Tom Morris

Tom is one of the world's top public philosophers and pioneering business thinkers.
Fee Range: $ $15,000 - $20,000
Tags: Best-Selling Author, Business, Business Growth, Leadership, Motivation, Transformational Leadership
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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Author, True Success: A New Philosophy of Excellence
Born Thomas Victor Morris, and known by his students as “TV Morris”, he is the first philosopher in history to appear in network TV commercials, where he has served as the national spokesman for Winnie the Pooh, Disney Home Videos. He is also the only thinker ever to engage in early morning philosophy with Regis Philbin, on his talk show, and on the Today show with Matt Lauer, among many other national broadcasts. Morris is known for bringing the insights of the great thinkers into the drama of everyday life with high energy and good humor. His message is helping to change lives and revolutionize business practices everywhere.
He may be the world’s happiest philosopher.
Tom Morris has become one of the most active public philosophers in the world due to his unusual ability to bring the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges of the present.
A native of Durham, North Carolina and a distinguished alumnus of Durham Academy, Morris was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, which has honored him, along with Michael Jordan, as a recipient of their “Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.” He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, as well as other, honorary doctorates in recognition of his public work of bringing practical philosophy back into the cultural mix. Morris served for 15 years as a professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he quickly became one of their most popular teachers, in many years having as much as an eighth of the entire student body in his classes. He is now chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values.
Morris’ book, True Success: A New Philosophy of Excellence, launched him into a new adventure as a public philosopher and advisor to the corporate world. His audiences have included such organizations as Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Merrill Lynch, Verizon, IBM, Coca Cola, The US Air Force, Wells Real Estate Funds, International Paper, Price Waterhouse, Target Stores, Mattel, NBC Sports, Business Week Magazine, Bayer, Deloitte and Touche, Federated Investors, Mass Mutual, Prudential, Raymond James, Citi Mortgage, Goldman Sachs, Taco Bell, Campbell Soup, MasterFoods, Minute Maid, The American Heart Association, United Health Group and The Young President’s Organization, to name just as few, as well as many of the largest national and international trade associations.
Morris is also the author of the highly acclaimed and best-selling leadership classic If Aristotle Ran General Motors and the big yellow book, often seen in college dorms nationwide the night before final exams, Philosophy for Dummies. Other books include The Art of Achievement, The Stoic Art of Living and Superheroes and Philosophy, where Superman and Batman finally meet Plato and Aristotle. Morris’ is also author of the best-selling book about life and business is entitled, If Harry Potter Ran General Electric: Leadership Wisdom from the World of the Wizards. In his book, The Oasis Within, a prelude novel to the series Walid and the Mysteries of Phi, Morris takes readers on journey shared between a boy and his uncle across the Egyptian dessert during the 1930’s. The lessons shared between the uncle and his nephew are packed with insights for life and work today. In his latest book, Socrates in Silicon Valley (2017), Morris digs deep into one of the most unlikely and expansive success stories and provides a revolutionary, practical look at what we can adapt from the strange, charismatic and compelling character that is Steve Jobs, offering fresh guidance to leaders at all levels in organizations.
Morris’ work has been featured, noticed, commented on, or covered by such diverse news outlets and media as CNN, NBC, CNBC, The Learning Channel (TLC), NPR’s Morning Edition, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, The New York Times, Fast Company, The New York Times Magazine, USA Today, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, The Las Vegas Sun, USA Weekly, The Economist, Readers Digest, The Globe and Mail, Die Zeit, German Elle, Voce:SA, L’Agefi, ABC.com, The Leaky Cauldron, and many other magazines, newspapers and websites across the globe.
Morris has also appeared as the philosopher he is in “Special Features” on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: DVD Collection presented by Lucas Film, and on The Complete Superman Collection DVD, presented by Warner Home Video. You will often see The Sage of Steel wherever wisdom is to be found.
To book Tom Morris please call Speakers Network Worldwide: 704-942-0095
Tom Morris's Programs
PRESENTATIONS:
Lemons to Lemonade: Stirring Challenge into Something Great
There’s more uncertainty in American politics and in our international economic system than perhaps ever before. No one knows what the coming months might hold. And many people are worried.
We clearly live in challenging times. But most human beings have, the top national business speaker and philosopher Tom Morris says. And the wisest people have always found the insight to chart their path forward and succeed in creative ways despite the obstacles they’ve faced. We can use their methods now.
Many of us grew up hearing the old adage, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” But typically no one says how we were supposed to do this. Tom Morris has consulted all the great practical thinkers of history for their wisdom on precisely this challenge. In his groundbreaking talk “Lemons to Lemonade,” he lays out the clear steps each of us can take to calm down, get creative, and make good things happen within the circle of influence and control we have even in times where so much seems beyond our control. Tom shows how, by the right actions, we can expand our circle of influence and control and produce great results from even very difficult circumstances.
“Lemons to Lemonade” is full of great stories, good fun, and real wisdom. You’ll laugh a lot, take copious notes, and come back to the ideas of this talk for years to come. Tom also gives each audience member a beautiful laminated wallet card with the main ideas of the talk. And one of his newest books, The Oasis Within, is being used by most audiences as the perfect follow up to this presentation, or to his other wildly popular talk, “True Success: The Art of Achievement in Times of Change.” Audiences have described the little book as life changing. Tom can provide your group with deeply discounted copies of either the hardcover or the beautiful paperback edition, and he’s always happy to sign books.
True Success: The Art of Achievement in Times of Change
We all need ideas we can trust—ideas that have stood the test of time and can help us achieve success in even the most demanding situations. Tom Morris has an unprecedented ability to bring together the wisdom of the ages in a form that people can use right now. This talk presents a simple, powerful and complete framework of seven universal conditions for deeply satisfying, sustainable excellence in all that we do. His now-famous “7 Cs of Success” have fueled extraordinary results in pockets of excellence around the world, and have never been more important than they are today. In a high-energy and very entertaining session, Tom will reveal the most fundamental tools for personal and institutional greatness and provide a practical guide for their use every day. This talk leaves people with a new, well-grounded enthusiasm and a determination to use the wisdom they’ve been given. Once they’ve heard it, they will never be the same.
The Essential Jobs at Your Office: The Success and Leadership Secrets of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was the quintessential California Hippie, with bare feet, long hair, hallucinogenic drugs, and a fascination for all things Zen, who believed that the right sort of diet would grant him an exemption from the bathing habits of normal people. And yet, as we know, against all odds, and despite a great many personal flaws, idiosyncrasies, and imperfections, Jobs became a pioneering business visionary and hugely accomplished leader, who ended up practically in a class by himself. The real story of how he did it can now spark people and companies across all industries to new levels of world-class achievement.
Philosopher Tom Morris has a new take on the amazing success of this modern business icon, and how it can give fresh guidance to leaders at all levels in organizations. Drawing on the principles that catapulted Jobs to the top of the tech world and helped him build Apple into the world’s most valuable company, Morris lays out strategies, tactics and actionable takeaways that imbue leaders with the skills necessary to inspire innovation and success. Tom explains how these principles work in a way that no one else can — with high energy, good humor, and a level of insight that will leave people immensely excited about trying some of these powerful new ideas right away.
Since the untimely death of Steve Jobs, you’ve heard all the stories. But now you can bring into your group the empowering perspectives, attitudes, and actions that he lived every day and that can now take you to a new level of leadership excellence and success.
The Four Foundations of Sustainable Greatness: How to Create a Winning Culture
When you take good care of your people, your people take good care of your customers, and your customers take good care of you. The key to it all is a winning culture. So: What creates a great organizational culture? What guides and motivates us to bring our best to every challenge and work powerfully with others every day? Tom Morris shows that the answers to these questions are simple, profound, and transformational. At a time when pressures are high and companies are focusing on the discipline of execution, the main challenge is getting everyone to believe deeply in what they’re doing and to do it with excellence and care every day. Aristotle and a few other profound thinkers have revealed four foundations for reaching and maintaining the highest levels of commitment and greatness in our work with other people. In this session, Tom presents those four foundations for a winning culture and offers practical guidelines for putting into practice the greatest wisdom for sustainable greatness. This talk will give you a profound diagnostic tool whose use empowers individuals and organizations in a new way, while strengthening all your most vital relationships beyond what you could have imagined. This is a must-have framework of ideas for leaders at any level, as well as for front line people who need to form strong and resilient client relations.
Additional Presentations: Creating the Conditions for Innovation
Alchemy: The Power to Change
Tom Morris's Books