Mike Hourigan is known for the satirical, real-world wisdom he brings to his audiences.

His original material draws from his international education, early blue-collar jobs, executive positions with Cargill Incorporated and Olympus Corporation and years of interacting with his audiences. These well-rounded experiences produce high-energy messages that captivate his listeners and provide Mike with an uncanny ability to plug into individual situations while relating with understanding and humor. This talent earns him comments like, "I get the feeling he works in my department!"

Mike has worked with some of the country's most successful organizations including: Marriott, General Mills, Disney, Harley Davidson, and ExxonMobil. He has also worked with numerous state and federal agencies including: the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Mike is co-author of Riding the Waves Without Getting Wet: A Journey to Leadership, The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus and Motivational Selling.

Mike engages his audiences and keeps them alert through quick insights, lively participation and memorable and humorous stories. Audiences leave his programs enlightened, entertained, and ready to face new and challenging situations head on.

• Riding the Waves Without Getting Wet: How to Manage Change in Today's Workplace - Bad economy. Poor morale. Sweeping changes. How can you keep your head above water while the stormy seas of absurdity churn around you? This program shares strategies for managing change in organizations swirling in the turbulent waters of change. One thing is certain, people are looking to their leaders for direction and leaders are trying to find it before it changes again. Mike Hourigan, the workplace commentator, will show you what to do about change management and how to do it. Whether you are at the crest or in the trough, he will show you how to become change resilient and stay dry. This lively program makes leading change almost as fun as a day at the beach. You will learn how to avoid going under the waves of change and spend more time riding the productive and even fun waves. When you leave the program, you will be able to recognize, predict, and plan for change. You will also be able to teach your mangers how to motivate through change rather than dread it.
  
  
• Let's Not Split the Difference: How to Get What You Want Through Negotiation - Many view negotiation as a mysterious process; others see it as manipulation or dirty tricks. Good negotiation is a healthy process where everyone leaves the table feeling good about the outcome, themselves, and most importantly - each other. From buying a car to making a multi-million dollar corporate purchasing decision, the skills are the same and everything counts! Every negotiation can be the beginning of the next negotiation and every negotiation has a beginning, middle and end. The trick to successful negotiation is making sure it is following your GPS system and getting you to your desired destination. Mike Hourigan will show you how to remain confident by staying in control of any negotiation situation. Don't enter into another high stakes negotiation - including buying a car or house - without learning these powerful skills.
  
  
• Leadership Dexterity: The Art and Science of Leadership - Is Leadership an Art or is it a Science? Business school professors will say it is a science, seasoned leaders will argue it is an art. No matter which side of the argument you are on - most people will concede it is a little of both. Mike Hourigan's program looks at some the issues in between: what gets people promoted and what employees want. Mike Hourigan discusses some of the gray areas of management such as how to motivate people without spending money, the difference between coaching and managing, and how to praise someone to get repeated behavior and not feel like a wimp. He will also address how to stop people from plopping at your desk, how to understand the 3d's of employee perception, and how to get people to do the job because they want to do it. You will leave with management tools you can implement immediately.
  
  
• How to Say "No!" to Stress and Avoid Burnout - "I don't get stress I give it!" "I can't find the app for it on my cell." "I'm too busy for stress." We all laugh about it, but we all have it. If you don't do something about stress, it leads to burnout. This fast-paced program gives you a real and amusing look at what stress is and what it does to you: from memory loss to loss of confidence, as well as losing the ability to perform. All of these can be symptoms of burn out. Let Mike Hourigan, author of the "A Tip A Day On Change and Stress Management" audio program, show you what to do and how to do it. The program is loaded with tons of stress busters and practical solutions. You will leave with a plan to dilute your stress and not burden your loved ones. You will learn the three reasons people are burning out and how ineffective worry is.
  
  
• Teamwork Is More Than Just T-Shirts: How to Inspire Commitment, Teamwork and Cooperation - Simply giving out team hats and shirts does not make a team gel - but having the right management and communication skills do. All too often people think throwing a bunch of people together and calling them a team will get better results. Usually what happens is the dedicated, hard workers end up doing more work and the slackers get to do less. Mike Hourigan's program will look at the real issues of developing a winning team. Issues addressed include: what to do with people who do not want to be team players; finding individual strengths and maximizing them for best results; understanding why it seems impossible to get along with certain people and how to communicate with them; how to deal with the "know it all, back stabbers"; and dealing with another time waster - meetings. You will learn problem-solving methods to optimize team effectiveness and get the tools you need to achieve superior results with your teams.
  
  
• Recruiting, Interviewing and Keeping Great People Today - Everyone has done it and most people don't like to admit it: made a bad hiring decision. The consequences of a bad hiring decision can range from hysterical to legal. When it comes to recruiting and interviewing, most people are a little skittish. When it comes to employee retention, most people are a little baffled. Mike Hourigan's colorful and astute perspectives will help you decide whom to hire, how and where to find them, how to screen them, and how to keep them once you've got them. Participants will understand the importance of asking the right interview questions and how to develop these questions; learn how to improve the quality of interview candidates through more innovative recruiting and learn motivational techniques to allow them to keep good employees.
  
  
• Communication: It's Not Part of It - It's All of It - How often have you said: "Why did that employee go ballistic?" Or "Why do I have to work with a jerk?" Whether you like it or not, you have to find a way to communicate with people. Mike Hourigan's high energy, fast-paced session brings understanding to some of the most difficult communications problems like handling the back stabber, the gossip, or the difficult boss. Mike's satirical and real world look at interpersonal communications weaves you through this mine field and provides easy to use solutions. In many cases, poor communication skills waste a lot of time. You will learn how to get off the phone quicker, how to get out of meetings faster, and how to get the "ploppers" out of your office in record time. Have you ever made someone mad but didn't mean to? You will learn how to prevent this. You will even learn how to say "no" to people without hurting their feelings. If you hire people, work with people, or know any people, this is the program for you!
  
  
• The Hiring Economy: How to Avoid Investing in the Wrong Sales Person - The problem with interviewing salespeople is just that, they are sales people - and if they are any good, they will be able to sell themselves. The real issue is, are they the right sales person for my product, my clients, and my culture? All too often, we hire great sales people who fail miserably at the job and we don't know why. Generally, we spend a lot of time checking references and crafting trick interview questions only to be fooled at our own game. Sales speaker, Mike Hourigan, is a veteran of the hiring game. He hired an entire sales force for a division of Olympus Corporation and he designed and delivered the sales hiring program for the Harley-Davidson network in the U.S. and Canada. Sales Management expert, Mike Hourigan, shares his secrets for interviewing, using profiles, and really checking references to find the perfect sales professional.
  
  
• Taking the "Cuss" out of Customer Service - Many people feel customer service is just a fancy form of lip service. Other people feel it is their constitutional right to bully and demean anyone who interacts with customers either on the phone or in person. So what is a customer service representative supposed to do? This practical program is filled with real answers to real customer service situations like how to work with a customer who is wrong. You will learn the three step formula for:
  • how to deal with the nasty and abusive customer over the phone
  • how to respond to an aggressive client in person
  • how to defuse any angry person
  You will learn where customers get their expectations, and when and how to follow up with a customer. In addition, you will learn some techniques to make you feel better at the end of the day and not dread the next day. Best of all you will leave with confidence to help you present your company and your product and yourself in any situation.