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Hi, I’m Barry. I help organizations innovate and accelerate workplace transformation through:

  • Innovation Advising & Consulting

  • Keynote Speaking & Workshop Facilitation

  • Coaching: Executive, Public Speaking, Talent & Career Development

My experience spans leading innovation, strategy, organizational change, and growth initiatives across technology, healthcare & wellness, and sustainability sectors. I’ve grown successful consultancies, led innovation teams that turned ideas into market-leading products, grown start-ups, and delivered inspirational keynotes to thousands.

I'm currently shifting my focus to Colleges & Career Development, Organizations and Talent Development.

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  • “Innovation is an adventure into the unknown, not a formula.”

    — Clayton Christensen, Author and
    Innovation Expert, HBS

KEYNOTES. WORKSHOPS. TRAININGS.

Signature Keynote

The Adventure Mindset

A breakthrough innovation framework to accelerate adaptability, elevate and reskill talent, and pioneer new methods of innovation.

Get in Touch

 Are You Reacting to Change or

Leading the Adventure?

Speed and uncertainty have become the new normal in business, but most companies are stuck because they were built for the idea of somehow predictable markets. Companies adapting quickly discover new ways to create customer value and growth, while others risk obsolescence.

The real bottleneck isn’t technological, it’s organizational. While leaders grasp the impact and urgency to change, most lack the mindsets, organizational frameworks, and committed teams to execute transformation at the required velocity. Strategic paralysis is disguised as planning, and innovation remains trapped in approval cycles designed for an obsolete world.

Then there’s the great disconnect — only 23% of CEOs see talent/people issues as a risk for their business, but the data shows a very different story.

  • Employee engagement is at a decade low of 31%

  • Over 70% do not have someone at work who encourages their development

  • 50% are watching for or actively seeking a new job

  • Less than half of U.S. employees enow what's expected of them at work

  • 70% of employees do not feel a connection between the company’s Mission/ Purpose and their job.

And yet, there is a bigger picture of these challenges…

Modern systems—from corporate hierarchies to standardized education—prioritize conformity and predictability. Trading time for labor was designed for industrial efficiency, not human growth and fulfillment. Standardized education, and subsequently most work environments, prioritize compliance over autonomy, memorization over experimentation, and the right answer over critical and creative thinking. One wide reaching result is that the innate human drive for adventure has been stifled.

Upgrade the organizational mindset by reawakening the thirst for adventure, and newfound momentum takes over.

A split-screen image showing a man sitting at a desk with his head bowed and hand on his forehead on the left, and a woman rock climbing outdoors on the right, with text overlay stating "from fear and uncertainty to The Adventure Mindset."

For humans to truly thrive, we need connection, growth, purpose, autonomy - and some adventure. We’re naturally attuned to change and adaptability, but we’ve over-indexed on repetition and predictability.

What today’s world demands is a new kind of human-centered leadership built for the rapid change and real-world uncertainty of today.

Welcome to The Adventure Mindset.

The Adventure Mindset is a breakthrough innovation framework designed to accelerate adaptability, elevate and reskill talent, and pioneer new markets.

Keynote Speaker Barry Patterson has built startups, led enterprise innovation teams, consulted for dozens of organizations across numerous industry verticals, survived almost dying twice, and spoken to thousands of people. What he’s learned and lived, and now teaches, is that a shift in mindset can transform fear and uncertainty into adaptability, increased engagement, and can take innovation to the next level.

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Barry's Keynote & Workshop for Educational Organizations & Associations

Chart Your Own Path

We live in a world where disconnection and disengagement are at all time highs, and the future of many careers is uncertain. Barry created Chart Your Own Path to highlight alternative and innovative routes that university and high school students, and anyone reinventing themselves, can take to create a livelihood rich with meaning and fulfillment.

Chart Your Own Path guides students to discover where and how to begin their career journey. Barry’s insights inform, but they also ignite a spark that awakens people to their authenticity, the spirt of adventure, and a new level of power and purpose.

Start the Conversation
A woman with long, wavy brown hair smiling in a professional setting.

"Barry’s Chart Your Own Path workshop was a game-changer for our MBA cohort at the College of Charleston! His unique approach challenged us to think critically about our values, strengths, and career goals in a way that felt both engaging and inspiring. If you're looking for a workshop that does more than share tips and resources, this is it!"

Erin O'Dea Halford
DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & EMPLOYER RELATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF GRADUATE AND EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS | COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

5 Ways
Barry’s
Keynotes
Create a Defining Moment
for Your Organization

05. "One of Us"

Barry is a active in the marketplace, doing the work inside his own company (and on himself). When he joins your team for the day, audiences feel seen, heard, and understood and often feel he is “one of us.”

04. Monday Morning

The most important moment of your event is the next Monday Morning. Barry sparks real change by giving audiences an Action Framework to integrate what they’ve learned and take immediate action on their ideas.

03. Increased Momentum

Growth is a process, not an event. Barry is a long-term partner, sharing insights and educational resources that ensure momentum continues to build, long after the meeting ends.

02. Dynamic Storytelling

Barry’s blend of high energy, vulnerability, and relevant storytelling inspires teams to engage and listen. His approach is designed to keep the audience off of their phones and immersed in a shared, impactful experience.

01. Relevant and Emotionally Resonant

Barry draws not only on his own story, but also on a comprehensive portfolio of research, case studies, and stories from others, to share how he is able to consistently catalyze change, awaken curiosity, and inspire adventure. And he shows how you can, too.

BOOK BARRY
  • A foggy road with yellow double lines and a guardrail on the right, disappearing into the dense fog.

    “Not being able to rapidly navigate change and uncertainty is what destroys companies today."

    ~ Forbes

INNOVATION ADVISING & CONSULTING

Barry’s expertise lies in the full innovation cycle, from leading teams through ideating, concepting, exploring new markets, and testing new possibilities to market leading products and services. He has led innovation initiatives across Technology, Healthcare & Wellness, Education, and Sustainability.

Start the Conversation

  • “Barry’s ability to create innovative ideas with clients, partners, and colleagues is one of his greatest strengths. He is very skillful at transforming raw concepts into valuable insights and assets. He is personable, professional, and a great communicator. Barry will bring a wealth of experience and vision to any project.”
    ~ Christopher Lee Allen

  • “Barry has a great ability to see the big picture and strategize effectively. He led Questis through pieces of Blue Ocean Strategy and then helped brainstorm and explore new business models. Barry also demonstrated the ability to manage and implement scrum techniques and the agile philosophy at a high level.”
    ~ James Carlson

  • “I had the absolute pleasure of working with Barry for the last year on a global gaming project. Barry was an incredible product manager that worked tirelessly to bring our product from ideation to one of the largest new income streams for our business. It was an honor and a privilege to work with Barry.”
    ~ Natasha K. Stone

  • “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside Barry on behalf of Senior Management to research and propose recommendations for programs to cultivate innovation. Working alongside Barry I came to appreciate his passion for innovation and his experience with different product management methodologies and practices. Barry would be a tremendous asset to any organization.”
    ~ Rich Conte

Organizational Change

Dr. Joel Kreisberg

“Barry stepped into a difficult situation at the non-profit I was involved with. As Chair of the Board, I had to ask the CEO to step away from his role, and Barry, who had been consulting with the company was asked to step in. Barry brought in a clarity as to what needed to happen next, as well as a creative spark that allowed the tough circumstances to smooth out. He worked with the board as well as the outgoing CEO with grace, providing strong leadership mixed with gentle insistence. I'd recommend Barry for any business needing a committed professional as well as a extremely passionate presence.”

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

“Barry did an amazing job of developing business strategy and navigating us through an important organizational transition. Barry is quick to act and get things done and moving forward. He puts in 200% give it his all and is really dedicated to a job well done. I highly recommend him.”

Christopher Cooke

“Barry’s had an immediate positive impact on the diverse team on the ground in Australia. He also led the business development planning for a major sustainability venture which required coordination with teams in the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and Austria. Throughout, his work has been impeccable and most impressively at a pace and quality that others can rarely achieve."

Coaching: Talent Development, Stress & Emotional Management, Public Speaking

“ I wanted to thank you for working with me on the EXPO presentation. Your guidance in the process has been extremely helpful in my delivery – I won’t forget the valuable lessons learned. Fortunately, it was well received, and that was the goal. I can only thank you for that😊

~Cecille Feliciano, Panorama Insurance Associates

“I really want to thank you so much for your help with coaching and preparing our speakers for the conference! This was BY FAR our best conference yet, and the feedback we received following our event was incredible from all groups: affiliates, carriers/vendors and our staff. You could feel the energy through the entire event…

Thank you for your patience and professionalism through all of the meetings.  I hope to work together again in the future!”

~ Paige Taylor, Panorama Insurance Associates

“Thank you for providing stress and emotional management training to our department. I received excellent feedback from everyone; you are highly skilled at meaningfully connecting with others, and you’ve made a significant impact.”

~Dr. T. Michael Harrington, Family & Community Medicine, UAB Medical School

Transformation Starts
Here.

Let’s do this.

  • “Barry is an extremely thoughtful leader who executes with precision and diligence. He brings a breadth of skills and capacities to his work, and his integrity is matched equally by his perseverance. In my experience, Barry employs a depth of consciousness that is rare in leaders who are able to get things done at the pace and with the accuracy that he does.”

    ~ Sam Roberts

  • “You had such confidence while speaking, and the way you worked with the entire room with such passion was very inspiring.”

     ~ Garrett

  • “Barry did an amazing job of developing business strategy and navigating us through an important organizational transition. Barry is quick to act and get things done and moving forward. He puts in 200% give it his all and is really dedicated to a job well done. I highly recommend him.”
    ~ Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

  • “Barry pushes the envelope. He understands the complexity of the challenges we face and is able to break them down and come up with creative solutions. He is passionate, focused and results oriented and will do right by providing you with the service you need - absolutely, hands down, one of the best.”
    ~ Joe Starinchak

  • “Barry’s passion for asking questions, proposing solutions and engaging in dialogue (all with his unbridled infectious enthusiasm) nurtures an environment of synergistic change and results. He is a creative and strategic thinker who is uninhibited by barriers that for others would be daunting obstacles.”
    ~ Rob Hallam

  • “With a tireless work ethic and a buoyant soul Barry keeps projects moving, exciting, and focused. I learned an immense amount from Barry, and anyone working with him will come away equal measures wiser and inspired. He is a true friend, a talented individual, and a key asset to any organization.”
    ~ Timothy McGee