Todd Buchholz

The go-go days of the 1990s turned into the go-backwards days of the 2000’s. What’s next? How will China’s explosive growth shake up business? Will commodity inflation unhinge the economy again? How will Fed chair Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Geithner keep the economy recovering? Todd Buchholz, who led the White House Energy Strategy, will help you figure out whether OPEC will tighten the energy noose again. Learn how the “scissors economy” opens up new business and investment opportunities. Today might be the very best—or the very worst—time to finance a loan. By “connecting the dots” of the world economy, Buchholz will help you develop a timely vision for the economy and the stock market.

Never before have businesses felt such excruciating pressure to compete. While riding a rollercoaster stock market, firms have struggled to raise prices, even when their costs go up. China poses a threat but also an opportunity for new sales. Loyal customers seem ready to jump to a competitor. How can your company or industry survive and thrive? What will Congress do to help or hurt your industry in the coming year? Learn how to anticipate the new trends that open up fresh opportunities for manufacturing, service and technology companies.

Todd Buchholz, author of the classic New Ideas from Dead Economists and New Ideas from Dead CEOs, reveals why we need competition to keep us going and going strong. Weaving in everything from neuroeconomics to evolutionary biology to renaissance art to General Motors, Buchholz will convince you that the race to compete has not only made us taller and smarter, it’s what we love and need. In his provocative presentation, Buchholz explains why laid-back firms get entangled in their own red-tape and why contented CEOs end up driving their employees to bankruptcy court. While Buchholz argues that businesses need internal competition, he shows how to inspire creative competition, rather than a shark-infested culture. This is a cutting-edge presentation that defies and shreds conventional wisdom.

Todd Buchholz brings to life history’s greatest CEOs—from Ray Kroc to Akio Morita, Estee Lauder to Tom Watson Sr.—and shows how their lives, leadership, and lessons can inform and inspire us in today’s chaotic marketplace. How did Sam Walton help create the “scissors economy” and go from being the owner of a single dime store to the CEO of Wal-Mart? How did Estée Lauder, a working-class woman from Queens, convince the shoppers at Saks to buy her cosmetics? How did the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 eventually lead to A.P. Giannini’s success as America’s greatest banker? Buchholz answers these questions and shows today’s business managers how to deploy their entrepreneurial secrets to benefit their companies in today’s hypercompetitive global economy. Buchholz uses his experience as a White House economist, Harvard scholar, and Wall Street professional to show investors what kinds of CEOs to invest with, and what kinds of companies to steer away from. In addition, he lays out a forecast for the economy and the financial markets. The audience will come away from the presentation with a fresh understanding of the competitive pressures we face today, and a roadmap to finding success.

Everyone knows China offers one billion potential customers. But China also provides one billion workers eager to compete with American workers. The Chinese Communist party has shed its communist ideology, but it still struggles to keep its people under control. By showing audiences how to anticipate China’s next moves, Todd Buchholz will help you take advantage of the incredible business opportunities ahead, while avoiding the landmines.

In this stimulating presentation, former White House adviser Todd Buchholz takes you on a tour of Washington power centers, probing such questions as: Who’s pushing the buttons on economic policy and industry regulation? Can President Obama reshape the economic and business landscape while facing up to a GOP-controlled Congress? Will the disasters of the “Great Recession” create a backlash against trade and investment? Can Ben Bernanke handle the bitter criticism over QE2? Will new environmental regulations invigorate or cripple the business climate? Who will lead the Republicans into the 2012 presidential election? Buchholz will help you figure out whether the shenanigans in Washington make life easier or tougher for your company.

Since September 11 the world has changed, looking even more dangerous than during the Cold War era when the Soviet Union aimed missiles at the US. In just a few weeks during the winter of 2011, the map of the Middle East turned upside down, reposing dictators and replacing them with…who knows? Todd Buchholz takes his audience on a world tour to gauge the “hot spots” that threaten us. At the same time, though, we must appreciate the successes: the countries that have turned from dictatorships to democracies; the economies that have dumped communism for capitalism. Recently called on by The New York Times editorial page to make sense of the terrorism threat, and as a former “point man” for the White House during the Gulf War, Buchholz shows his audience how to handle the risks while keeping hope alive.