In the Mind of a Keynote Speaker: Alan Stein Jr. Spent 15 Years as a Peak Performance Coach with Many of the NBA Greats
If you follow my stories, you’ll notice I love focusing on failure and adversity. And, a large part of that is meeting people who help others overcome just that.
Most recently I spent time with Alan Stein Jr. and learned more about how he’s taking an impressive 15 year career as a peak performance coach in the NBA and translating that to businesses all over the United States through his powerful keynote speaking events.
Here’s a little about Alan Stein Jr.
“I spent 15 years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet. I now teach companies how to utilize the same strategies in business that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level. I don’t consider myself a speaker. I am a storyteller that delivers practical take-a-ways for attendees to put into immediate action to become their best selves.I empower every audience to achieve higher performance by closing the gap between what they know they should do and what they are actually doing. Most importantly, I ask every group I work with:
Are the habits you have today on par with the dreams you have for tomorrow?
Q. What about you drove you to become a speaker?
“One word — passion.
“I love serving people. I love filling people’s buckets and seeing their faces light up with excitement. I love sharing practical, actionable strategies that empower people to improve their daily performance… in every area of their lives. I love interacting with the audience and taking them on a journey… using impactful stories and lessons, as well as providing them with tangible action steps they can implement immediately.”
Q. What personal themes/stories do you consistently use to engage your audiences and why?
“I am very proud of my basketball roots. I spent 15+ years working with the highest performing players on the planet, including back-to-back NBA Finals MVP, Kevin Durant.
“I use powerful stories and lessons to teach organizations how to utilize the same strategies in business that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level. I share why the basics work (but aren’t easy!); how to close Performance Gaps; how to master the Unseen Hours, and how to create a championship caliber culture through standards and collective accountability.”
Q. What one word describes how you want your audience to feel when they walk away, and how in your speeches do you get them to that feeling?
“Empowered.
“I aim for every member of the audience to feel empowered to make the changes required for them to be happy, fulfilled, successful and significant. I do this by educating them, engaging them and entertaining them (through stories). I take great pride in providing them with practical, actionable takeaways they can implement immediately to start feeling positive changes in their lives.”
Q. What is it you find clients most often want you to accomplish for them in your speeches?
“Most of my clients want to learn new strategies for improving their organizational performance, cohesion and culture.
“They hire me to reinforce messages on creating stronger relationships, upholding higher standards, embracing change, improving role clarity, living in the present moment and getting everyone on the team to buy in and believe in the team’s mission and vision.”
Q. What is it you’re “selling” in your speeches/presentations that your audience craves?
“I don’t sell… I solve.
“My goal, with every client and organization, is to solve a problem they are having. I accomplish this by doing my homework… by really digging deep to understand the issues and challenges the organization (or audience) is facing and then customizing a strategy to resolve.
“The best compliment I can receive after one of my talks is, ‘Wow, Alan really understands me (or us).’”
Q. What do you find in your speeches/presentations that generate the most interest from audiences?
“Stories and life lessons from the NBA players I’ve been able to observe first hand.
“Even the folks that don’t know much about basketball enjoy hearing about the mindsets, rituals, routines, disciplines and habits of elite performers like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephan Curry. They love hearing how they can improve their own performance by following the blueprint these incredible athletes have created.”
Q. What areas of business do you primarily speak on?
“My primary focus is on improving performance. When performance increases, productivity, effectiveness and efficiency increase, as does confidence and self-belief.
“When confidence and self-belief increase so does one’s ability to lead, impact and influence. While the strategies and principles I share can be customized and applied to any industry or audience, I have found that my message resonates really effectively with leadership groups (executives, managers, directors, etc.) and sales professionals.”
Q. How are you able to bridge the differences between different industries (e.g. how would you pitch someone to hire you in an industry in which you’ve never spoken)?
“I don’t pitch anyone. I work hard to learn each client or organization’s specific needs (through active listening) and I will only explore if I am confident I would be a good fit.
“And what’s a good fit? I consider myself a good fit if and only if I can solve a problem for them. If and when I come across an industry that I’ve never worked with before, I view that as a major advantage! It allows me to come in with a fresh perspective and help them look at their issues from a new angle.”
Q. Describe in one sentence the one thing that distinguishes you from other speakers?
“I spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet.”
Q. Why should an event planner choose you and where can they find you?
“I am a professional. I take my craft very seriously (although I don’t take myself seriously!). I aim to be incredibly low maintenance and easy to work with. I work hard to customize every talk/presentation and have one primary goal — to exceed all expectations and over deliver in value.”
You can find more information about booking me as a keynote speaker at BNC Speakers.
Below are all the great ways to keep up with Alan Stein Jr. online.
Originally published at www.thriveglobal.com.
