Signature Keynote
The Adventure Mindset
A breakthrough innovation framework to accelerate adaptability, elevate and reskill talent, and pioneer new methods of innovation.
Are You Reacting to Change or
Leading the Adventure?
Speed and uncertainty have become the new normal in business and careers, 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. Too many companies still operate with leadership playbooks and mindsets built for predictable markets, while new competitors disrupt at unprecedented speed.
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.
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.


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.
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.
"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
