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Blue Lake Ideas
Speaking

A keynote for leaders delivering under pressure

We’re all being asked to deliver now while building for the future. Matt Elliott’s keynote shows how the Power of &™ helps leaders do both.Audiences leave with practical tools they can use immediately, brought to life through Matt’s own story.

Trusted by
Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference Michigan State University Detroit Economic Club Business Leaders for Michigan City of Detroit Greenplaces SXSW
Audiences gain

Three tools the team can use on Monday:

01

Pause before choosing

Create enough space to identify the competing demands before making the call.

02

Name the shared win

Define what makes everyone better off.

03

Test & Learn

Run a small test, learn, and adjust.

The argument

Accelerating change adds load. When load exceeds capacity, our judgment narrows. We simplify what we can’t fully process, connected priorities start to look like either/or choices, and we fall into the Binary Trap. We pay the price in four ways: False Choices, Silos, Short-Termism and Stalled Innovation.

We still have to perform. The Power of &™ gives us a better way: reconcile multiple priorities and design a solution that makes everyone better off. & Intelligence™ puts it into practice through three moves: Pause & Reflect, Find the &, Test & Learn.

Matt makes it personal, drawing on his own experience with overload and the tensions leaders face every day:

Delivering today while investing in tomorrow.

Raising the standard while caring for the people expected to meet it.

Moving fast without creating the next problem.

Who it’s for

Leaders and teams who feel the pressure of competing demands.

Executive teams · Boards · Conferences · Offsites · Associations

Matt builds each keynote around the audience: who they are, what they’re carrying, and what you want them to take away.

A full room of attendees listening as Matt Elliott presents The Speed of Change

Signature talks

01

The Capacity Advantage: The Power of &™

How overload narrows judgment, creates false choices, and how leaders can recapture their capacity to deliver and win.

02

Sustainability & Competitive Advantage

How companies can lower costs, attract talent, strengthen resilience, and grow while advancing sustainability.

03

Everyday Leadership: Profit & Purpose

How emerging leaders can create value, lead change, and make an impact from any seat at the table.

Matt Elliott, portrait

He’s done the job

Matt spent 35 years leading under the same pressures his audiences face today, including 12 years as President of Bank of America Michigan. While at BofA, he also led multi-state businesses across the Midwest and served as Sustainability Executive for Business Banking and Global Commercial Banking, helping deploy more than $35 billion in sustainable capital.

At the peak of his career, Matt was managing three major roles at once. He knows what it feels like to perform at a high level while demands keep stacking up, capacity shrinks, and judgment starts to narrow.

As Chair of the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference, Matt introduced the Power of &™ as the conference theme, bringing together leaders from business, government and philanthropy around a simple idea: some of our hardest challenges cannot be solved by choosing one side or the other.

Today, through Blue Lake Ideas, he brings that experience to keynotes, workshops and advisory work with leaders and teams navigating the same kinds of pressure.

“I’ve been in your seat. I know how hard it is to find a speaker who delivers high-impact content and shows up as a true partner. I work with your team before the event. I stay for the conversations afterward. I adapt in real time. If your audience is ready to engage, I’m going to meet that moment fully.”
“As the steward of one of the nation’s premier bi-partisan policy conferences, Matt Elliott’s theme of ‘The Power of &’ resonated far more than any other prior theme. Matt’s compelling and confident stage delivery was a pleasure to not only hear, but to see in the positive reaction from the leaders in the audience.”
Sandy Baruah
President and CEO, Detroit Regional Chamber
“Having seen Matt Elliott’s work, I can confidently say his insights on The Power of & are exactly what leaders need today.”
Sandy Pierce
Corporate Board Director and Former Chair, Huntington Bank Michigan
“Matt’s insights were incredibly valuable and resonated deeply with our team. His ability to distill complex concepts into clear, digestible points was truly impressive.”
Raymond Solomon II
Chief of Staff to Mike Duggan, Mayor of the City of Detroit

Questions

What’s it about?

How overload narrows judgment, drives binary thinking, erodes performance, and what leaders can do to recapture the capacity to perform and grow.

Can I see Matt speak before I inquire?

Yes. Watch Matt speak.

What happens when I ask about availability?

We start with a conversation about your audience, your goals, and the event. From there, we confirm the right format, timing, logistics, and terms.

How long is the session?

Keynotes can be tailored to your agenda, from a short leadership session to a full keynote. Workshops are designed for deeper work with the team.

What does it cost?

Fees vary based on the engagement, audience, location, and level of customization. We’ll talk through the details on the first call and provide a clear fee quote for your event.

Plan the session

Tell us who’ll be there, their challenges, and why now. Add the date or range, location, and format. We’ll talk about how your audience will leave the session feeling informed, confident and inspired.

A conversation, not a booking.