ashley goodall

• The Problem with Change: Real Performance Requires Stability
  Based on his award-winning book, Goodall dismantles the popular myth that constant corporate disruption drives innovation. He reveals the heavy psychological and cognitive costs that frequent reorganizations and layoffs place on employees. Audiences learn how to build "islands of stability" that shield teams from chaotic environments and unlock sustainable excellence.
• Nine Lies About Work: Exposing the Strengths of Your Workforce
  Drawing on his global bestseller, Goodall exposes the corporate misconceptions that hold teams back. He challenges traditional processes like performance reviews, corporate-driven alignment, and generic feedback loops. He shares practical, human-first practices to help leaders identify and leverage the unique strengths of their actual team members.
• Change Management for Humans: Rebuilding Organizational Trust
  Traditional change management processes treat employees like machine parts. Goodall shares strategic frameworks, built from leading people strategies for tens of thousands of employees at Cisco and Deloitte. He details how to communicate with absolute clarity, build genuine collective trust, and design internal systems from the humans up.

speaker Bio: 

Ashley Goodall is an acclaimed human resources executive, leadership consultant, and author who has spent over twenty years pioneering modern, human-centric people practices. He served as the Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco Systems, where he directed team performance strategies globally, and previously held the post of Chief Learning Officer at Deloitte. He is the co-author of the international bestseller Nine Lies About Work and the author of The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance (2024), named the Best Management Book of the Year by Porchlight and a Best Business Book by the Financial Times.

Goodall’s strategic authority is anchored in real-world, large-scale implementation. Over his distinguished corporate career, he has designed and executed transformational talent systems in global organizations with tens of thousands of employees, replacing bureaucratic processes with intuitive, team-led practices. A highly requested keynote speaker and writer, his research and perspectives appear frequently in the Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times. A native of Great Britain who is based in the United States, Goodall is a trusted advisor to C-suite executives and Chief Human Resources Officers seeking to align their strategic leadership with the realities of human nature.

Summary (Core Conviction):

Goodall’s core conviction is that we must simplify modern people practices and design systems that work for humans, not machines. He rejects the traditional "move fast and break things" corporate ethos, proving instead that the primary role of a leader is to create stability, not disruption, so that people can focus on doing their best work. His signature framework, the Stability Signal Playbook, provides leaders with actionable, low-overhead tools to prioritize team cohesion, reduce workplace anxiety, and drive breakthrough performance.

speaker Videos:

Explore keynote speakers, topics & insights

Keynote Topics & Curated Speaker Examples→

Insights & Strategic Deep Dives →

Keynote Speakers →