Speaking & Keynotes
High-Impact Keynotes That Challenge Thinking
Jim Petersen, PhD delivers engaging keynotes that challenge audiences to think differently about leadership, character, and life. Drawing from his military career, corporate leadership experience, and bestselling books, Jim provides practical takeaways leaders can use immediately.
The Foundation
The Petersen Leadership Triangle
A complete leadership framework built on Character, Style, and Judgment. Each book addresses a different leadership capability.
1. Character
The Spirit to Soar
This book addresses the foundation of leadership. Leaders must first understand who they are and what they stand for.
Core leadership elements include:
- Purpose
- Integrity
- Courage
- Perseverance
- Service
- Resilience
“Why do I lead?”
2. Style
Who Let the Dogs Lead?
This book addresses how leaders interact with others. The dog personalities represent different leadership tendencies and team dynamics.
Examples include:
- Queenie — speaks up / principled leadership
- Martin — organizer / operational leadership
- Smythe — engaged / motivational leadership
- Paula — listening / relationship leadership
“How do I lead people?”
3. Judgment
The Facts Don’t Matter
This book focuses on how leaders think and make decisions.
Modern leaders operate in environments filled with:
- Narratives
- Bias
- Misinformation
- Social pressure
- Reputational risk
The central leadership skill this book covers: clear thinking.
“How do I make decisions in complex environments?”
Why the Triangle Matters
Many leadership programs focus on only one side of the triangle. Some emphasize leadership-style assessments. Others focus on strategic decision making. Few build all three dimensions together.
| Leadership Dimension | Book | Key Question |
|---|---|---|
| Character | The Spirit to Soar | Why do I lead? |
| Style | Who Let the Dogs Lead? | How do I lead people? |
| Judgment | The Facts Don’t Matter | How do I think and decide? |
Using the Petersen Leadership Triangle ensures leaders develop the full range of character, style, and judgment capabilities — the complete picture of effective leadership.
Leadership Keynote · The Signature Framework
Every keynote is built on this proven model — five dimensions of effective leadership: Character, Style, and Judgment at the core, surrounded by the Culture leaders create and the Execution that delivers results.
Character
The foundation of leadership. Integrity, resilience, and the courage to do the right thing when it’s hardest. Without character, nothing else holds.
Featured in: The Spirit to Soar
Style
How you connect, communicate, and bring out the best in people. Style isn’t personality — it’s the deliberate way you show up as a leader every day.
Featured in: Who Let the Dogs Lead?
Judgment
The ability to think clearly, sort through noise, and make the right call — especially when the facts are incomplete and the stakes are high.
Featured in: The Facts Don’t Matter
Character, Style, and Judgment define the leader. Culture and Execution define what the leader builds. This is the paradigm Jim brings to every stage.
↓Building the organization ↓
Culture
The environment leaders create — the trust, standards, and shared expectations that define how a team actually behaves when no one is watching. Culture is the long shadow of every leadership choice.
What the leader builds.
Execution
The disciplined translation of strategy into results — clear priorities, the right people in the right roles, and the cadence to follow through. Without execution, even the best ideas stay theoretical.
What the leader delivers.
Life Keynote · A Broader Frame
The Petersen Philosophy
Leadership & Life in Four Dimensions
The Leadership Model is about how you lead. The Petersen Philosophy is about how you live — and how leadership and life are really the same conversation. A natural fit for retreats, leadership off-sites, and any audience that wants more than performance.
Character
The Spirit to Soar
The foundation under everything — integrity, resilience, and the courage to do the right thing.
“Why do I lead?”
Style
Who Let the Dogs Lead?
How you connect with people, communicate, and bring out the best in a team.
“How do I lead people?”
Judgment
The Facts Don’t Matter
Clear thinking when the facts are noisy and the stakes are high.
“How do I think & decide?”
Happiness
The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow
Finding peace and purpose when effort doesn’t match outcome — living well at every stop along the way.
“How do I live well?”
At the Center
Life’s Stops Along the Way
Perspective · Relationships · Purpose · Gratitude · Resilience
The five anchors that hold a life together — in the boardroom, on the trail, and at the kitchen table.
Leadership and Life are about who you are, how you lead, how you think — and how you live.
EXPLORE THE FRAMEWORKS
Go Deeper on the Petersen Frameworks
The two ideas behind Jim’s keynotes — how you lead, and how you live.
For Schools · Student Audiences
Leadership Keynotes for High Schools
Jim brings the same Character + Style + Judgment framework he teaches executives and military leaders to student audiences — translated for the choices, pressure, and possibility of the high school years.
Built for:
- School-wide assemblies and graduation events
- Student leadership councils, ASB, and class officers
- Athletic captains and team leaders
- Senior-class events and college-bound cohorts
- Faculty and coaching staff development
Talks can be paired with the 8-session Who Let the Dogs Lead? course for schools that want to extend the keynote into a full leadership curriculum.
Topics Students Hear
- Character under pressure
- Leading peers without authority
- Clear thinking in a noisy world
- What real resilience looks like
- Choosing a life that matters
Format ranges from a 30-minute assembly to a half-day workshop — tailored to your audience.
Audiences
Who Hires Jim
- Corporate leadership events
- Military organizations & veteran groups
- Financial services conferences
- University leadership programs
- Executive coaching retreats
- Association & industry conferences
Bring Jim to Your Next Event
Every engagement is tailored. Jim works with your team to deliver a keynote that speaks directly to your challenges.