Dallas Burnett

Dallas Burnett · Speaker

Practical keynotes that change how leaders lead on Monday.

I bring research, real stories and a little humor to leadership, performance and culture—and make sure every audience leaves with tools they can use right away.

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Dallas Burnett presenting on stage at Greenville SHRM 2025, gesturing to the audience
Speaking that sticksEvery audience leaves with an idea they can use before the week is over.

Keynotes

Useful ideas need a way into the work.

Four keynotes, each one research-backed, story-driven and built to change what leaders do on Monday morning.

AI & burnout

AI Made Us Faster. So Why Are We More Tired?

AI didn't cause the burnout. What we did with the time it saved did.

Every leader was promised that AI would give their people time back. So where did it go? For most teams it went straight into more meetings, more messages and more "quick" requests, plus the rework of fixing AI-generated work that looks finished but isn't. In this high-energy, surprisingly funny keynote, I share my own story of burning out and coming back, and show why burnout today is a design problem, not a personal weakness. You can't yoga your way out of a broken workload. Drawing on current research and years of running teams, I give leaders a practical way to decide what AI should take off their plate, what their people should stop doing, and how to turn faster into better instead of just busier.

Best for: HR and SHRM conferences, association annual meetings, corporate kickoffs and high-demand teams.

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Your audience will learn to

  • Spot the hidden ways AI time savings turn into extra work and rework
  • Redesign workloads, priorities and handoffs so saved time becomes breathing room
  • Use a simple weekly check-in to catch burnout early, before it turns into turnover

Coaching & performance

The Last 10%: Coaching Good Teams Into Great Ones

The difference between good and great is rarely talent. It's the last 10%.

In Nashville I learned that the difference between a good song and a great one is the last 10%: the rewrite, the extra take, the line you almost didn't fix. Teams work the same way. Managers are leading more people than ever, and too many employees say they never get clear feedback on how to grow. In this keynote, with real stories and a little music, I show leaders how to coach that last 10% out of their people without adding hours to the week. They'll learn the simple monthly one-on-one rhythm I've used with teams for years, the questions that get people talking, and how to move from boss to coach without losing their edge on results.

Best for: Leadership summits, company kickoffs, managers and supervisors, and franchise and multi-location teams.

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Your audience will learn to

  • Run a 20-minute monthly one-on-one that builds trust and accountability
  • Ask better questions instead of handing out answers
  • Give feedback people actually use, and make growth part of the job

Delegation & leadership

Caveman Delegation: Lead More by Doing Less

Your org got flatter, your team got bigger, and you're still doing everyone's job. Let's fix that.

Most leaders know they should delegate more. They don't, because it feels faster to do it themselves or they're afraid it won't be done right. I call it the Curse of Capability: "I can do it, so I should." With organizations getting flatter and managers leading bigger teams, that curse is burying good leaders. Based on my book Caveman Delegation, this keynote is equal parts laugh-out-loud and practical. I share the four-step Caveman Method, a delegation system simple enough for a caveman, and show leaders how to hand off work with clear expectations, stay in control without micromanaging, and get hours back every week.

Best for: CEOs and owner-operators, managers and executives, leadership retreats and association conferences.

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Your audience will learn to

  • Spot the Curse of Capability in themselves and their managers
  • Use the four-step Caveman Method to hand off work with clear expectations and accountability
  • Decide what to keep, what to delegate and what to drop, and get hours back each week

Publishing & authority

Your Book Is a Business Asset, Not a Lottery Ticket

Stop hoping your book becomes a bestseller. Start building one that grows your business.

Almost every expert has been told they should write a book. Far fewer are told the truth: royalties are rarely the point, and the get-rich-on-Amazon pitch is one of the oldest traps in publishing. I've written three books and run a publishing company that helps experts publish theirs, so I've seen what separates a book that builds a business from one that collects dust. In this candid, entertaining keynote, I show authors and would-be authors how to treat a book like the business asset it is, one that opens doors to speaking, clients and credibility. They'll learn how to tell a real publishing partner from a costly one, how to plan the return before writing a word, and how to build authority that AI-generated books can't fake.

Best for: Publishing and author conferences, entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants, speaker associations and business-owner groups.

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Your audience will learn to

  • Plan a book around business goals: speaking, clients and authority
  • Spot the red flags of predatory publishing offers and inflated earnings promises
  • Build a launch and marketing plan that keeps the book working for years

Workshops

Build the skills.
Bring them to work.

Full-day, hands-on workshops built from one library of proven modules. Each workshop is delivered by Dallas or a certified facilitator, and includes participant guides and tools your team keeps using long after the day ends.

Explore the module library

Themed workshop days

Full-day workshop

Leadership Basics: From Doer to Leader

For new and growing managers who were promoted for being great at the work and now have to lead the people doing it. In one day they learn how they and their team are wired, how to solve the right problem, and how to hand off work so they stop being the bottleneck.

Modules

Full day · Delivered by Dallas or a certified facilitator

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Participants leave with

  • Their Enneagram profile and a guide to working with every type on the team
  • A root-cause analysis and problem statement for a real problem they face
  • A 30-day delegation plan

Full-day workshop

Communication: Say the Hard Thing Well

Most workplace problems are conversations that didn't happen, or happened badly. This workshop gives leaders the self-awareness, conflict skills and coaching habits to talk about what matters, early and well.

Modules

Full day · Delivered by Dallas or a certified facilitator

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Participants leave with

  • An understanding of their own conflict style and how other types see it
  • Practice on a real conversation they've been putting off
  • A coaching one-on-one plan built on better questions

Full-day workshop

Culture & Coaching: Culture on Purpose

Culture isn't a poster on the wall. It's what your team does every day. This workshop shows leaders how to build culture through routines, rituals and reminders, and how to hand real ownership to their people.

Modules

Full day · Delivered by Dallas or a certified facilitator

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Participants leave with

  • A reminder, routine and ritual plan for their own team
  • A clear list of the work they should be handing off, and to whom
  • A 30-day culture plan they can start on Monday

Full-day workshop

Performance Management: The Other 51 Weeks

Annual reviews don't fail because they're annual. They fail because nothing happens the other 51 weeks. This workshop installs a simple performance rhythm that owners and managers will actually run, using the Perforam process and platform.

Modules

Full day · Delivered by Dallas or a certified facilitator

Ask about this workshop

Participants leave with

  • A 5|25 review and monthly one-on-one rhythm ready to launch
  • Feedback and expectations tuned to how each person is wired
  • Time back on the calendar to coach, by delegating what they shouldn't be doing

The module library

One library.
Your team’s day.

Explore the building blocks behind every workshop.

Enneagram: Know Your Wiring

Our own Enneagram assessment and workshop. Each person learns their type, how they react under stress, and how to work well with every other type on the team.

Root Cause Problem Solving

Stop fixing symptoms. Teams practice the 5 Whys and fishbone analysis on real case studies and leave with clear problem statements.

Caveman Delegation

The Curse of Capability, the Delegation Matrix and the four-step Caveman Method, practiced on a real task each person hands off.

Conflict Management

A practical, research-based way to raise hard issues early, keep emotions in check and reach agreement without damaging the relationship.

Active Coaching

The monthly one-on-one rhythm, better questions and feedback people actually use.

LIFT: Culture by Design

The reminders, routines and rituals from LIFT that turn values into daily habits.

Growth Plans

Simple, personal growth plans that connect each person's contribution to the team's goals.

The Perforam Performance Rhythm

5|25 reviews, monthly one-on-ones and the Perforam platform: a performance system owners and managers will actually run.

Flexible formats

01Keynotes
02Full-day workshops
03Custom module combinations
04Keynote + workshop

Built to fit your team.

Every workshop is modular. We can swap modules to fit your goals, so returning clients never sit through the same session twice. Pair any keynote with a workshop for a full event.

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Leadership sessions for people doing real work.

Conference

Greenville SHRM

“Battling Burnout: Cultivating Resilience in Work and Life” at the 2025 conference.

Leadership workshop

National Capital Region

Practical leadership training for the Total Force Development Council.

Franchise leadership workshop

Chick-fil-A franchise leaders

A custom decision-making workshop for a multi-restaurant franchise leadership team.

Logos identify past event or workshop audiences. No endorsement is implied.

Bring Dallas to your event

Let’s talk about your audience.

Tell me what you are planning and what your leaders need. The booking path will be connected to Dallas’s team before launch.

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