Speak at Spark 2020

Aaron Dignan sees the same phenomenon everywhere he looks. Our most trusted and important institutions—in business, healthcare, government, philanthropy, and beyond – are struggling. They’re confronted with the fact that the scale and bureaucracy that once made them strong are liabilities in an era of constant change. For the past ten years, he has studied organizations and teams with a new way of working that prioritizes adaptivity and autonomy over efficiency and control. Aaron contends that teams everywhere need to join them in the future of work.

As the founder of The Ready—a global organizational transformation and coaching practice—he helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include GE, Kaplan, Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft, Citibank, FreshDirect, Hyatt, Airbnb, Bloomin’ Brands, Charles Schwab, PG&E, Fidelity, New York Public Radio, and charity: water.

Dignan is an active angel investor and helps build partnerships between the startups and end-ups he advises. He has sat on advisory boards for GE, American Express, PepsiCo, and Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, as well as the board of directors for Smashburger. He is currently traveling and speaking in support of his new book Brave New Work (Portfolio 2019).

Originally from Italy, as a kid, my dream job when asked about what I would love to do when I grow up was “speaking to the world”.  Brimming with wanderlust and a globetrotter by nature, my enthusiastic approach to life has often simply been, “…and off I go!”. I left home 20 years ago to study, live and work in 7 countries across 3 continents, becoming fluent in four languages in the process. I’m a powerhouse with a gypsy soul;  I speak my mind and heart out and do not beat around the bushes; I am a straight shooter; I believe in serendipity and synchronicity; I value authenticity, freedom, and adventure. I am a coach, a leader, a biker, an energy storm, a dancer and I’m passionate about working with the warriors, the mavericks, the misfits, the rule breakers, those on a mission or searching for their unique mission in life, and who are ready to embrace their superpowers, with courage, grit and energy to go after it. People and organizations who are ready to take control and claim their true identity for the sake of living a meaningful, purposeful and truly magnificent life.

Marsha coined the term "Business Anthropology" in the 1990's, on the understanding that commerce, society, and the brain co-evolved. Her passion is de-obfuscating the forces that make 'work' and 'business' a source of suffering, rather than the joy of social animals contributing to their groups.

Her processes and tools lead people to bring their full ingenuity to the great human game of helping each other thrive. Some of what she suspected through her studies of paleoanthropology and history have now been proven by neuroscientists: the social brain is the big boss.

Working with leaders and innovators since the early eighties, she honed her tools. With a modified Game theory, she led senior teams to develop fresh sets of success measures, particularly early indicators, enabling them to design winnable business games.

Leaders from the Fortune 10 to micro-business have developed sustainable agility with her Ecosystem Mapping, leading metrics and MasterMoves. Leadership skills that breed healthy environments, embrace learning and welcome change as opportunity.

Marsha's work has included 15 years of teaching leadership, and 37+ of consulting/coaching/facilitating, helping leaders develop learning environments and welcoming change as opportunity. A popular speaker and beloved teacher, she continues cast light on ways we can build Ecosystem Intelligence to exchange more effectively with each other - as we evolved to do.

Starting at Reed College, her education includes doctoral study at UCLA and Berkeley, as well as numerous post-graduate courses. Marsha is an active member of the Society for Affective Science.

Being a curious person who loves to help others and create from scratch, Rossana graduated from the University of Toronto in Management and Information Technology and endeavored on a journey to create cool tech that can make a difference. Her experience through various analysis and project roles led her to a path of coaching and leading, which she finds very rewarding when teams accomplish their best. When she isn’t video gaming alongside her husband or fellow developer buddies, you will find this spirited person supporting her teams building the next cool product.

Mark began his professional career hacking together small business websites in the Emerald Isle of Ireland after completing his post graduate education. In 2010, he packed his bags and immigrated to Canada where he engulfed himself into the local tech scene. His passion for product success and delivery increased over the years as he evolved through numerous technical and leadership roles. He has found his true calling after an introduction to Agile and is still driven by the quest to create a culture of self-organization and continuous value delivery.