Devon Harris

This inspiring message sees Devon drawing on his personal experiences as the Captain of the Jamaican Bobsled Team and a former Sandhurst-trained Captain in the Jamaica Defence Force, to show how working collaboratively facilitates group/team, individual professional, and personal non-work related success.

The key ingredients for this power and magic elixir include:
• defining and owning a clear vision
• empowering leadership, and
• having a process of self-evaluation and persistence

Using humor, engaging stories and powerful insights, Devon translates the challenges and triumphs of being in the military and competing in the Olympics into lessons and insights that will inspire them to reach peak levels as a team. Suitable as an opening or closing keynote.

The audience will learn how:
• a clear vision allows a team to remain motivated, become remarkably efficient, and control the direction of change.
• to identify their noble purpose – the far-reaching benefits of the mundane things they do daily.
• to transform their organization by growing their capacity to lead.
• to use the process of self-evaluation to help them move towards their full potential.

Devon Haris brings a fresh look at how diversity in the workplace is not just a legal mandate or corporate ethic. It is fundamentally practical to building the best team for international, national or local competition. With many cross-cultural experiences and understanding the authenticity that comes from living what he believes, the 3-time Olympian delivers a compelling global message to groups of all sizes on how embracing diversity can lead to greater bottom-line success.

Suitable as an opening or closing keynote.

The audience will learn how:
• A clear personal vision supersedes society's assumptions
• Attracting top talent regardless of labels and providing an open, nurturing environment enables peak performance for individuals and team/organization.
• Valuing and maintaining differences can create a more fulfilling experience and greater potential.

A fresh look at how diversity in the workplace is not just a legal mandate or corporate ethic - it is fundamentally practical, and brings the best teams to the playing field. Devon brings a creative and inspiring look at how at work, as in the Olympics, what really matters is performance, attitude and teamwork. With humor and understanding that comes from living what he believes, Devon delivers a compelling message to groups of all sizes about how to be more bottom-line successful by embracing and applying the innate strengths of a diversity philosophy.

School Runnings: The Power of Teamwork in Schools

As the Captain of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and a captain in the Officer corps of the Jamaica Defence Force, Devon knows what it takes to develop, inspire and direct a winning team under the most high-pressured circumstances. As a parent and a volunteer in support of children causes around the world, Devon is acutely aware of the level of cooperation and teamwork that is necessary not just to groom successful students but to develop productive members of society. In his customized keynote presentation, The Power of Teamwork in Schools, Devon draws on his wealth of experience to creatively challenge administrators and teachers to be at their best by having a clear vision, embracing diversity, and working as a cohesive unit. Devon uses his book, Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings to bring specific ideas to the entire school community of administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents. He teaches how effective teamwork between administrators and teachers positively affect the student body and inspires them to do their best. Punctuated by humor, Devon's keynote will give audience members the practical tools they need to develop a first-rate classroom and school. *This program is also available as a half-day Workshop

School Runnings: Yes, I Can!

Based on the story of the first Jamaican Olympic bobsled team and Devon's popular children's book of the same name, administrators and teachers and staffers are encouraged to see beyond the challenges of their current situations to the possibilities that lie within each of them. In this program Devon skillfully draws analogies between his personal experiences and the challenges the audience is facing. His poignant stories of triumph over adversity illustrate Devon's belief that each person has the right to say "Yes, I Can!" to their dreams; to believe in themselves; to plan and work towards these dreams; to persist - despite any and all obstacles. By the time Devon is finished speaking each audience member will know that they have the obligation, the right and the ability to live the best life they can. This program is not only awe-inspiring and highly motivational; it leaves audience members with practical tools they can immediately apply to both their personal and professional lives.

School Runnings: Success Through Diversity

From the violent neighborhood of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica to competing as a member of the only all- black team in the Winter Olympic Games, to the prestige of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and the Officer corps of the Jamaica Defence Force, to being an immigrant and now a citizen in the United States - Devon's life experiences provide him with a unique view of how an individual as well as an organization can succeed by embracing diversity. Success Through Diversity allows the audience to see that everyone's unique perspectives and talents and their particular way of doing things give them something significant to contribute not only to their particular organization but to the entire community.