Dennis Yu

Inside the Mind of An Innovation Speaker

The life of an innovation speaker is what anyone would expect… explaining what innovation is (and isn’t) to people all around the world.

On top of that, it’s helping them build the organizational capabilities necessary to create continuous innovation.

When my daughter was seven years old, she once said:

“Mommy, how come Daddy is not out in the garage inventing things if he is so innovative?”

I chuckled at that time, but there’s a real lesson behind this question.

Without an ounce of doubt, it’s clear that everyone has their own definition of innovation. And with how overused the word is, there’s a lot of confusion about the difference between creativity, invention, and innovation.

That’s why a big part of what I do is educating people on how these three differentiate, and how to inspire all of them.

Individuals can be creative, but it usually takes teams to invent (see the rise in Nobel prizes awarded to groups), and entire organizations to innovate.

I’ve been fortunate to travel all around the world (Belgium, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, Dubai, Bahrain, etc.) and help people define what innovation means for their organization and how to make it happen more consistently and frequently.

Here’s how I define it:

“Innovation transforms the useful seeds of invention into widely adopted solutions valued above every existing alternative.”

Some of the most popular themes for innovation keynotes, workshops, and masterclasses that I’ve delivered for corporate clients like Microsoft, AB InBev, the US Navy, and BASF include:

  1. Innovation is a Team Sport
  2. Innovation is for Everyone
  3. Innovation Excellence
  4. Human-Centered Innovation
  5. Creating Continuous Innovation
  6. The Eight I’s of Infinite Innovation

Companies hire an innovation speaker for a number of different reasons including:

  1. Starting a dialog about the role of innovation in the organization’s future success
  2. Bringing in fresh ideas and insights
  3. Reducing the fear of innovation in their organization
  4. Increasing the energy for innovation

But those are just a few of the Top 10 Reasons to Hire An Innovation Keynote Speaker.

The biggest and most obvious reason and the one that runs through many of the other reasons is that they know they need more innovation and want to increase their chances of getting it.

Because innovation is such a broad and deep topic, you need a speaker that knows it well, one that is able (and willing) to customize the keynote, workshop, or masterclass to the needs of your company or event, and to put together a compelling and actionable story tailored to your intended outcomes.

An off-the-shelf speech is likely to fall flat and offer no help to enhance your organization’s competitive differentiation.

So, bring in an innovation speaker from time to time to help shape or shift mindsets in the organization, because stoking your innovation bonfire is important and required for success.

Innovation Excellence and operational excellence are equally important and to ignore either is dangerous. Keep innovating!


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Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations. You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel. You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.
I'm a member of Blitzmetrics Academy and a friend of Dennis to boot. Not only is Dennis highly intelligent and full of great and creative ideas, he's also incredibly generous with both his knowledge and his time. Success couldn't come to a better guy. Thank you for all that you do for the world, Dennis! 🙏

Michael Pacheco

Marketer

Thanks 🙏 for being shining light in this industry. Love what your building for works overseas too network for jobs so innovative. Dennis helped me navigate having bad experiences with marketing agencies and doing dollar a day marketing which has helped my personal brand tremendously. Highly recommend.

Eric Skeldon

Founder at Kingdom Broker

Working with Dennis has been a delightful experience. After meeting him in 2015 I got to collaborate with him on countless occasions. His understanding for state-of-the-art marketing, his implementation, and his leadership put him into the top 0.01% of marketers and mentors.

Jan Koch

Ihr kompetenter Partner für innovative KI-Strategien.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dennis for my podcast in 2021 and since then we have maintained a friendship that grows with each interaction. I have seen Dennis' devotion to his friends and clients firsthand, and our conversations often result in us talking about how we can provide more value to the people around us. He is someone whom I can ask questions on a technical level, and look to on a personal level. If you have any hesitancy about hiring him, get over yourself and do it!

Isaac Mashman

Help scaling personal brands.

Geez, where do I start recommending Dennis? First, he is an absolutely brilliant marketer who understands where marketing is today and where it's going tomorrow. He also has an incredible passion for the International Worker community. The lessons he has taught me from his almost 20 years of experience hiring International Workers have been immense. Most importantly though. Dennis Yu is someone who wants the absolute best for you and is willing to tell you the truth. Dennis sat with me at a point in my business where I was floundering but did not want to admit it. He asked some very straight forward questions to get me to admit my issues, highlighted the issues, and then helped me create a roadmap to success.

Atiba de Souza

International Keynote Speaker | Video Content Superman | Superconnector |

Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will notr regret Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will not regret

Nixon Lee

The PR Whisperer

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