Bill Jensen

Bill Jensen makes it easier to do great work.

Bill is today's foremost expert on work complexity and cutting through clutter to what really matters. He has spent the past two decades studying how work gets done. (Much of what he’s found horrifies him.) He is an internationally-acclaimed author and speaker who is known for provocative ideas, extremely useful content, and his passion for making it easier for everyone to work smarter, not harder.

His first book, Simplicity, was the Number 5 Leadership/ Management book on Amazon in 2000. His next best-seller is Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways to Do Less and Accomplish More.

His latest, Hacking Work: Saving Business From Itself, One Bad Act at a Time, was named one of the Top Ten Breakthrough Ideas for 2010 by Harvard Business Review.

Bill holds degrees in Communication Design and Organizational Development.

He is CEO of The Jensen Group. Among his clients are Bank of America, Merck, Pfizer, GE, L’Oréal Italia, Genentech, NASA, The World Bank, BBC, Philips Lighting, the US Navy SEALS, the government of Ontario, Singapore Institute of Management, Guangzhou China Development District, and the Swedish Post Office.

• S. The New Competitive Advantage: Changing Risks and Controls (for Forums exclusive to C-Suite Executives)

• R. Leading Empowered and Engaged Employees in a Hacked World

• Q. Doing Great Work:  Making It Easier to Work Smarter

• A. Work Smarter, Not Harder

  Whatever currently takes you 60 minutes, Bill will show you how to do it in five! But be prepared to look inward: Bill will also ask you what you're going to do with those extra 55 minutes. This is about having a better life, not just being a speed-freak.

• I. Finding the Courage to Choose

• M. Servant Leadership 2.0

• N. Simplicity: The Road to Agility

• J. Finding the Courage to Live Your Legacy

• L. Making It Easier to Get Stuff Done

• G. Creating Value in the New War for Talent

• F. A Bottom-Up View of Talent Management

• P. Vision into Practice: Managing the Change

• H. Finding Joy and Meaning

• K. It's the People, Stupid!

• O. Smarter Speed: Simpler Ways to Peak Performance

• B. Execution: How to Get It All Done, AND Remain Sane!

  You've got way too many to-do's, and not enough time to get them all done! How do you manage it all?
  Here's how: Knowing how to cut through all the clutter and keep yourself and everyone focused on what truly matters. In short, Competing on Clarity — setting the highest possible standard for staying focused, getting a lot more done in less time, all while engaging the hearts, minds, and hands of others.
  In this powerful, highly interactive session, Bill Jensen will show you the biggest, quick-hit tips for simplifying your days, staying focused on what matters, and engaging teammates in your quest to get everything done AND remain sane!

• D. Your Life's Work: What Really Matters

  FROM WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK?
  
  "Imagine having one of the most profound conversations in your life: "This is what I stood for, believed in, struggled with, and accomplished. This is my life's work, and what I want to be remembered for." Wow! Wouldn't it be great to have such intense clarity! Your legacy at work includes your accountability for how you used a portion of other people's lives. You can only keep others focused on what matters if you are deeply clear about what matters to you."
  
  Bill takes participants through the five most common discoveries in figuring out what really matters to you. Powerful! For some — life-changing!

• C. Clarity, Leadership, and the Truth: What Matters Most in Business

  Bill as tough-love truth-teller: Research-driven, real-world work truths that impact how leaders lead, communicate and measure success.

• E. Simplicity: Competing on Clarity

  FROM THE SIMPLICITY SERIES
  
  "Platitudes aside, our biggest limit is no longer the reach of our imagination. It's our ability to order, make sense of, and connect everything demanding our attention — how we create clarity."
  
  Cut through the clutter, communicate more effectively.

• Bill's presentation was perfect! He tailored it to our audience's needs, really having the Swedish Post in mind. Our seminar is one of the most prestigious held in Scandinavia. His stories and tools made it one of our most engaging presentations yet. It was also a joy to work with Bill behind the scenes, in preparation for the event.

  Step2 Events and Meetings

• Bill energized the 800 Oracle University attendees at our annual meeting. His "on the mark" comments reinforced our strategy of just-in-time education and its relevance to a simpler work environment. He was humorous, while instilling in the crowd a sense of urgency. People from that session are still quoting him!

  Oracle University

• I've been through some great educational programs offered at my prior employer, General Electric, including sponsored courses at Harvard Business School, but this was by far the most intensive one day, high impact, thought-provoking session I've been engaged by in my career.

  Fifth Third Bank

• Bill Jensen is a powerful and engaging speaker. His interactive half-day presentation provided a roadmap for effective ways to compete on clarity. Bill's style is high energy, creative, and dare I say...fun. Our members (senior HR professionals) found him to be an excellent speaker, teacher, and confidante. If you're looking for a speaker who speaks from the heart (and experience), then Bill Jensen is the right person. Enjoy the ride!

  New Jersey HR Planning Group

• 10 ! Excellent! The Perfect fit for FC RealTime.
  10 This is the biggest business and life challenge we face every day.
  10 This is very timely and very helpful.
  9 Tangible action items.
  9 Deep, meaningful, usable tools. Best session so far.
  9 Bill provided simple tools that can affect major changes in my workplace.
  9 Made me think. Made me want to learn more.

  Sampling of Fast Company RealTime Conference Evaluations (1 = Snore, 10 = AMAZING!)

• Bill's mandate not only made for an engaging and insightful presentation, it led me to redirect allocations for new equipment, training and people, to build task groups in all directions for decision making, and support a restructuring of my Board of Trustees! While I give Bill credit for sounding an alarm to cause these changes, he's also very down to earth, fun-loving, and generous.

  Silver Bay Association YMCA

• Bill was an innovative fresh breeze at our highly technical accounting conference. His topic, "Getting Simple: Cutting Through the Clutter with Clients and Employees", provided the participants with much needed insights. I think everyone had at least one "aha" moment during the session. Bill's message on how to handle the plethora of information we deal with on a daily basis has relevance in any training arena. I am excited about working with him again.

  Alicia Ross, CPA Conference Producer, AICPA

• 
  September 2010

  Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results

  We all want to do our best and do it efficiently. But companies love bureaucracy, their old technologies, and calcified procedures. We all get frustrated at work; now some of us are doing something about it. Today's top performers are taking matters into their own hands by bypassing sacred structures, using forbidden tools, and ignoring silly corporate edicts to increase their productivity and job satisfaction. Consultant Bill Jensen teamed up with hacker Josh Klein to expose the cheat codes for work. Once employees learn how to hack their work, they get more stuff done in less time-by turning the status quo upside down.

  
  
• 
  April 2006

  What Is Your Lifes Work: Answer the BIG Question about What Really Matters...and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do

  What Is Your Life's Work? captures a most extraordinary moment in each of our lives—the time when we sit down with loved ones and attempt to answer the big question about what really matters. Bill Jensen has created a wonderfully practical space for you to explore who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in, what's risky, what's not, what's worth it, what you're struggling with, and what you've accomplished.

  
  
• 
  November 2003

  The Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways to do Less and Accomplish More

  In a world of more-better-faster, the challenges and stresses have never been greater: too much to do, not enough time. And in an economy where worker talent (know-how, energy, attention, commitment, and creativity) is at a premium, everyone is trying to maximize personal productivity. In The Simplicity Survival Handbook, Bill Jensen offers the antidote you're seeking: a practical guide to doing less in a world of more, and making it count. From "How to Write Shorter Emails for Better Results" to "How to Use Your Mentor to Help You Do Less," Jensen offers step-by-step strategies, tactics, and techniques for communicating more effectively, setting priorities, and balancing the competing demands on your time, while avoiding the time-sinkers. He takes on corporate foolishness, walking you through how to be more productive and take greater control of your workday and, by extension, your life.

  
  
• 
  January 2000

  Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage

  Bill Jensen lays out concrete steps for managers to follow to keep business information - or the noise that you need to sift through to be effectual - at bay.