Steve Denning

Keynotes by Steve Denning are entertaining, witty and brimming with insight into innovation, organizational storytelling, leadership and management. That may sound like a broad array of fields to be an expert in, but when one considers Denning's career, it seems natural and inevitable that he should have much to say.

For decades, Denning worked at the World Bank. Here he played various roles, including Director of Southern Africa Department, Director of the Africa Region and Program Director for Knowledge Management. As keynotes by Steve Denning are keen to point out, large bureaucracies tend to favor clear-cut, analytical thinking more so than left field creativity, which is often regarded as disruptive and irrelevant. However as the director for Knowledge Management, he revealed to his colleagues the benefits and necessity of innovation.

In books such as 'The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century,' Denning couples his analytical talents with an appreciation of innovation, to offer business leaders actionable and useful strategies to innovate their companies. For instance, instead of focusing simply on producing outputs, it is often more productive to aim to please one's customers.