Former DDB, Ogilvy and BBDO creative chief, now a disruption expert on comfort as the real business risk.
Dietmar Dahmen has spent decades at the intersection of creativity and commerce. He began as a strategic planner and went on to a heavily decorated creative career — Creative Director with DDB, Executive Creative Director with Ogilvy, and Chief Creative Officer and Managing Director with BBDO — working out of Hamburg, New York, Munich, Los Angeles and Vienna. He was later Chief Innovation Officer at ecx.io, an IBM company. He is now founder and managing director of Dietmar Dahmen Brainkicks GmbH, and the expert for future marketing and disruptive technology with the European Association of Advertising Agencies.
What sets Dahmen apart from the usual futurist circuit is that advertising background — he does not just describe change, he knows how to make it land. His work is built around the uncomfortable proposition that the biggest threat to most businesses is not their competitors. It is the accumulated comfort of their own success. He speaks and writes on disruptive trends and upcoming technologies, transformation, the future of success, the fears and opportunities of change, leadership, and customer-centric sales and marketing, as well as sustainability, transparency and the new role of trust. He works in English and German, and is involved with a range of start-ups.
For organisations facing genuine disruption — in their market, their workforce, or their culture — Dahmen is a sharp and unsettling choice. He challenges assumptions that most keynote speakers leave politely intact. Strategy teams, innovation leads and senior leadership groups leave his sessions with a clearer view of what they have been avoiding — and a framework for doing something about it. He suits conferences where the brief is to shift thinking, not just affirm it.
Dietmar Dahmen is a keynote speaker based overseas who speaks on artificial intelligence, business strategy and customer service. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
We tend to agree that change is necessary we tend to agree that change is necessary for all … but us! Dietmar calls our inner excuses “the comfortable cushions of paralysis” or “the pillows of comfort” in “destroy the pillows of comfort,” Dietmar demonstrates how development is always running. And, in order to run (and not be left behind), that means even you need to get up and run, as well. But it is human nature to prefer to stay comfortable. Dietmar explains how the temptation of finding comfort is so strong, that it is best to destroy this option entirely. This is exactly what he then does, with the help of a chainsaw. The image this creates on stage is an impactful one that will stay with the audience forever. It also makes a great headline photo for publications, and some companies even use the signed/branded chainsaw as an achievement award or prize.
Change seems like a wall we can’t break. In breaking the walls of the “impossible”, Dietmar builds an actual wall on stage, and shows how this wall blocks progress and development. Together with the audience (engaged in the countdown), Dietmar then breaks the walls of the “impossible” and generates a powerful atmosphere in a positive and playful way, this helps to deal with the hard work and mental blocks associated with change, while activating a can-do attitude.
Change is often seen as dangerous. In “how to ride the shark of change” the fear of change is embodied by an actual shark attacking the status quo. Over time the audience learns, that the only way to master change, is to jump on top of the unknown and “ride it”. "ride the shark of change” is also a great team work format, where teams work on new, innovative ideas to propel their business forward.
Collective intelligence and cooperation is the main kpi of the future in “cooperate or die,” Dietmar talks about the unparalleled power of cooperation, and the need to see cooperation as the single most important strength in your organization.
The unique imagery that Dietmar is known for creating on stage has a powerful and lasting effect on the audience in “superheroes of change” Dietmar takes the audience on a journey that transforms every one of them into a superhero of change. Each member of the audience has a different superhero strength, which together forms a fantastic team.
Sustainability is a must for all businesses! In “save the planet,” Dietmar emotionally dramatizes the need to act now, demonstrating the effect of global warming by putting a flamethrower to a toy globe. While the globe melts, Dietmar explains the effects of the global rise in temperature on the planet. This image is a strong and memorable visual that makes a great headline photo for publications. In typical “Dietmar style,” the overall message and tonality stays positive and motivating: we need to grieve what we’ve lost and save what we can! Hell yeah! We can do this!
Mind-blowingMarketing Manager, Alfa Laval
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