Responsive Conference

Thrilled that we've been included in Inc. Magazine "5 Leadership Conferences in 2020" by Gene Hammett. https://lnkd.in/gSaK9ce #companyculture #peopleleader #culture #talentdevelopment #zappos #employeeengagement #leadership #leadershipdevelopment

"This is how we’ve always done it." That sentence has killed more businesses than bad products ever will. Comfort feels safe—until it isn’t. Markets shift. Competition evolves. The strategies that got you here won’t always get you where you need to go. What once felt like a winning formula can quickly turn into a limitation. The smartest companies don’t wait until they’re forced to change. They build for change from day one. They experiment, adapt, and rethink their own systems before they have to. They make reinvention part of the process, not a last resort. That’s exactly what we’re exploring at Responsive Conference 2025—how to build organizations that don’t just keep up but lead the way. Want to learn how do you stay ahead in a world that refuses to stand still? Let’s figure it out together.

Successful organizations don’t settle. They evolve, adapt, and move with purpose. For the last decade, Responsive Conference has brought together founders, people leaders, and change makers to explore what it takes to create adaptable, resilient organizations. And this year’s Responsive Conference is no different. This year’s theme, Design for Change, is about more than just reacting to uncertainty. It’s about using uncertainty as fuel for growth. We’ll break down the strategies, frameworks, and mindsets that don’t just help organizations navigate change but use it as an advantage. Join us on September 17-18, 2025, at the Oakland Museum of California. Expect engaging discussions, hands-on learning, and meaningful connections with some of the sharpest minds in business. This isn’t just another conference. It’s a space to challenge ideas, share fresh perspectives, and walk away ready to shape what’s next. See you there.

Uncertainty is the only certainty in today’s world. From economic shifts to political instability, climate change to the everyday chaos in our own workplaces—things aren’t going to slow down. Since 2015, Responsive Conference has been a place for people from all over the world to gather, exchange ideas, and practice the tools and tactics that make organizations adaptable to change. Responsive.org was launched as a guide to building resilient organizations. In 2025, that mission feels more relevant than ever. That’s why this year’s Responsive Conference is about Design for Change. How do we build companies (and our own lives) that don’t just react to uncertainty but embrace it? Whether it’s politics, climate, or the internal dynamics of your team, how do we design for adaptability instead of resisting the inevitable? If this sounds like something you want to be part of, head to Responsiveconference.com to learn more.

I used to wonder what storytelling had to do with building great companies. After all, business is supposed to be about strategy, execution, and results. But after launching four businesses in very different industries—hospitality, food, events, and media—I’ve learned something important. The stories we tell about an organization are how a company grows. And the stories we tell within an organization is how we hire great people. At Responsive Conference 2025, we’re bringing together leaders from across industries who have embraced uncertainty – testing new ideas and finding ways to thrive in unpredictable times. Together, we’ll break down their lessons into real, actionable insights you can apply in your own organizations. Because the companies that shape the future aren’t just the ones with the best strategies. They’re the ones with the vision to tell a new story and courage to make it happen.

Successful organizations don’t settle. They evolve, adapt, and move with purpose. For the last decade, Responsive Conference has brought together founders, people leaders, and change makers to explore what it takes to create adaptable, resilient organizations. And this year’s Responsive Conference is no different. This year’s theme, Design for Change, is about more than just reacting to uncertainty. It’s about using uncertainty as fuel for growth. We’ll break down the strategies, frameworks, and mindsets that don’t just help organizations navigate change but use it as an advantage. Join us on September 17-18, 2025, at the Oakland Museum of California. Expect engaging discussions, hands-on learning, and meaningful connections with some of the sharpest minds in business. This isn’t just another conference. It’s a space to challenge ideas, share fresh perspectives, and walk away ready to shape what’s next. See you there.

Your Business Model Has an Expiration Date. You might not see it yet, but it’s there. Every strategy, structure, and process you rely on, at some point, they stop working. What once made you successful can become the very thing holding you back. The question isn’t if your model will become outdated. It’s when and whether you’ll be ready when it happens. Most companies wait until the cracks start showing. They hold onto outdated ways of working because they’re comfortable, because “this is how we’ve always done it.” But by the time they realize change is necessary, they’re already playing catch-up. The smartest organizations don’t wait, they constantly challenge their own assumptions, look for weak spots before they become problems, and stay ahead of the curve—not just react to it. At Responsive Conference 2025, we’re bringing together leaders who have mastered this mindset, people who don’t just survive change but turn it into an advantage. If you want to future-proof your business, you need to start now. Join us in the Oakland Museum of California on Sept. 17-18.

Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing some of our 2025 speakers starting with today’s featured speaker Doug Kirkpatrick. Doug Kirkpatrick is a speaker, author, and consultant specializing in organizational self-management. He started his career as a financial controller at The Morning Star Company, where he experienced firsthand the power of a self-managed workplace and postulated the ideas of “Don’t use force” and “Keep your commitment”. That journey led him to become a leading advocate for autonomy in the workplace. Today, as the founder and CEO of D’Artagnan Advisors, Doug helps companies transition to self-management, fostering innovation, accountability, and engagement. He is also the author of Beyond Empowerment and The No-Limits Enterprise, which explore self-management principles in depth. In his session at Responsive Conference 2025, Doug will share real-world examples of companies that thrive without traditional management structures. He explains how businesses can shift from rigid hierarchies to systems built on trust, responsibility, and clear agreements. His talk will cover topics including: - The Core Principles of Self-Management – How organizations can operate efficiently without top-down control, empowering employees to take initiative and make informed decisions. - The No-Limits Workplace – Breaking down common workplace barriers to create an environment where creativity, innovation, and engagement can flourish. - Building a Culture of Accountability – How self-management doesn’t mean chaos, but rather a system where employees hold themselves and each other responsible for results. - The Future of Work – Why traditional corporate structures are failing and how companies can evolve to attract and retain top talent in a rapidly changing world. #ResponsiveConference2025 #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Leadership #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth #BusinessTrends #Collaboration #TechConference #SaveTheDate #EventHighlights

In 2015, the authors of Responsive Org wrote “the future is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.” Today, with global instability, political partisanship, and an ever more rapid rate of change, those words feel prescient. The tension between organizations optimized for predictability and the unpredictable world we inhabit has reached a breaking point. Only organizations built to adapt are going to survive. I founded Responsive Conference because I had witnessed the same organizational dysfunctions and habits across nearly two dozen different industries. In selling to the Fortune 100s, I learned how much of business is relationship-driven. As the first employee at a non-profit education tech. company, I witnessed how slow our educational systems are to change. As an acrobat with the San Francisco Opera, I experienced the century-old practices of one of our most storied arts institutions. And in my own little brick-and-mortar restaurant, I learned about San Francisco city politics. We still structure our organizations for a time where predictability mattered more than speed. The theme of Responsive Conference 2025 is “Design for change” because the world is changing so rapidly. Only those individuals and organizations that keep pace with change are going to survive. I hope you’ll join us at the Oakland Museum of California for Responsive Conference 2025. Let’s build the future of work together! Best, Robin P. Zander

It feels like yesterday that we gathered at the Oakland Museum of California for Responsive Conference 2024. More than 300 people came through our doors to share tactics and connect around building future-proof workplaces. In the world today, that work is more important than ever, so we are hard at work designing Responsive Conference 2025. Meanwhile, a big thank you to all the speakers, panelists, and attendees for making the conference and community a success! Let’s continue driving change and shaping the future together. #ResponsiveConference2024 #Innovation #Leadership #Networking #FutureOfWork #ProfessionalGrowth #TechConference #Learning #Collaboration #BusinessTrends #CareerDevelopment #EventHighlights