- The Unreasonable Group
- Duke Global Health Institute
- Grameen Creative Lab
- Association of MBAs
- Publisher's Weekly
- Klitschko Management Group,
- The Blue Sweater
- EVBox
- Dell
- Nike
"It was an honor for us to have you as a Keynote Speaker. Your lively discussion, accompanies by your video, was greatly appreciated by our staff who enjoyed learning from your experiences both in your professional and personal developments. Many staff members have noted they learned valuable lessons from your discussion, especially as we continue to face an isolated work and personal environment. In these times, your messages of hope, of encouragement and of a better tomorrow resonated with our team."
-FEMA"It is said that to understand a problem properly you need to get outside of it. Ron Garan has certainly done that. Ron’s focus is on finding new connections and collaborations that cross borders of all sorts that might just allow us to transform the world for the better before we destroy this big blue ball we call home."
-Peter Gabriel, musician and a founder of WOMAD, Witness, and The Elders"A wonderful call to shift our point of view from local to global, from myopic to orbital. This consciousness-altering, ego-dissolving, mind-reconfiguring experience renders our common purpose clear: we are the frontal lobes of this Pale Blue Dot and we need to leverage our collective genius to overcome our challenges and unleash our potential. Bravo!"
-Jason Silva, filmmaker, media"Astronaut Ron Garan’s fabulous book will transport you from the magnificent sense of possibility in outer space to the perspective of a worm on Earth’s rich soil and will reassert our fundamental connection to one another in ways that challenge and inspire. We all need more of an orbital perspective to remind us that, in the end, we only have each other."
-Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO, Acumen, and author of The Blue Sweater"This is more than just a book; it is a call to action and a catalyst for a necessary movement. We need to look beyond what we think is possible and re-imagine a world in which no one is limited by their circumstances. This is a defining book for a defining time in human history."
-Daniel Epstein, founder and CEO, The Unreasonable Group"The Orbital Perspective is an inspirational knockout. After reading this book you will refuse to accept the status quo on our planet. "
-Wladimir Klitschko, PhD, Heavyweight Champion of the World, Founder Klitschko Management Group,"Debut author Garan, an astronaut who has spent 178 days in space, offers a well-considered set of strategies for curing social ills and improving the world, gleaned from the history of space travel and his thoughts while viewing Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) ... His thesis that 'Earth is a small town with many neighborhoods in a very big universe' rings powerfully true, and his lessons are particularly apt for those working in the nonprofit sector."
-Publisher's Weekly"Ron Garan’s breakthrough book is one of a kind. Never before has a firsthand account of lessons learned in space been applied to firsthand humanitarian development work on Earth. Ron masterfully synthesizes the big-picture view of our world with the ground-level details necessary to overcome the barriers to improving life for all people."
-Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia"Written from Ron Garan's unique perspective as an astronaut, The Orbital Perspective reminds us of our common humanity and that the pressing challenges we face, we must face and resolve together through tolerance, dialogue and cooperation. "
-Kofi Annan"Ron Garan delivered an extremely inspirational and thought provoking address at the 2013 Association of MBAs’ Conference for International Deans and Directors. His personal insight into a field that very few of us will ever get to experience combined with strong messages and lessons for the audience ensured that his participation was one of the highlights of the event. Delegate feedback reflected this. I would not hesitate to recommend Ron for other conferences as someone who has a unique story and is able to tell it in a way that delivers at both the inspirational and educational level."
-Sir Paul Judge, President, Association of MBAs"Ron is an extremely compelling speaker who masterfully blends his diverse professional experience and experience as an ambassador for the social business movement into a message that has left a profound positive impact on countless individuals and organizations. Using stunning imagery and compelling dialog, Ron puts the issues and challenges facing all organizations into a whole new perspective – an orbital perspective. We recommend Ron as an inspirational speaker at all our conferences and to our corporate clients."
-Hans Reitz Founder/Managing Director, Grameen Creative Lab"Ron is a tremendous inspiration to our global health students and faculty at Duke. His global perspective and message that nothing is impossible resonates with audiences young and old. "
-Michael Merson, M.D. Director, Duke Global Health Institute"Ron Garan has returned from his space missions not as someone who believes himself to be above us all, but as someone who remains down to Earth. Someone who knows that we are part of something bigger. What Ron has started around the world has made a deep impression on me and the 800 young leaders at the Pathfinder Conference."
-Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman and CEO, Deutsche Bahn AG"Uniquely and intellectually engaging. Ron has a way of sharing his experiences in space and on earth without bravado, but instead with a unique humility and perspective about how we can all participate in making the world a better place. He is truly inspirational and it is impossible to walk away without having engaging conversations and a new view of the fragile oasis we all share."
-Cisco
Elevate Your Perspective
Imagine spending 178 days living and working aboard the International Space Station . . .
Imagine the challenges and issues that you would face every day – many of them could be life-threatening. You have to rely on your training, ingenuity, and your ability to adapt.
No lifeline. No neighborhood hardware store. It’s all up to you and your team.
Definitely not your typical day at the office.
That’s exactly what it was like for Ron Garan as he lived and worked aboard the International Space Station for close to six months and it’s those stories he shares in his virtual keynote program – A View From The Orbital Perspective.
In his virtual keynote, Ron uses original, larger-than-life footage captured from space to tell the story of how his perspective of the world and humanity changed after spending six months in orbit.
Your team will walk away with a renewed sense of profound collaboration and the desire to set aside their differences and work together toward shared goals.
Ron uses his virtual keynote services to share his experiences in space, combat, and in the corporate world to give actionable guidance and inspire teams to:
- Function efficiently & productively even while physically separated
- Develop an “Expeditionary” mindset to excel during times of isolation
- Adapt to change & uncertainty
Leadership & Risk Management
Ron’s strategy allowed him to effectively navigate risk while flying in combat, while pushing the envelope as a test pilot, and during two space missions and four spacewalks. Ron also shares how he has applied his strategy to risk in his many entrepreneurial endeavors.
Key Takeaways:
- Risk is the price we pay for a greater benefit.
- Maintaining the “tried and true” in rapidly changing environments can be the riskiest decision.
- Where’s the way out if everything goes south?
Finding Unity in Divisive Times
Highly engaging and inspiring, Ron uses the International Space Station and many other examples of profound collaboration to drive home the incredible power of being able to set aside our differences and work together toward a shared goal.
Key Takeaways:
- Work as one team to achieve overarching goals.
- Break down silos in your organization.
- Build a foundation of trust.
Embracing Change & Technology
The business landscape has been changed in part by positive things like revolutionary technical innovations, powerful new ways to reach consumers and customers, an explosion of collaborative tools, and many other positive trends that together are rewriting the fundamentals of business.
Change is also caused by the disruption and uncertainty all around us. We are living through very uncertain times, and many factors impacting our business operations. Change and uncertainty can cause us to shrink and become more conservative in our business approaches, or we can see them as opportunities.
In order to successfully capitalize on the opportunities that are all around us, we need to take a holistic approach and strive to see how everything fits together. In today’s climate, the riskiest course of action is to simply continue to do what worked yesterday.
Key Takeaways:
- Turn problems and challenges into opportunities.
- Take advantage of revolutionary new ways to reach customers and consumers.
- Zooming out allows us to see who has the pieces of the puzzle and what picture they form.
Corporate Responsibility
Business enterprise has the incredible power either to destroy our world by clinging to a two-dimensional, us-versus-them, winner-take-all mind-set at all costs, or to save our world by embracing the reality of the interdependent nature of all things and incorporating a new paradigm of long-term thinking and profound collaboration.
Companies that cling to the old models will begin to see themselves being left behind and will have to adapt, evolve, and take on a much more cooperative approach to keep up with the economic growth that true collaboration will spark.
Key Takeaways:
- Learn how to write corporate social responsibility into the DNA of your organization.
- Open and transparent collaboration will fuel tremendous economic growth.
- The three-key pillars are: interdependence, profound collaboration, long-term thinking.
Innovation & Planetary Stewardship
We can take an environmentally sustainable business approach while developing new and exciting products and services, creating more jobs, and increasing profitability.
Issues such as global warming, deforestation, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss can’t be addressed as stand-alone issues when in reality, they are symptoms of an underlying root problem, which is that we do not see ourselves as planetary.
Key Takeaways:
- We don’t live on a globe.
- Go after the root cause rather than the symptom.
- Work with our biosphere, not against it.
Social Entrepreneurship
Financially sustainable efforts are able to incorporate long-term planning and play the “infinite game” for the benefit of all.
Key Takeaways:
- People are not one-dimensional; they are motivated by many diverse factors.
- We can do well by doing good.
- Give your contributions multiple lives: invest and reinvest in self-sufficient efforts.
Exploration & Collaboration
- Work as one team on one overarching goal
- Break down silos in your organization
- Build a foundation of trust
Innovation & Planetary Stewardship
We can take an environmentally sustainable business approach while developing new and exciting products and services, creating more jobs, and increasing profitability.
Issues such as global warming, deforestation, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss can’t be addressed as stand-alone issues when in reality, they are symptoms of an underlying root problem, which is that we do not see ourselves as planetary.
Key Takeaways:
- We don’t live on a globe.
- Go after the root cause rather than the symptom.
- Work with our biosphere, not against it.
The Orbital Perspective
Ron uses space exploration to speak about various topics from the “Orbital Perspective”. The topics he loves to speak about include:
- Exploration
- Collaboration
- Innovation
- Sustainability
- Risk Management
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Leadership
- Social Media/Marketing
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Business Startups
