Meet One of North America’s
Most Influential and Entertaining
Workplace Culture Thought Leaders
Meet Michael Kerr
Culture Crusader. Hall of Fame Speaker. Author. Humor Advocate. Workplace Optimist.
Thank you for dropping by! I’m Michael Kerr — a passionate advocate for more humane, compassionate, and collaborative workplace cultures that work for everyone.
For more than two decades, I’ve been helping leaders and organizations around the world create more inspiring, productive, and just plain fun workplaces.
Because life’s too short to work in a soul-sucking, fun-sucking workplace!
My Mission
To help leaders build rocking, service-first, humane workplaces that spark extraordinary results.
I believe culture is the engine behind everything. Get your workplace culture right and you will foster teams that innovate, collaborate, serve customers like rock stars, and employees who actually enjoy returning to work on a Monday morning.
That’s why I speak, write, and train on how to intentionally craft workplace cultures that fuel extraordinary success.
Why Clients Call Me Again and Again
- 🎤 3,000+ audiences in over 20 countries
- 🏆 Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame inductee
- 📚 Author of 9 books on culture, leadership, & workplace humor
- 😂 One of North America’s funniest motivational speakers
- 🌎 Recognized as a global expert and thought leader in workplace culture
- 🧠 Creator of the Culture Leadership Academy online course and Culture Leadership community membership site
- 🖥️ LinkedIn Learning instructor on how to exceed customer expectations and deliver memorable customer experience
Event planners consistently say my keynotes are among the most impactful and relevant of their entire conferences — combining deep insights with laugh-out-loud moments and practical takeaways that stick.
What I Speak About
I deliver high-energy, hilarious, and deeply practical keynotes and workshops on topics such as:
- Creating inspiring workplace cultures
- Leading with purpose and clarity
- Values-based leadership
- Building jerk-free, “leaders leading leaders” workplaces
- Using humor as a leadership and workplace culture tool
- Creating legendary customer experiences
- Recruiting and on-boarding to fuel your culture
Whether it’s a conference stage or a team retreat, I tailor every talk to your goals and challenges — always with clean “safe” humor, fresh, relevant ideas, and contagious energy.
Author of Nine Insightful Books
Including these audience favorites:
- 🧭 Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Fuel Extraordinary Results
- 🚫 The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace
- 😂 The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
- 🔥 Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire: How to Recruit, Onboard, and Train Employees to Live Your Culture Out Loud
I write the way I speak: with clarity, energy, and a touch of humor — making complex ideas accessible and immediately useful.
As Seen In…
My ideas on workplace culture have been featured in hundreds of publications worldwide, and my blog — Inspiring Workplaces — has been named one of the top-30 workplace blogs on the planet.
From podcasts to boardrooms to virtual summits, I love sharing insights that challenge assumptions and shift the way people think about culture and leadership.
Where You’ll Find Me
I live in Canmore, Alberta — nestled in the stunning Canadian Rockies, just west of Calgary. But you’ll also find me on stages across Canada, the U.S., and around the world, helping organizations lead with more purpose, more humanity, and a whole lot more fun!
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to energize your event, spark cultural transformation, or inspire your leaders to lead with heart and humor — I’d love to help.
👉 Let’s connect and talk about your goals!
Because great culture isn’t a luxury — it’s your greatest competitive edge!
Michael Kerr
For an in-depth description of Michael’s energizing presentations, download this gluten-free menu filled with inspiring options.
The Values We Value
Harness Humorosity
The outrageous power of play, fun, and humor to unshackle people and transform soul-sucking workplaces.
Get REAL
Create space for your authentic self to show up everyday, everywhere.
Spark Curiosity & Embrace Intellectual Honesty
Unquestionably question everything!
Shake n’ Make
Disrupt the status quo to create something new, something different, or something outrageously better than before.
Think Outside the
Bored Room
Creativity is the currency of success.
Ignite Deep Impact
A relentless belief that we are here to make a profound impact on every client.
Mission
Energize workplaces to be more inspirational, fun, and humane.
Videos
Why Clients Book Michael
Some clients bring me into their events simply because they want to celebrate a great year, cap off a busy season, or recognize their amazing employees. Other clients work with me because they’ve lost their mojo, they’re wrestling with unprecedented change, or they need help forging a stronger and more inspiring culture.
Why Choose Between Content and Humor?
For more than 25 years I’ve embraced the mantra: “Why choose between content and humor when you can have both?” In this short video, I share what I think my job as a professional speaker is and how I will work with you to exceed your expectations.
Michael in Action
Why choose between content and fun when you can have both? For a sense of my presentation style, grab some popcorn and enjoy this sampler video of Michael in Action. Whether I’m delivering a full-day workshop to senior executives, or a keynote to an audience of 3,000+, I deliver relevant content in as memorable a way as possible so those inspiring ideas stick!
BOOKS
The Humor Advantage
Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
The Humor Advantage is packed with ideas on how you can create a more innovative, collaborative, service-driven culture that drives outrageous results! It delivers a firehose of information that will turn your culture upside down (in a good way!).
Hire, Inspire, and
Fuel Their Fire
How to Recruit, Onboard, and Train New Employees to Live Your Culture Out Loud
Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire is filled with inspiring and fun ideas that will help you attract the right employees for your culture, add some much-needed oomph to your onboarding, and truly inspire new employees to live your culture and your values out loud starting on day one!
The Jerk-Free Workplace
How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace
This isn’t just about giving jerky work behaviors the boot. The Jerk-Free Workplace offers up an inspiring roadmap on how to take the lead when you’re not the boss – although you’ll definitely want your boss to read it, too. If you want to work in a happier, more inspiring workplace, this is the book for you!
