Deborah Perry Piscione

Why do governments around the globe keep sending delegations to Silicon Valley to try to discover its secrets? What is it that Silicon Valley can teach the rest of the world about creating value from ideas, entrepreneurialism and innovation? The secret is in the synergy that creates an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this keynote, speaker Deborah Perry Piscione explains how different parts of the ecosystem come together as an interconnected web, such as the collaborative dynamics between private and public sectors, and the interplay between higher education and the business community. She also illustrates the commercialization of know-how, the open attitude toward immigrants, and all other factors that attract the creative class, and boost the quality of life. Piscione takes a close look at the spirit of entrepreneurialism, examining the six characteristics that all Silicon Valley entrepreneurs radiate – passion, authenticity, love of ideas, an appetite for risk, trustworthiness, and resilience. You will find this an extremely enlightening and inspiring keynote.

From her experiences running the renowned national women’s networking program Alley to the Valley, Deborah Perry Piscione has an unparalleled understanding of what enables women to become great leaders and at the end of the day, accomplish her ultimate goals. Even with the rapid rise of women in great leadership roles, the playing field is still pitched away from women. Deborah not only talks about the skills and networks you need to develop, but more importantly the collective risks that women need to take to showcase the strengths of women leaders and improve organizational cultures and productivity. She addresses enduring myths that permeate the minds of decision-makers, and provides clear-cut solutions that will have you on your feet. Deborah believes that the onus in on women to stop talking, stop focusing on the negative statistics of women in the workplace, stop trying to adapt to male cultures and for once and for all, craft a coordinated effort to change the rules of the game.

​Leadership is about courage. The courage to chance failure as the price for succeeding big. The courage to ignite the passions of your workforce and being open to great ideas from anyone at any time. It is about doing what is right, and seizing the moment when the iron is hot. So, why is this so hard? Because in all of the books and speeches about leadership, what has been neglected is how to master the art of risk-taking. In this exciting presentation, Piscione shows how risk can become an incredibly powerful tool in the leader’s tool belt. Deborah reveals the key differences between gambling and calculated risk-taking, and how to master the skills of risk. Audiences are then able to build a culture that not only focuses on producing the work, but to also create and execute a steady flow of ideas to improve every aspect of the organization, and recognize a leader’s bias toward their own ideas to find the balance between long-term value creation and short-term profitability.​

Why do governments around the globe keep sending delegations to Silicon Valley to try to discover its secrets? What is it that Silicon Valley can teach the rest of the world about creating value from ideas, entrepreneurialism and innovation? The secret is in the synergy that creates an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this keynote, speaker Deborah Perry Piscione explains how different parts of the ecosystem come together as an interconnected web, such as the collaborative dynamics between private and public sectors, and the interplay between higher education and the business community. She also illustrates the commercialization of know-how, the open attitude toward immigrants, and all other factors that attract the creative class, and boost the quality of life. Piscione takes a close look at the spirit of entrepreneurialism, examining the six characteristics that all Silicon Valley entrepreneurs radiate – passion, authenticity, love of ideas, an appetite for risk, trustworthiness, and resilience. You will find this an extremely enlightening and inspiring keynote.

It’s no coincidence that our most revered business icons are also the boldest risk-takers, such as Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. Yet with so much emphasis on short-term stock price gains and bottom line focus, organizations tend to act too safe, resulting in a stagnant business culture which generates entirely forgettable results in a world that demands significant solutions. If ground-breaking innovation is about taking calculated risks, then why do companies not only set reams of policies and procedures to limit risk, but also spend no resources developing the key skills and systems for effective risk-taking? In this poignant presentation, Deborah discusses how to get back into the business of taking risk. Based on her series of books, including The Risk Factor: Why Every Organization Needs Big Bets, Bold Characters, and the Occasional Spectacular Failure, Deborah Perry Piscione explores risk-taking as a powerful tool for leaders and their organizations. Exemplifying the heroes of risk, entrepreneurship, and venture capitalism, and the role risk-taking play in their success, Piscione makes the case that for your culture to act smarter, faster, with more agility in reacting to competition and developing innovative ways to grow, you must explore the one core leadership skill that has been completely ignored in corporate cultures. She explores both the individual skills and organization systems to unleash risk-taking. This is a very exciting speech for an entire audience.