How raising the bar drives faster adoption and bigger results.
“These kids won't even get on a call.” “They think a meme is a work update.” You may have said it yourself. There's the grad who turns up to every virtual meeting with the camera off, every single time. And the twenty-six-year-old rolling her eyes right back at “these boomers” and their “just make a phone call” energy. Every generation is sure the next one is soft and the last one is stuck.
It has never been about the generation. It's the bias, and it repeats every time.
The belief that the generation before us built it right, and the one after us is out to break it. It feels like you're just calling it as you see it. You're not. It's a habit, and it's quietly capping what your team can become.
The expectation that each generation should be better than the last, no exceptions. The businesses pulling ahead run on this belief.
Design for that, and the numbers follow. Faster adoption. Higher retention. People who advocate for the business instead of tolerating it.
In this 60-minute keynote, Kamal Ellis-Hyman hands you the Upgrade Matrix: a simple diagnostic that shows why a team, culture, or programme is stalling, and what to change to lift it.
Meet the teacher who turned one of London's poorest districts into the country's top-performing school by refusing to lower standards, and what that proves about holding high standards even under pressure.
Learn what 50,000 people clicking a virtual cow reveals about the Drift: how a team, left to its own devices, will comfortably settle for the lowest bar on offer and deliver work that's “good enough” and nothing more.
Meet the game designer who won Game of the Year by making his game harder while the industry made everything easier, and what he understands about the kind of productive difficulty that makes people lean in instead of checking out.
You'll leave with a diagnostic you can run against anything you've already built, and a way to unite generations behind a shared direction instead of a shared complaint. Stop asking what's wrong with the next generation. Start asking what they're capable of.
Vince Bond recorded this after a Leaders Talk and Talent Workshop.
The LDP Summit, pictured above. Here's what the room posted afterwards.
“Kamal, thank you for delivering the perfect keynote to open up the conference. We are so glad you could be with us!”
“Kamal, so great meeting you this week! Your keynote was spot on and I really enjoyed your energy, especially your entrance!”
“Your keynote was amazing, Kamal! Loved your energy and the way you brought the message to life.”
“Thank you so much for an amazing keynote Kamal! Such an insightful way to think about our newest talent!”
“I truly loved your keynote!! What you said resonated but how you presented it really hit it home.”