful question— “Am I bringing my best self?”

Not Heroic: Just Save Lives
Can you think of examples of companies with excellent programs on paper and persistently disastrous safety outcomes? This talk powerfully changes perspective on what a good program looks like. Having a check mark of approval from your local workers’ compensation body looks good, but it doesn’t reflect real safety culture.

Drawing on his personal experience helping one company turn its safety record around, Paul shows how leaders can translate their written program into truly safe workplaces. This real world example powerfully moves safety culture from scientific theory to an attainable goal for any company and any industry.

Genuine cultural transformation is available. See the potential in your own workplace. Imagine a future in which each staff member volunteers their heart and mind, and not just the labour of their bodies.

Culture is found in the conversation—the basic human relationships that form the context in which work is done. This talk shows exactly how companies can move from good in theory to good in practice. Based on real life work, see how culture can be practically changed. Learn, step by step, a complete approach to changing the human-to-human dynamic in a workplace setting.

Funny, dramatic and, at the same time, do-able! Walk away with a whole new concept of what constitutes a culture of safety!

Combatting Inattention: Mindfulness Matters
The best safety systems have little application if workers are distracted and unfocused as they do their work. And we are all distracted these days. We are busier than ever, constantly considering our to-do lists, our relationships, our future worries and our past challenges. Combine this constant mental chatter with the perils of routine, repetitive work tasks and you have a recipe for disaster.

The secret weapon against distractions from safety is mindfulness. Mindfulness is as important for your brain as exercise and nutrition are for your body. To be mindful is to be fully present with what is actually happening in the moment. Everyone can learn shortcuts to being focused, on task and holding distracting thoughts and emotions at a distance.

Based on real mindfulness programs taught to the hardest, toughest industrial workers—logging crews on the wild west coast of British Columbia—this talk explains how mindfulness can be made a part of every safety program.

As one of Paul’s many inspirational speeches, this presentation explains what mindfulness is, why it’s important for everyone and how to implement it. It will leave your team motivated to make change.

Resiliency in the Midst of Uncertainty: Deploying Proven, Powerful Tools to Achieve Success
This talk is suitable for any audience. In addition to being one of Paul’s most inspirational speeches, this talk can be presented as a multi-hour, interactive workshop. The subject matter is presented with an emphasis on leadership when appropriate.

A powerful emotional context permeates all aspects of our lives presently — uncertainty. Global pandemic, economic threat, and political strife are layered onto our already hectic, demanding lives. How can people not only cope, but thrive personally and professionally?

Paul Krismer brings the science of positive psychology to bear. With practical advice coupled with funny story-telling, Paul provides an inspiring toolkit for resilience!
Embrace the research results that prove positive emotions come readily when certain skills are learned. See how these skills demonstrably lead directly to greater success. Come away equipped to fuel your personal happiness and create positive contagion amongst the people you influence.

Learn practical ways to amplify momentum. Discover insights about how to powerfully engage teams and change corporate culture.

Content highlights

• Scientifically connecting positive emotions with stress management
• Neurophysiology: how the brain can be re-wired
• Overcoming negativity bias
• Understand and avoid burnout

The Serious Business of Positive Emotions— Easy & Proven Tools to Achieve Personal and Professional Success (Most Popular Keynote)
This talk is Paul’s most popular keynote and is suitable for any audience. In addition to being one of Paul’s most inspirational speeches, this talk can be presented as a multi-hour, interactive workshop. The subject matter is presented with an emphasis on leadership when appropriate.

Get a blast of personal and corporate well-being in this inspirational introduction to the science of positive psychology. Learn about the research results that prove happiness leads to greater success. Come away with simple, applicable skills that will fuel your personal happiness and create positive contagion amongst the people you influence.

The field of positive psychology research has massively expanded our understanding of human potential. Most of this discovery has happened in the last 15 years. We now know that happiness is not a lucky outcome resulting from a fortunate upbringing. Rather, happiness generally results from skills we can all learn.
If your company knows “what to do”, but too often falls short, you will discover new insights about how to powerfully engage employees and change corporate culture.

Content highlights

• Scientifically connecting happiness with success
• Neurophysiology: how the brain can be re-wired
• Overcoming negativity bias
• Gratitude and appreciative inquiry
• Necessity of healthy social relationships

Leaders as Role Models— Stepping Beyond the Limitations of Management: How Leaders Can Win the Hearts and Minds of Staff and Customers
This talk is suitable for people with subordinate direct reports and opinion-leaders who have influence on the corporate culture. It can be either a deeply thought-provoking keynote or a multi-hour interactive workshop.

Many leaders come to their roles as a function of their expertise in a specific subject matter, but leadership requires more than job-specific skills. Leadership is a way of being. This talk de-emphasizes what we individually know and instead asks us who we are.

Traditional employee engagement programs often buy the loyalty of employees’ bodies, but do not win their hearts and minds. In this workshop, learn direct interventions that change the way employees FEEL about their work and their workmates. Leverage positive psychology to bring creativity, productivity and joy into your workplace!

Men and women who influence the behaviour of staff can learn a mindset that shifts them from overseers of business processes to genuine leaders—seeing the big picture, articulating the direction, and embracing their team in a collaborative and committed mission. Transformative organizational change occurs when bosses are coaches who lead with emotional intelligence and profound personal integrity.

Content highlights

• Thomas Crane’s leadership model
• Differentiation between leadership and tasks found in a job description
• Engaging Hollywood video content that drives the points home and inspires discussion

Mindfulness Everywhere—The Secret Power for Life and Business Success

This talk is suitable for any audience and is the highest energy and least boring talk on mindfulness that you’ll ever hear. In addition to being an inspiring keynote, this talk can be presented as a multi-hour, interactive workshop.

Why the heck is everyone talking about mindfulness these days? Mindfulness is the most researched of all positive psychology interventions. And the evidence is overwhelming clear: mindfulness is as foundational to good mental health as nutrition and exercise are to physical health.

This presentation takes the mystery out of mindfulness and calls on participants to take their mental and emotional well-being seriously. Participants learn how the mind physically changes as a result of regular mindfulness practice. Theory is grounded in practical application during the workshop.

With a foundation in science, taught with energy and humor, and served as a practical invitation, this workshop reveals what all the excitement is about. With over 25 years of personal experience in mindfulness practices, your facilitator has a rich understanding of how impactful this training can be.

Benefits of mindfulness

• Improved emotional regulation
• Increased resilience to stress
• Faster mental processing
• Improved interpersonal relationships
• Greater focus
• More cognitive flexibility
• Boosted immune system
• Reduced heart rate and lower blood pressure

#MeToo In a Man’s World— A Discussion Like None Other about Workplace Respect: How Everyone Benefits When Gender Issues Become Gender Advantages
This talk is suitable for any audience. The subject matter is presented with an emphasis on organization settings when appropriate. In addition to being one of Paul’s most original, progressive and inspirational speeches, this talk can be presented as a multi-hour, interactive workshop.

How do we talk about gender discrimination without the conversation being “heavy”, “awkward“, and “depressing”? How do we address issues of misogyny and violence against women without men reacting defensively?

This uplifting, funny presentation gets right at the heart of these issues while insightfully demonstrating that the path forward lifts everyone—men and women. Paul shows how gender stereotypes that limit women also limit men. Observing the real opportunities of 21st century industrial innovation, this conversation is about personal and corporate momentum. Organizations that can anticipate the new economy can also navigate the era of #MeToo.

Content highlights

• The most sought-after skills are now ones most associated with feminine characteristics
• How to combat the sociological conditioning that limits men’s expression
• The World Economic Forum’s prognosis of future leadership qualities

Paul specializes in front line supervisory leadership training. In addition to the workshops listed above, we offer training in these areas:

• 21st Century Leadership
• Change Management Made Easy
• Coaching High Performance
• Accountability Maximized