Cecily Sommers

Discover how every disruption can be decoded—and leveraged for advantage. In a world of accelerating turbulence, people don't just need vision—they need fluency. This keynote introduces Change Literacy, a game-changing framework that gives audiences the language and tools to steer through a shaky terrain with confidence. Drawing on 25 years of work in foresight and strategy, Cecily Sommers reveals the underlying patterns behind how change actually works—across industries, systems, and eras. Because in today's world, Change Literacy is a leadership imperative—and change illiteracy is a fast track to irrelevance. Adopting Change Literacy gives you something rare: a way to anticipate what's coming, stay grounded in what matters, and lead with clarity when others are caught off guard. It's not just insight—it's your unfair advantage. In this keynote, audiences learn the ABCs of Change Literacy— • The predictable nature of the universal laws and forces that shape all change • A framework for spotting what’s emerging—and understanding what it means for you • Why knowing what doesn’t change becomes your guide in a shifting landscape • How to apply these tools in daily life—and scale them across your work and leadership

By the time disruption shows up in the data, it’s often too late to lead it. In a world of accelerating turbulence, leaders don’t just need vision—they need fluency. This flagship keynote introduces Change Literacy, a game-changing framework that gives audiences the language and tools to decode disruption and navigate it with confidence and clarity. Drawing on 25 years of work in foresight and strategy, Cecily reveals the underlying patterns of how change actually works—across industries, systems, and eras. Because in today’s world, Change Literacy is a leadership imperative—and change illiteracy is the fastest path to irrelevance. Adopting Change Literacy gives you something rare: a way to anticipate what’s coming, stay grounded in what matters, and lead with clarity when others are caught off guard. With compelling stories and practical tools, Cecily equips audiences to move at the pace of change—while keeping strategy and sanity intact. Audiences will learn the ABCs of Change Literacy: • The predictable nature of the universal laws and forces that shape all change • A framework for spotting what’s emerging—and understanding what it means for you • Why knowing what doesn’t change becomes your anchor in a shifting landscape • How to apply these tools in daily life—and scale them across work, leadership, and culture Ideal for executive teams, industry leaders, and organizations navigating disruption, transformation, or uncertainty—and determined to turn it into a strategic advantage.

Disruption isn’t something to recover from—it’s a catalyst for reinvention. What if the real challenge isn’t surviving change, but making it your superpower? In this inspiring keynote, Cecily Sommers introduces Continuous Reinvention—a practical discipline for turning disruption into a driver of purposeful, scalable growth. Through powerful storytelling of her own reinventions and client transformations, Cecily shows how "knowing what’s right to do when there are no right answers" lies at the heart of reinvention. That awareness unlocks growth across people, culture, and strategy, keeping them relevant as the world shifts. Participants will learn how to: • Use the Cycle of Reinvention to identify what’s expiring, what’s emerging, and what’s needed next • Build individual and cultural resilience to thrive amid ongoing disruption • Apply practical futurist tools to stay focused on what truly matters during times of change Especially powerful for leaders and teams in transition—and who isn’t?—this keynote provides the clarity and tools to move forward with purpose, even when the path isn’t obvious.

The core function of leadership is to inspire cooperation through shared purpose. And in times of disruption, division, or transformation, the real work begins with belonging—the answer to the question, Is there a place for me here?—in this moment, and in what’s coming next. In this keynote, Cecily reframes belonging—not as a soft perk or emotional state—but as a structured capacity that enables trust, alignment, and coordinated action. Drawing from neuroscience, systems thinking, and her Gates of Belonging framework, she shows how belonging activates the full potential of individuals and organizations, turning connection into a competitive advantage. Participants will learn how to: • Build the structural foundations of belonging to enable trust and cooperation • Use the Gates of Belonging framework to guide inclusive, high-performance environments • Cultivate internal belonging as a leadership capacity that radiates connection and clarity • Create cultures where people feel seen, valued, and committed to a shared future Designed for organizations undergoing cultural change, hybrid work shifts, or leadership transitions, this keynote shows how to strengthen connection-at-scale and build cultures made for the future.