Eric Harkins
Eric Harkins is Amazon's #1 Best-Selling Author of Great Leaders Make Sure Monday Morning Doesn’t Suck. He delivers fun, engaging but edgy & in your face messages about leadership & workplace culture.
In 1995, a 22-year-old Eric finished an executive training program at Target under a boss who reveled in making people miserable. Now officially a manager himself, Eric was called into his boss’ office for some friendly advice.
“Eric, I know you think I’m an asshole,” Eric’s manager began. “And I know everybody in the store thinks I’m an asshole. And I know all the managers in training think I’m an asshole. Well, that’s because I am an asshole. Trust me, you have to be an asshole if you’re a manager. You can’t get people to respect you and do what you want them to do unless you are. If you try to have fun at work or try to get people to like working for you, you’ll fail. Good luck with your career at Target.”
Eric learned a couple of important lessons that day. One: some people are just assholes. Two: this guy was full of shit; don’t be an asshole.
Over the next couple of decades, Eric held a number of positions in corporate America. He was a head of HR three times, working for companies that were Fortune 500, Fortune 100, Fortune 50, publicly traded, privately held, family owned, private equity owned, and consulting based in the retail, healthcare, business-to-business, consumer packaged goods, technology, and career transition services industries. What matters is that he spent that time as a living rejection of that warm advice. Eric became the kind of leader he wanted to follow.
Today, as the president of GKG Search & Consulting, he pulls no punches with the companies that hire him. He is quick to find out what is working and what doesn’t. He knows that work can and should be fun. He knows that low-performers don’t leave on their own. And he knows that assholes don’t change their stripes.
Beyond his consultant work, Eric is a keynote speaker helping leader’s around the world realize that work can be better: that dreading Mondays is simply a managerial failure that can be corrected. His book distills his message into relatable, indispensable guides for the modern leader.
You can’t build a good culture with bad leaders. If you’re a leader and you’ve ever returned to the office after the weekend and overheard the “Mondays suck” conversation, you’ve got some work to do. Whether it comes from a high performer who feels uninspired or a low performer who has been allowed to hang on a bit too long, there’s a bigger cultural problem at work in your organization.
Addressing audiences of executives, founders, managers, and aspiring leaders of all kinds, Eric Harkins’ keynote programs are packed with the insights you need to make sure Monday doesn’t suck and create a culture that high performers want to be a part of.
Eric lives in Minnesota with his wife Jennifer. They have two kids: Laurynn and Jack.
In 1995, a 22-year-old Eric finished an executive training program at Target under a boss who reveled in making people miserable. Now officially a manager himself, Eric was called into his boss’ office for some friendly advice.
“Eric, I know you think I’m an asshole,” Eric’s manager began. “And I know everybody in the store thinks I’m an asshole. And I know all the managers in training think I’m an asshole. Well, that’s because I am an asshole. Trust me, you have to be an asshole if you’re a manager. You can’t get people to respect you and do what you want them to do unless you are. If you try to have fun at work or try to get people to like working for you, you’ll fail. Good luck with your career at Target.”
Eric learned a couple of important lessons that day. One: some people are just assholes. Two: this guy was full of shit; don’t be an asshole.
Over the next couple of decades, Eric held a number of positions in corporate America. He was a head of HR three times, working for companies that were Fortune 500, Fortune 100, Fortune 50, publicly traded, privately held, family owned, private equity owned, and consulting based in the retail, healthcare, business-to-business, consumer packaged goods, technology, and career transition services industries. What matters is that he spent that time as a living rejection of that warm advice. Eric became the kind of leader he wanted to follow.
Today, as the president of GKG Search & Consulting, he pulls no punches with the companies that hire him. He is quick to find out what is working and what doesn’t. He knows that work can and should be fun. He knows that low-performers don’t leave on their own. And he knows that assholes don’t change their stripes.
Beyond his consultant work, Eric is a keynote speaker helping leader’s around the world realize that work can be better: that dreading Mondays is simply a managerial failure that can be corrected. His book distills his message into relatable, indispensable guides for the modern leader.
You can’t build a good culture with bad leaders. If you’re a leader and you’ve ever returned to the office after the weekend and overheard the “Mondays suck” conversation, you’ve got some work to do. Whether it comes from a high performer who feels uninspired or a low performer who has been allowed to hang on a bit too long, there’s a bigger cultural problem at work in your organization.
Addressing audiences of executives, founders, managers, and aspiring leaders of all kinds, Eric Harkins’ keynote programs are packed with the insights you need to make sure Monday doesn’t suck and create a culture that high performers want to be a part of.
Eric lives in Minnesota with his wife Jennifer. They have two kids: Laurynn and Jack.
Great Leaders Make Sure Monday Morning Doesn't Suck
One Hour Keynote Presentation
This program is perfect for:
- Any people leader
- Any company trying to create a culture high performers want to be a part of
- Anyone aspiring to be a people leader
The audience will leave with:
- Easy to implement ideas to improve workplace culture
- Self reflection on their individual leadership style
- An...
Are you a Monday morning leader?
45 - 60 min Break-out Session
This program is perfect for:
- Any people leader
- Any company trying to create a culture high performers want to be a part of
- Anyone aspiring to be a people leader
The audience will leave with:
- Understanding how to use LEAD to positively performance manage with intent to Get, Keep & Grow talent
- Understanding...
GET. KEEP. GROW. Talent
1 Hour Break-out Session
This program is perfect for:
- Any people leader
- Any company trying to create a culture high performers want to be a part of
- Anyone aspiring to be a people leader
The audience will leave with:
- GET: are you set up to attract, interview, hire and on-board the talent you...
L.E.A.D. Leadership Expectations and Development Assessment
Workshop (timing varies by size)
This program is perfect for:
- Any people leader
- Any company trying to create a culture high performers want to be a part of
- Any company interested in a new way to assess the leadership talent in your organization
The audience will leave with:
- Each leader would rate their direct reports against the 8 LEAD questions...
