Keynotes that put your people in the cockpit
Derek doesn't hand a room platitudes. He walks leaders through decisions made at 300 knots and shows them exactly where the same principles fix hesitation on their own team — then gives them the framework to run it Monday morning.
Three talks, one framework
Each keynote is tailored to your event and your audience — not recycled from the last stage. Titles below map to where your organization needs the most lift.
Cleared to Engage
The cost of hesitation, and how to remove it. Derek shows why capable teams freeze — unclear vector, no decision rights, fear of blame — and how leaders clear people to act without surrendering standards.
- Why hesitation, not talent, is the real bottleneck
- Moving decisions to where the context lives
- The OODA Loop, applied off the flight line
Instruments Only
Leading with clarity when you can't see the horizon. Drawing on flying by instruments in the weather, Derek shows how vision and honest debrief keep a team aligned through uncertainty and change.
- Setting a vector people can navigate by
- The fighter pilot debrief: truth data over blame
- Realigning without losing momentum
Find a Way to Yes
Derek's signature message. Confident leadership isn't control or arrogance — it's building a culture where people are trusted, empowered, and expected to act. The talk that leaves teams ready to own the mission.
- Confidence vs. arrogance, and why it matters
- Trust as clear expectations plus room to act
- Building leaders who develop other leaders
Built for the room you're filling
Executive & leadership teams
Connect strategy to daily execution so the vision reaches the floor intact.
Operations & frontline managers
Turn people promoted for competence into leaders who build confident teams.
Conferences & veteran organizations
A keynote with genuine command credibility and a message that travels beyond the uniform.
Ways to bring Derek in
Keynote
Minutes, tailored to your event
Workshop
Day, hands-on with your leaders
Team Briefing
Private session for your leadership group
Debrief Cadence
Install a rhythm that outlasts the talk
DOCUMENT:
Derek's Bio
Download Derek’s full bio to include with your marketing materials. This could be used for conference programs, fliers, or other promotional materials for your event.
Testimonials of Audience Members
"Derek's perspective is invaluable as an expert in decision making within leadership. As someone who has made decisions that are truly life or death in the middle of chaotic situations, he brings expertise to the civilian world on exactly how to build leaders that can make high stakes decisions with confidence. As a speaker, I love the way his love for airplanes shines and he uses that passion to teach the tools we all need to grow into and train confident leaders."
Julie Lee,
Keynote Speaker & Author of I See You
Testimonials of Previous Clients/co-workers
Derek is both a warrior and leader. He leads, inspires, develops, and trains his team through trust, transparency, tenacity, and grit. If a solution was legal, moral, and ethical AND…tactically sound, then he empowered you to give it a go. Derek embraced your failures just as much as your successes because everyone learned from both. He led one of the most successful A-10 deployments ever to Afghanistan. I am proud to call Derek my mentor, friend, and would go to hell and back with him again anytime.”
Mike Stock, Colonel, USAF (retired)
Tell Derek what's slowing your team down
If he's the right fit for your event or organization, he'll say so. If he isn't, he'll say that too — and point you somewhere better. Either way, you'll get a straight answer.
Speaker Request Form
Thanks for considering Derek for your event.
At Decisive Leadership, we welcome the opportunity to share hard-won lessons on leadership and decision-making with the broader business community, executive and operations teams, conferences, academic institutions, and military and veteran organizations — anyone working to build confident, capable leaders. We believe leadership isn't reserved for the corner office, and that the right message delivered to the right room can change how an entire team performs.
To help us make the most informed decision about your request for Derek to speak, please complete the speaker request form below. The more you can tell us about your event, your audience, and what you're hoping the talk will accomplish, the better we can serve you.
We do our best to read every request in a timely manner. Because of the volume of inquiries, we aren't always able to respond personally to each one. If your event looks like a strong fit, you can expect to hear from Derek's team within 1–2 weeks — often sooner. If the timing or fit isn't right this time, we'll do our best to let you know that too.
