The Art of Leadership

Room: Grand Ballroom

Bill Strickland’s simple message – give people the tools they need, treat them with respect, and they will perform miraculous deeds – is as simple as it is profound. From a sleeping bag on the second floor of a dilapidated building he built one of the most extraordinary organizations in America, employing and training thousands. His work has brought him a MacArthur Genius grant, a Grammy award, an invitation to lecture at Harvard University, and a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Arts. A compelling and powerful storyteller, he mesmerizes audiences, and brings them to their feet in appreciation. His simple message of leadership through believing in people and treating them with respect strikes a universal chord. Let Bill teach and inspire you to see the real person, and harness the power of believing in people.


Bill Strickland, President and CEO, Manchester Bidwell Corporation

Bill StricklandBill Strickland restores our faith in ethical, accountable, and visionary leadership. At the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, where he is president and CEO, he has grown a nearly bankrupt community training center into an innovative and successful organization, creating a model for education, training, arts and, most importantly, hope. In the process, he has reshaped the business of social change in America.

Building on his philosophy that “a successful life is not something you simply pursue, it is something that you create, moment by moment,” new centers have already been built in Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and many more are planned across the country. He has recently released a new book, Make the Impossible Possible, which tells the story of these centers and of his eventful life.

In the course of his remarkable journey, Mr Strickland has won a MacArthur Genius grant, lectured at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, served on the Board of the National Endowment for the Arts, and received the “Coming Up Taller” Award. But his accomplishments as a leader and humanitarian are reflected not in awards or accolades, but in the thousands of people who have raised themselves out of poverty and into the world of full-time employment, through the organizations that he has built. One of the first to feature his work was Fast Company magazine, whose founding editor, William Taylor, wrote, "Bill Strickland is quite simply one of the most inspiring human beings and one of the most mesmerizing speakers I have ever met. Not because he is brash or boastful, but because he uses his authentic personality to communicate a powerful message of change, hope, and making a difference. His voice is the right voice for these confusing and difficult times."